Fine Arts Curriculum | The Dunham School, Baton Rouge, LA

Middle School Art introduces students to the language of visual art through sustained study of the seven elements of art — line, shape, value, color, texture, form, and space — and the principles of design, including balance, rhythm, pattern, movement, contrast, emphasis, and unity. Students work across a range of media and techniques, from drawing and painting to hand-building in clay, while developing their skills through close observation, practice, and the study of master artists. Each student maintains a portfolio throughout the year that documents their growth and serves as a record of their developing artistic identity

Middle School Band develops students as musicians through the simultaneous growth of performance technique, music theory, and critical listening. Students learn proper instrument care and technique — including embouchure, breathing, tone production, and articulation — and progress systematically through major scales across the three years. Music theory instruction covers rhythmic and pitch notation, transcription, and ear training, with performance practice building from foundational note reading toward improvisation and ensemble playing. Students also develop as listeners, learning to analyze and respond to music across genres, cultures, and time periods. The course culminates each year in ensemble performance, where the skills developed in individual practice are brought together in a shared musical experience.

Middle School Choir develops students as vocal musicians through training in music literacy, vocal technique, and performance. Students learn to read music through solfege, rhythmic notation, and music symbols, and they develop sensitivity to dynamics, phrasing, and expressive interpretation of choral literature. Listening is woven throughout the course, exposing students to a broad range of genres, cultures, and musical traditions — including the history and impact of film music. Each semester culminates in a Showcase performance, where students apply the technical and expressive skills developed in rehearsal to a shared experience on stage, learning both the discipline of preparation and the etiquette of performance.

Middle School Dance develops students as movers, composers, and performers through the systematic study of the elements of dance: body, space, time, and energy. Students learn foundational dance vocabulary and technique, explore locomotor and non-locomotor movement, and study the six movement qualities — suspend, sustain, swing, percussive, vibratory, and release — as tools for expressive and intentional movement. Choreographic structure is central to the course; students work with forms such as theme and variation, ABA, rondo, and narrative to create and refine their own compositions. The course balances technical discipline with creative expression, developing in students both the habits of focused rehearsal and the capacity to communicate through movement.

Middle School Theater develops students as performers and collaborators through the study of the body, voice, and mind as the actor's primary instruments. Students explore stage movement, the nine areas of the stage, pantomime and non-verbal communication, vocal projection and articulation, and the principles of improvisation — including the foundational rules taught by Second City — while building the ensemble habits of listening, reaction, and generosity toward scene partners. Each semester culminates in a Showcase performance, where students bring their developing skills to a live audience through scripted and collaborative work. The course treats theatre not merely as performance training but as a discipline for self-awareness, creative risk-taking, and confident communication.

Art I is the foundational visual arts course at Dunham. Through the study of basic drawing principles, color theory, value studies, perspective drawing, textural collage, and printmaking, students will gain a foundational understanding of the principles of art. Students are required to write self-assessments and participate in verbal and written critiques after the completion of each piece (1 credit).

Art II is a continuous study of the basic principles and elements of design, requiring students to create their own art, study art history, and learn to make critical judgments about art. Units include color theory, drawing from observation, perspective, printmaking, still-life drawing and painting, self-portraits, figure drawing, and landscape (1 credit).

Art III is a more advanced study in the principles and elements of design. The first term emphasizes advancing basic drawing skills, color, perspective, and printmaking, culminating in a 3-D project. The second term shifts to still life, art history, figure drawing, and self-portrait painting (1 credit).

Art IV is an advanced study of the principles and elements of design. Students broaden their abilities in drawing, color, perspective, mixed media, printmaking, and 3-D work, with significant focus on studying different artists, their techniques, and their artistic influence (1 credit).

Advanced Placement 2-D Art and Design is modeled on a comparable college course.  This course offers students a college level art experience, and gives students the tools to be successful on the College Board 2-D Art and Design portfolio. The course focuses on a sustained investigation of a specific emphasis. Student demonstrate knowledge in visual principles and 2-D Art and Design skills of point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, figure/group relationship, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy. Students are required to submit a two-part portfolio for evaluation that demonstrates a fundamental competence and range of understanding in visual concerns and methods (1 credit; weighted).

Advanced Placement 3-D Art and Design is modeled on a comparable college course.  This course offers students a college level course experience, and gives students the tools to be successful on the College Board 3-D Art and Design portfolio.  The course focuses on a sustained investigation of a specific emphasis. Student demonstrate knowledge in 3-D Design skills such as point, line, shape, plane, layer, form, volume, mass, occupied/unoccupied space, texture, color, value, opacity, transparency, time, unity, variety, rhythm, movement, proportion, scale, balance, emphasis, contrast, repetition, connection, juxtaposition, and hierarchy. At the end of the year, students are required to submit a two-part portfolio for evaluation that demonstrates a fundamental competence and range of understanding in visual concerns and methods (1 credit; weighted).

Advanced Placement Studio Art is modeled on a comparable college course. Students submit a 3-part portfolio for evaluation at the end of the school year demonstrating fundamental competence and range of understanding in visual concerns and methods, covering quality, concentration, and breadth (1 credit; weighted).

Advanced Choir is The Dunham School's Upper School Concert Choir, consisting of boys and girls in grades 9–12. The course instructs students on the methods and elements of music in a multi-voice setting, incorporating sight-singing, ear training, and music theory (1 credit).

Dance I is designed to introduce classical ballet technique and vocabulary to the beginning dance student, teaching the foundations of ballet — positions, posture, and vocabulary — through active participation and rigorous practice (1 credit).

Dance II Honors is a continuation of the ballet techniques learned in Dance I, focusing on the development of physical strength, flexibility, and balance. Western theatre dance history from Renaissance court dance through the 20th century will also be studied (1 credit; weighted).

Advanced Band is The Dunham School's Upper School Concert Band class. Students refine instrumental skills and music theory, perform with the Dunham Pep Band for Pep Rallies and home football games, and perform throughout the year in and outside of school (1 credit).

Honors Jazz Band is an advanced level, audition band class with an emphasis on jazz, including swing, Latin, rock, and standard jazz ballads. A significant emphasis is placed on jazz improvisation and jazz theory. A high level of instrumental proficiency is required for admission (1 credit; weighted).

Theatre I introduces students to the fundamental skills of the theatre arts, including improvisation, body control, voice, diction, pantomime, character creation, and preparation and acting of scenes from plays (1 credit).

Theatre II Honors provides further growth in a balanced theatre arts curriculum, with advanced level training in improvisation, body control, voice, diction, pantomime, and text and subtext analysis. Students prepare and perform scenes from Shakespeare and contemporary works (1 credit; weighted).

Musical Theatre Honors is a high-level performance class that marries the skills of theatre and choral music. The course explores the distinctive challenges of the musical theatre genre through songs, characterizations, vocal work, and movement, presented in a showcase performance each spring (1 credit; weighted).