38 years of creative tradition

Douglas Anderson Extravaganza continues to showcase talent while filling creative need locally

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Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville prides itself in offering a unique mix of arts and academics at the highest level to its students.

For the past 38 years, it has held a showcase to give those talents a place to fully shine.

The 2023 Extravaganza was held Feb. 10 in the Moran Theater at the Jacksonville Performing Arts Center, which was packed with many anxious family members of those performing as well as art enthusiasts throughout the community.

Many local government officials were among those in attendance sitting front and center for the production.

One person who has seen the extravaganza evolve over the years in the grand production it is today is Jackie Cornelius, who was principal at Douglas Anderson for years and is now the executive director of the DA Foundation.

“It has grown immensely since I first came to Douglas Anderson in 1988 as the arts director,” Cornelius said. “When we did the first Extravaganza downtown it was $5 a ticket and it was mostly only parents.”

According to Cornelius, part of the evolution of the event has been fine tuning things, including the length of the performance which was four hours long in its inaugural year.

“After visiting other art schools in the country, like Booker T. Washington in Dallas, Duke Ellington in Washington D.C. or LaGuardia in New York, it was obvious that it needed to be shorter, but still an event that showcased what students were capable of doing when given the proper resources.”

Cornelius is a past president of an international group of art schools throughout the U.S., Canada and England, which she said played a big role in discovering ideas that would be easily transferable for Douglas Anderson and the Jacksonville area.

“What it is all about is visibility for the program and how incredible it is and what it offers to kids that really want intensive art study,” Cornelius said. “We have a kid that goes to MIT for engineering, because the arts teach you discipline and confidence, and the ability to really articulate their ideas for any area in the world.”

Much of high school is about creating memories that will last through the years, and based on the smiles and emotions exhibited both on stage and by those in the crowd watching, the 2023 Extravaganza did a perfect job of creating just that.

As an art school, students at Douglas Anderson get about two to three hours of art curriculum each day.

“Research has shown that you need 80% or more of the art teachers at an art high school to be professional artists because cognitively they get what it takes to pursue a career in the art profession,” Cornelius said.

Although a similar type of showcase is put on by all the top arts high schools in the country, the Extravaganza had a very obvious Jacksonville vibe at certain times, especially during the portions of the night that highlighted cinematic arts with various films entitled “Creative Landscapes,” which focused on various parts of town across Jacksonville.

Students’ creativity was spotlighted throughout the night and in a variety of ways, such as musical theatre and chamber orchestra to a jazz ensemble and a string quartet.

There were also examples of creative writing and a visual art exhibit filled the lower lobby for those in attendance to view both beforehand and during the show’s intermission.

“I love those kids in our city and throughout northeast Florida that really are talented but just don’t have the resources available to express that talent,” Cornelius said. “DA was created for the purpose of meeting that special need. And it continues to do so.”