The Las Vegas Academy of the Arts is a

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

high school located in

Downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the St ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Students are accepted through an audition process and claim a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

pertaining to

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

History

Las Vegas High School

The Las Vegas Academy's campus is located on the site of the first high school in Las Vegas. The school uses two of the buildings that were constructed in 1930 and opened in the fall of 1931. Las Vegas High School was the first high school in Las Vegas, and its location caused controversy at the time. Many residents believed the school was too far away from the small population at the time, which has changed as the city grew around the school. The school originally had three buildings: the tri-level Main building on the corner of 7th St. and Bridger Ave., the Gymnasium, and a third building that housed manual arts (shop classes) and in later years government classes. It was torn down in 1969. The two remaining buildings are listed as the Las Vegas High School Academic Building and Gymnasium on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, representing Las Vegas' best example of

art-deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...

architecture of the 1930s. The school's outer appearance has been maintained but the interior has been changed since its original construction.

Las Vegas Academy

In 1992, plans for a magnet school for the arts were announced by Assistant Superintendent Noor Mura, and on August 23, 1993, Las Vegas High School was re-opened as the Las Vegas Academy for International Studies and Performing Arts by founding principal Bob Gerye. Visual Arts was added the following year. Starting with only 735 students, the student body has since grown to an excess of 1700 students attending the school pursuing majors in the performing and visual arts. The CCSD Board of Trustees officially changed the school's name to Las Vegas Academy of the Arts in November 2014. Las Vegas Academy has been honored by the U.S. Department of Education as both a New American High School and a Blue Ribbon School. The Arts Schools Network (ASN) awarded LVA the Outstanding Arts School 2013-2014 and Exemplary Arts School status for 2014–2016.

LVA Programs

The school divides its student base into four conservatories: art, dance, music, and theatre.

Theatrical venues

*Academy Theatre Black Box *LVA Performing Arts Center *Las Vegas Academy Lowden Theater for the Performing Arts

Notable alumni

Molly Bernard Molly Kate Bernard (born April 10, 1988) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lauren Heller on the television series '' Younger''. Life and career Molly Bernard began her career in 2000 in the drama ''Pay It Forward'' bes ...

, actress *

Leah Dizon Leah Donna Dizon (born September 24, 1986) is an American singer, model and media personality.Matthew Gray Gubler Matthew Gray Gubler (, ; born March 9, 1980) is an American actor, filmmaker, fashion model, painter, illustrator, director, and author. He is best known for his role as criminal profiler Dr. Spencer Reid in the CBS television show ''Criminal Min ...

, actor *

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leaving ...

, singer/dancer *

Dasha Nekrasova Daria "Dasha" Dmitrievna Nekrasova (; ; born February 19, 1991) is a Belarusian-American actress, filmmaker, and host of the ''Red Scare'' podcast with Anna Khachiyan. In 2018, she became known as "Sailor Socialism", after her interview with an ...

, actress *

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

, R&B artist *

Sizzy Rocket Sabrina Louise Bernstein, better known by her stage name Sizzy Rocket, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. In 2016, she released her debut album, ''Thrills'', and toured the record nationwide as direct support for Kitten''.'' In the ...

, singer *

Baron Vaughn Baron Vaughn (born December 18, 1980) is an American comedian and actor, known for his portrayal of Nwabudike "Bud" Bergstein on the Netflix television series ''Grace and Frankie'' and Tom Servo on the 2017 revival of ''Mystery Science Theater 300 ...

, actor/comedian *

Rutina Wesley Rutina Wesley (born December 21, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tara Thornton on the HBO television series ''True Blood'', and Nova Bordelon on OWN’s ''Queen Sugar''. Early life and education Wesley was born ...

, actress

References

External links

*
SAH Archipedia Building Entry
{{authority control Magnet schools in Nevada High schools in Las Vegas Educational institutions established in 1992 School buildings completed in 1930 School buildings completed in 1931 Public high schools in Nevada Music venues in Nevada 1992 establishments in Nevada