Talent Unlimited High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

of the

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 ...

located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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History

The school started as a pilot program in January 1973. Students took academic courses at their home high schools and attended Talent Unlimited in the afternoons. The director of the program was John Motley, conductor of the All City High School Chorus. The music teaching staff included Arlene Lieberman, Robert Vitale, H. L. Smith, II, Camilla Williams and Fred Norman. This first class performed at Gracie Mansion for Mayor John V. Lindsay and Marian Anderson.

Programs

Talent Unlimited High School educates in five performing arts fields:

Vocal Music Vocal music is a type of singing performed by one or more singers, either with musical instruments, instrumental accompaniment, or without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella), in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which ...

Musical Theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

, Dance, and Instrumental Music. These programs are taught by well experienced teachers and guest artists, that have worked in their fields for over 10 years.

Campus

It is within the

Julia Richman Education Complex The Julia Richman Education Complex (JREC) is an educational multiplex located in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Named after the district superintendent of schools, Julia Richman, it houses six autonomous small sc ...

along with five other schools: Urban Academy, Vanguard High School, P226M Junior High Annex, Ella Baker Elementary School, and Manhattan International High School.

Extracurricular activities

The Talent Unlimited Choir has appeared on the WCBS show "Holiday in Bryant Park" in 2007 and 2008. They backed up Broadway singers Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello in 2007, and Broadway actor Cheyenne Jackson and cabaret singer Michael Feinstein in 2008. They also performed in December 2009 on the NCM/Fathom special "The Christmas Sweater - The Road to Redemption," which aired live from Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City and was hosted by Glenn Beck.

Notable alumni

Stephanie Andujar Stephanie Lee Andujar (born July 15, 1986), nicknamed StephA, is an American actress, director, producer, writer, singer, dancer and songwriter. Known to be a comedic and dramatic actress, her versatility goes far. Starring in the Academy Award-wi ...

, actress/singer/dancer *

Julissa Bermudez Julissa Bermúdez (born September 28, 1983) is an American television host, actress, dancer, and model. She was a co-host on Black Entertainment Television, BET's most popular music video countdown show ''106 & Park'' from 2005 until 2006, and ...

Angela Bofill Angela Tomasa Bofill (born May 2, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter of Cuban- Puerto Rican origins. A New York native, Bofill began her professional career in the mid-1970s. Bofill is most known for singles such as, "This Time I'll Be Sweete ...

, singer/songwriter * Deemi, singer/songwriter *

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

, actor/comedian *

Laurence Fishburne Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...

, actor/producer *

Corey Glover Corey Glover (born November 6, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Living Colour and has toured as the vocalist for the funk band Galactic. As an actor, he played Francis in the 1986 war movi ...

, singer/actor *

Kadeem Hardison Kadeem Hardison (born July 24, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on ''A Different World'', a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom ''The Cosby Show''. He starred in the Disney Channel series ''K.C. Under ...

, actor/director *

Edward W. Hardy Edward W. Hardy (born January 12, 1992) is an American composer, music director, violinist and violist. He is known as the composer, co-conceiver, music director, and violinist of the Off-Broadway show '' The Woodsman'' and is the owner of '' ...

, composer/violinist * Solomon Hicks, guitar player, blues singer *

Lisa Lisa Lisa Velez (born January 15, 1967), better known by her stage name Lisa Lisa, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as one-third of the band Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam. Early life According to Spin Magazine, ''Spin'' magazine, Velez ...

(born Lisa Velez), singer/musician *Anthony Ortiz, singer/founder TKA *

Gene Anthony Ray Gene Anthony Ray (May 24, 1962 – November 14, 2003) was an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He was known for his portrayal of dancer Leroy Johnson in both the 1980 film '' Fame'' and the 1982–1987 ''Fame'' television ser ...

, actor/dancer * Derrick Simmons, director/stunt actor * Brenda K. Starr, singer/songwriter * Julius P Williams, composer, conductor, first African American president of the Conductors Guild *

Todd Williams Todd Michael Williams (born February 13, 1971) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He attended East Syracuse-Minoa High School graduating in 1989. He then attended Onondaga Community College before signing a professional ...

, actor *

Malik Yoba Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba (born September 17, 1967) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J. C. Williams on the Fox police drama ''New York Undercover'' and as Yul Brenner in the film '' Cool Runnings''. ...

, actor/singer *

Keith Rogers Keith Sinclair Rogers (1892–1954), was a Canadian radio pioneer and founder of CFCY radio in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Rogers began his radio interest as a boy in his father's home experimenting with wireless devices he had built at ...

, Photographer/Musician/Computer Programmer

References

External links

Talent Unlimited High School
https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Maxwell-Vice/ {{authority control Public high schools in Manhattan Schools of the performing arts in the United States