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Alumna Gives Hope Through Music and Dance

University of St. Thomas alumna and current Master in Liberal Arts student Carole Hanna McCann experienced the adventure of a lifetime this past summer when she travelled to Iraq to teach singing and dancing to Iraqi children. McCann, who is working on a history concentration, has been teaching the arts for more than 40 years. More than half of those years have been spent at Houston’s own Theatre Under The Stars.

`McCann traveled to the city of Erbil, in Northern Iraq, to teach theater, music and dance to the children, teens and even adults of the city, in the first-ever Unity Performing Arts Academy. She was one of 10 professionals working through the Houston-based nonprofit organization called American Voices, in collaboration with the U.S. State Department and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.

“Singing and dancing are so universal and so barrier-breaking that I’ve never had any trouble teaching anywhere I’ve gone,” said McCann. “The students were all so hungry for performing arts training and being on stage that they applied themselves wholeheartedly to every discipline. We shared jubilant closing performances, filled with laughter and applause – which sound the same and mean as much in any language.”

“Miss Carole,” as her students affectionately call her, spent 10 days in Iraq conducting workshops and rehearsals. Students were exposed to musical theater, orchestra, ballet, hip-hop, folk-dance, jazz and instrumental ensemble. The troupe was constantly escorted by armed guards, but McCann says she never feared for her safety.

“Never once did I feel scared or threatened, but soldiers with machine guns and assault rifles everywhere, as a fact of daily life, took some adjusting,” said McCann.

Her work and that of her fellow instructors culminated in two gala concerts, July 21-22, performed to overflow audiences of more than 3,000 people at Erbil’s new Peshawa Hall. The events were broadcast live throughout Iraq.

“The Iraqi head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan said to me, ‘We used to laugh, but the war made us forget how. You have helped us laugh again.’ I couldn’t have asked for a more fulfilling thank you,” said McCann.

She credits UST for giving her the foundation to reach out to people as a teacher. “The liberal arts academic structure and the rich diversity of the University instilled in me the appreciation of all people and their eagerness to learn. As a mentor teacher, I thrive under these conditions, so teaching in Iraq was the perfect opportunity,” said McCann.

McCann’s excitement for her work, both in Iraq and here in Houston, is shared by her brother, Fr. Jack Hanna, CSB, director of UST Mérida Program and adjunct professor of Spanish. “She is a great teacher of theater and dance,” said Fr. Hanna. “She is fortunate to be doing what she does. She does it well, and she is doing what she loves to do.”

The longtime theater teacher calls the Iraqi trip a “perspective-making experience.” She says, “It really brought home to me how blessed we all are to live in America, to have the privileges, comfort and security that comes with being born in the USA.”

McCann sees her work abroad as a way to increase exposure for TUTS to a global audience. “Bringing the Miss Carole and TUTS touch to students so hungry for it is a real blessing for me as an educator. So spreading the mission of TUTS to a global audience is a real feather in our cap,” said McCann.

Before she returned home to the United States, McCann had her Iraqi students sign a rock as a memento. She keeps this special souvenir on her front porch as a reminder of the time she spent in Iraq and the people she met. “I see it every time I enter or leave my home. It reminds me of the people of Erbil, especially the children, and of their long struggle for a safe home.”■

Boas Not Bullets
Singing Not Shooting
Dancing Not Destruction

The Unity Performing Arts Academy and Performances in Erbil, Northern Iraq
From the Desk of Carole Hanna McCann, August 2007

Carole Hanna McCann has been teaching the magic and fun of singing and dancing to all ages for over forty years, 26 of those years at Theatre Under The Stars.  This past July she had the adventure of her lifetime as one of ten professionals bringing music, dance, and theatre to children, teens, and adults in the city of Erbil, in Northern Iraq. The Unity Performing Arts Academy in Iraq was organized under the genius of John Ferguson, Founder and Artistic Director of American Voices, in collaboration with the US State Department and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.  Ten days of workshops and rehearsals culminated in jubilant closing performances of symphonic repertoire, hip hop dance, musical theatre, and jazz, with over 300 Iraqi musicians, actors and dancers. The two gala concerts on July 21 and 22 performed to overflow audiences at Erbil's new Peshawa Hall and were broadcast live throughout Iraq. The project drew intense interest from both the local and international media. Not only was this the first time such art forms had been performed in Erbil, but it was also the first time so many Iraqis from around the country had been united on one stage.

Children’s musical theatre is McCann’s field, and 25 Iraqi children came to know and love “Miss Carole” as she is fondly called by her legions of students. Songs and dances, short narratives, art projects, as well as props and costumes brought Broadway alive in Erbil, and the children stole the show at Saturday night’s performance.  In her own words, Miss Carole describes this life-changing celebration of unity and performing arts:

“What a fabulous experience I had teaching in Erbil, Northern Iraq - never once did I feel scared or threatened, though soldiers with machine guns and assault rifles everywhere as a fact of daily life took some adjusting! The ten days of rehearsals and the two performance nights were inspiring and energizing, despite the erratic electricity, a babble of languages, guns and soldiers, an old slow un-airconditioned transport van, and incredibly chaotic dress rehearsals that would have us screaming from the building here in Houston. The first time I walked into my classroom of 25 students ages 7-13, they all stood and said "Good Morning, Teacher!" with their beautiful accented English learned by rote. Well, needless to say, I was theirs. Three of them spoke English pretty well, and I had two wonderful translators/assistant teachers named Aso and Hoger. The young performers learned their lyrics also by rote, got Sparkle Buttons from me every day, LOVED their boas, hats, sunglasses, and pompoms, as well as the art projects I brought. Glitter hot melt glue was a BIG HIT! And of course, they stole the show on Saturday night. The Iraqi Minister from the Regional Government said to me: "We used to laugh, but the war made us forget how. You have helped us laugh again." I couldn't have asked for a more fulfilling thank you. This was an amazing moment in American/Iraqi history, and I am so lucky to have been part of it. And even more importantly, it really brought home to me how blessed we all are to live in America, to have the privileges, comfort, and security that comes with being born in the USA.”

The Faculty	The Kids	The Mountains

DEDICATED THESPIAN
“Boas not Bullets”

By Cynthia Lescalleet
clescalleet@hcnonline.com

After 40 years of teaching musical theater to eager Houston-area youth, “Miss Carole” McCann has taken to sharing her signature “sparkle button” with arts-starved children, teens and adults in war-torn countries. She likes to say that “Miss Carole” of TUTS is now “Miss Carole” to the world.”

While McCann continues to teach part-time at TUTS Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, her overseas teaching experiences with American Voices has expanded her reach and her heart.

Through workshops and performances, the non-profit American Voices organization brings American music, dance and theater arts to nations that are isolated, in conflict or emerging from it. It also encourages these countries to invest in their own performing arts education.

Once shelter, food, water and relative security are restored, coming together for joy has its place, McCann has observed first-hand. “Everything we do helps them take it to the next step. And the fabulous American Voices founder, John Ferguson, truly inspires both students and faculty to build lasting bridges to harmony and understanding through studying and performing American arts.”

McCann, in her 60s, is one of several professionals with the program who build bridges for tolerance via the performing arts. She has been to Taiwan and to Iraq, twice, and looks forward to more tours. The Bellaire resident said she believes in the power of “boas, not bullets.” “Sparkle is contagious,” she has concluded.

Her most recent example of this, which still moves her, comes from her summer 2008 participation in the Unity Summer Performing Arts Academy. She still can’t get over how 700 Iraqis, from all sects, both genders and all ages, performed together on stage for an appreciative audience, many of whom wept openly or attended despite the risk to their personal safety.

For those who attended, “It was a release,” she recalled. “A chance to be in harmony through their music, art and dance.” The children especially respond to Disney, she said. “Disney is everywhere,” with its color and excitement and innocence. For the first generation of children post-Saddam Hussein, she said, “A little magic is a wonderful thing to help them grow.”

That said, “High School Musical” rules, and the songs were instantly recognized by the young Iraqi children. American Jazz, Ballet and Hip Hop are also popular art forms new to world audiences whose own performing arts spring from folk and traditional forms.

“Miss Carole” here, there

McCann, who has several music publications to her credit, is known locally and affectionately to about 40,000 former students as “Miss Carole.” For 26 years she was executive director at Humphreys School of Musical Theatre, which is the teaching arm of Theatre Under The Stars. Before that, she ran the performing arts program at the Jewish Community Center. Currently, McCann teaches students in the Studio Program at HSMT part-time so that she can be open to international outreach opportunities. As always, she instructs her students to “Turn on your sparkle button” as a way to help them smile and bring life to their face and body as they sing and dance.

But since her tours to northern Iraq, she also weaves in subtle lessons of gratitude for the freedoms of life in America. “It was so life-changing for me... I feel called to do this particular project,” she said of her work with American Voices. “This is the way to use the gifts God has given me.” “We have to make opportunities happen in our lives and teach our children the opportunities are there.” Meanwhile, she’d like to branch into teaching the teachers as well as the youths. She takes pleasure in knowing “What I’ve done has changed their lives. It has changed mine.”

Spinning yarns

As with most outreach missions, funding is a factor. McCann, a lifelong crochet enthusiast, has amassed what she calls her “Miss Carole Collection” of crocheted wearable art. She sells them at local specialty retailers, such as Impromptu near West University, at the 1st Saturday Arts Market in the Heights, and through private showings, to buy props to take overseas when she teaches. “It’s a circle of goodness,” she said of the interplay. There is the joy of crafting colorful scarves, throws and wraps and this brings funding to support her love of teaching musical performance. “I’m hooked on it,” she said, fully intending the pun. “What better way to spend my “Golden” years than by making a difference through ‘sparkle’ and props?

Original Designs Crocheted with a Prayer For Peace In Every Stitch By the Legendary Miss Carole Crocheting has long been a relaxation for me, and now you can share in my Crochet Art Collection! Through the generous support of alum Mitch Cohen, I bring the scarves, shawls, stoles, baby blankets, afghans and more to his 1st Saturday Arts Market in the Heights every month. Read all about this amazing monthly art fest at www.FirstSaturdayArtsMarket.com. Also, my friends at Impromtu Gifts on Bissonnet carry my work. Or you can email me directly at carole@carolemccann.com to arrange a home showing of my work for yourself or a group. Proceeds help support my international work with American Voices, teaching musical theatre to children, teens, and adults, in countries emerging from conflict and/or limited in arts education and performing opportunities. I take my legendary Miss Carole Sparkle Button abroad, inspiring performers young and old alike, and building bridges toward cultural understanding and harmony.