School-Day Matinees
The Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech is dedicated to providing transformative arts experiences to children through gallery tours, artist engagements, and special school-day matinee performances from renowned touring artists for children, teachers, and families.
Explore exciting new opportunities to connect with the arts through performances and study guides created especially for young audiences. Mark your calendar now and register to attend these engaging performances and discussions, and join our email list and select "K12 and school-day events" to learn more about the Moss Arts Center’s matinees and activities with visiting artists.
These free events are open to public, private, and homeschool students; teachers; and families; but registration is required.
Acrobuffos
Air Play
Monday, October 24, 2022
10-11 AM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Recommended for grades K-5
Find more information here.
This performance and its waitlist are full.
In Air Play, circus meets science with a dash of comedy. Umbrellas fly, fabrics soar over the audience, balloons swallow people, and snow swirls, filling the stage.
Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
in collaboration with Chitrasena Dance Company
A Meeting of Two Cultures
Friday, November 11, 2022
10-11 AM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Appropriate for all ages; curriculum connections to SOLs in grades 8-12
Find more information and register here.
This one-of-a-kind cultural exchange from Nrityagram Dance Ensemble transports students on a journey through time and space to Eastern India, the birthplace of Odissi (one of the world’s oldest classical dance forms) and to the island of Sri Lanka, home to Kandyan dance (an ancient folk dance ritual).
Machine de Cirque
La Galerie
Friday, January 27, 2023
10-11 AM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Recommended for grades 5-8
Find more information here.
This performance and its waitlist are full.
Dizzying feats and a serious dose of fun come together in this ode to creativity as the seven zany acrobats and eccentric musician of Machine de Cirque set off an explosion of color in a monochromatic art exhibit.
PUBLIQuartet
Friday, February 10, 2023
10-11 AM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Recommended for grades 2-7
This performance is full. You can still sign up for the waitlist here.
Bursting with rockstar energy, Grammy-nominated PUBLIQuartet performs a musical kaleidoscope of composers and genres that make up America’s rich musical history through the quartet’s modern interpretation of chamber music.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
11 AM-12 PM
Street and Davis Performance Hall, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre
Recommended for grades 4-8
This performance is full. You can still sign up for the waitlist here.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dazzles with technical brilliance and passionate energy, celebrating the uniqueness of African American cultures and the preservation and enrichment of American modern dance.
FAQs
If you cannot attend or your party turns out to be smaller than the number of tickets you have reserved, please inform the Moss Arts Center as soon as possible by contacting Shara Appanaitis at sappanaitis@vt.edu so that Moss staff can release your tickets to those on the waiting list.
The Moss Arts Center is committed to being accessible to all of our patrons. Those with disabilities and their companions are accommodated through wheelchair seating, parking, and other special requests throughout the center at all levels. Assisted listening devices are available. Service animals are permitted. Sign interpretations and large-print programs are available with advance notice. If you or your students have questions regarding accessibility or would like assistance, please contact Jamie Wiggert at wiggertj@vt.edu.
To supplement your students' learning, a study guide tailored to each performance will be provided via email in advance.
The bus drop-off location is on the Alumni Mall side of the Moss Arts Center, located at 190 Alumni Mall on the campus of Virginia Tech. Drivers may pull their buses into the driveway loop directly in front of the center. Staff will be on-site to assist. Recommended arrival time is 15-30 minutes before the start-time of the performance.
Those driving cars and vans may park in the North End Center Garage (300 Turner Street NW), which is one block from the Moss Arts Center's Turner Street entrance. A valid university parking permit, a validation from one of the retail tenants, or payment of the daily fee is required to park in the North End Center Garage.
Bus staging is located in the upper section of the Chicken Hill lot (Football Lot 5) on the campus of Virginia Tech. The lot entrance is on Southgate Drive, opposite Sterrett Drive. Parking passes will not be required for buses. For more information about parking at Virginia Tech, please visit parking.vt.edu. Please note that buses are not permitted to park adjacent to the Moss Arts Center's Turner Street entrance, except in special circumstances when permission can be granted.
When you arrive at the center, please check-in with Moss Arts Center staff to confirm that your party has arrived. Staff will be on-site to assist seating your group, directing you to restrooms, and answering any questions you may have.
In accordance with guidance from Virginia Tech, masks are no longer required in indoor public spaces, but remain recommended. Find more information about COVID safety at the Moss here.
We remain committed to assisting your group with safe, smooth entry to the performance venue. If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Shara at sappanaitis@vt.edu.
Unless otherwise noted, all school-day performances take place in the Street and Davis Performance Hall's Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre in the Moss Arts Center.
It is recommended that buses arrive back at the Moss Arts Center 15 minutes before the end of the performance. Following the performance, please remain in your seats; school groups will be dismissed by Moss Arts Center staff to ensure a smooth and speedy departure for all. Staff and volunteers will assist school groups in meeting their buses in the center’s Alumni Mall driveway.
Following the performance, you may receive an email requesting feedback on your group's experience. Please make time to respond, as doing so could significantly improve the Moss Arts Center's pre-K to grade 12 programs for you and future visitors.