Press Release The Arsht celebrates Back-to-School season with 20+ free arts education experiences for Miami-Dade students
Adrienne Arsht Center celebrates back-to-school season with 20+ Free Arts Education Experiences for Miami-Dade Students
Miami, FL – August 10, 2026 – Just in time for back-to-school season, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) announced its 2026-27 lineup of more than 20 free arts education performances and immersive learning experiences designed to connect Miami-Dade students to live theater, music, dance, STEAM-based learning and career-building opportunities.
Arsht education programs will serve approximately 80,000 students and teachers this year through free performances, school partnerships and hands-on learning experiences offered to Miami-Dade County Public Schools. These programs are part of Arsht Impact, the organization’s initiative for education and community engagement, which also includes free public performances and community programs that will provide access for more than 42,000 people this season (details here) and continue a legacy that has reached well over one million community members since the Arsht opened in 2006.
Performances for Students Field trips that introduce Miami-Dade County Public Schools students to the live performing arts and enhance their learning experiences. Daytime performances offered exclusively to students include internationally-renowned artists, Arsht-produced musicals made for Miami’s young people and more. Details below.
Arts-Education Programs Additional Arsht learning opportunities offered at no cost include off-site residencies tailored to children and adults with disabilities, behind-the-scenes access for student musicians, two transformative summer camps, a student ambassador program and a robust intern and theater apprentice program in addition to a pipeline to Broadway for musical theater students in high school. Additional details below.
Arsht Productions and Performances for Students and Schools:
PHOTOS AND VIDEOS HERE
MARIONETAS DE LA ESQUINA: SUPERHEROÍNAS
October 8-9, 2026
Blending puppetry, humor, theatrical magic and audience participation, Superheroínas is a joyful adventure about friendship, courage and the extraordinary power already living inside us. This show is available to charter, public, private and home schools.
Performances September 28–October 2, 2026; STEAM residencies October 2026 –February 2027
Kitty Hawk is a live theater performance and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) initiative created by the Arsht that aims to educate all 23,000 seventh graders in Miami-Dade County Public Schools about the Wright brothers’ world-changing discovery of flight. All middle school students are invited to see the musical and, in addition, students at select schools receive hands-on STEAM learning opportunities to further enhance their theater experience.
THE BUSY BEES’ GREAT ADVENTURE
October 12-16, 2026
Commissioned by the Arsht, this show was written by Miami-based playwright Ashlee K. Thomas with music by Nico Raimont and directed by musical-theater educator Tanisha Cidel. The storyline follows four honeybees on a quest to save the planet when they learn about threats to the environment, including their own possible extinction, and what actions can be taken to prevent our planet’s destruction. The show is envisioned as an engaging lesson in environmental literacy, a topic close to home for Miami children who live in one of the areas in the country most susceptible to the climate crisis. This will be the first live theater experience for nearly 10,000 elementary students each year at their local performing arts center.
January 4-16, 2027 and February 2027
I am Me is a traveling play designed to be performed at high schools in Miami-Dade County. In the mixed-media work, six young people share what it is like to be teenagers in 21st century Miami. Anxious about climate change, parental expectations, societal pressures and their burgeoning identities, these young people find hope and comfort in one another, in art and within themselves. I am Me was commissioned by the Arsht and created by Miami artists, directed by Teo Castellanos.
ARSHT GOES TO SCHOOL (multiple performances, beginning late September 2026)
Students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools can attend free performances and participate in music, theater and dance workshops and master classes. The 2026-27 schedule includes activities around the Buena Vista Social Club musical (September 29-October 4, 2026); Jazz at Lincoln Center (November 18-19, 2026 and April 5-6, 2027); Miami City Ballet’s The Nutcracker (December 11, 2026) and Swan Lake (April 30, 2027); Nu Deco Ensemble (April 9, 2027); The Cleveland Orchestra (March 17-18, 2027); The Great Gatsby (January 12, 2027); The Sound of Music (February 9, 2027) and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (March 30, 2027). This program is a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools and offered directly to students through the schools.
In keeping with the Arsht’s mission to expand access to the arts for all, and as a Miami-Dade County-owned facility, these experiences are provided at no cost to Miami-Dade County Public Schools students and made available to private school students for a nominal fee.
Arts-Education Programs:
January – May 2027; Showcase May 15, 2027
The Arsht High School Musical Theater Awards Program (The Arshties), a comprehensive educational experience that includes classes with Broadway professionals, performance opportunities, an awards showcase and a chance to represent Miami-Dade County at the national Jimmy Awards in New York. Learn more about the program here.
ACCESSING THE ARTS
October-November 2026; Final Showcase December 2, 2026
February-March 2027; Final Showcase April 22, 2027
October-November 2026; Final Showcase December 3, 2026
February-March 2027; Final Showcase April 21, 2027
Accessing the Arts is a nationally recognized program where students and adults with disabilities receive arts instruction and perform at the Arsht for family and friends. Teaching artists are sent by the Arsht into schools and community centers, culminating in the chance to perform at the Arsht in a special showcase.
November 6, 2026; April 2 and 23, 2027
A part of the Jazz Roots series from its inception in 2008, Jazz Roots Sound Check invites high school students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools to the Knight Concert Hall for free sound checks, lectures and, on occasion, opportunities to jam with headline artists from the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Jazz Roots concert series.
November 2026 – May 2027
An annual class of 50 students invited to attend shows and workshops, discover careers in the arts and learn how to promote the arts and the Arsht in their communities.
Applications open January 2027
Camp: June 14-July 24, 2027; Final Performance July 24, 2027
This award-winning six-week summer camp uses dance as a vehicle to inspire young people to develop self-esteem, creative expression and imagination. Open to middle schoolers throughout Miami-Dade County, AileyCamp Miami features classes in jazz, ballet, modern and West African dance along with personal development and creative communication, culminating in an inspiring final performance on the stage of the Knight Concert Hall. Applications for AileyCamp Miami 2027 will open January 4, 2027.
Additional Arsht Arts Education programs include: Broadway Bridges, offering access to Broadway shows for high school theater students; Camp Arsht, a summer camp for theater-loving kids; in-school residencies featuring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and other visiting artists; and various teacher development workshops.
The Arsht also offers two year-round initiatives that prepare individuals for careers in the arts: Arsht Interns, which has introduced more than 500 college students of varied majors, to arts management and the Arsht Technical Theatre Apprentice Program, a three-year program that provides hands-on experience alongside professional technicians and artists.
PHOTOS AND BROLL AVAILABLE HERE.
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is made possible by the public support of the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Tourist Development Council and the City of Miami Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, and the state of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Adrienne Arsht Center also receives generous support from individuals, corporations and local, state and national foundations.
*All programs, artists, ticket prices, availability, dates and times are subject to change without notice. Visit arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information.
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About the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
Since opening in 2006 in the heart of downtown, the Arsht proudly serves as the cultural pulse of Miami – the heart of magical live arts experiences that spark the imagination and connect people to one another. Whether on our stages or in your neighborhood, the Arsht is alive year-round with international artists, innovative programming from resident companies and local arts partners, free community events that reflect Miami’s unique identity and more than 100 culturally diverse and impactful learning experiences for 80,000 children every year.
The Arsht, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has been recognized as a leader in the Miami’s cultural transformation, producing more than 400 annual events that generate 11,500 local jobs and $125 million in economic impact. The Arsht is home to a robust series of touring Broadway musicals, star-studded jazz and classical music concerts curated for South Florida, an award-winning Miami-based theater program and numerous historic and televised events. Free annual Arsht events, such as Gospel Fest Miami, Art + Mind Day, Heritage Fest and our LGBTQ+ Pride celebration bring together people from all corners of our community. For more information, visit ArshtCenter.org.
Click here for hi-res photos and b-roll
MEDIA CONTACTS
Suzette Espinosa Fuentes
786-468-2221
sespinosa@arshtcenter.org
Alexandra Medina
786-468-2234
amedina@arshtcenter.org