Monthly Newsletters - January 2026
Articles for this month include "Ring in the New Year with Music, Dance & Drama!, Student Spotlight - Evan Grossnickle, Bye Bye Birdie Auditions, and more!...
Ring in the New Year with Music, Dance & Drama!
Dear Students and Parents,
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a happy holiday season with lots of time to rest and visit your loved ones. It’s been a bit too quiet here at the school over the break, and we’re so excited to have you all back to share another exciting year filled with music, dance, drama, and the performing arts!
Congratulations to all students and faculty for so many amazing productions this past December & January! It was most certainly a record in terms of variety of concerts/showcases/events! I don’t know how we all did it, but it was truly fun and exciting! From students performing on stage for the first time to our veteran professionals, everyone really stepped up their game and did a great job! Special thanks to everyone who donated to the Teresian Sisters during our music concerts. Also, if you ordered a video of your performance at the music concerts, rest assured that we are working on them and hope to be finished soon!
Coming up later this month, don’t forget that our mainstage production of Puffs will be held January 23-25 at Covington’s Three Rivers Theater! They have been rehearsing now for several months, and we’re excited to put on a wonderful show for our community! There will be a total of four performances, and seating is reserved, so get your tickets while you can! Click here for available dates/times! We will also be hosting auditions for Bye Bye Birdie on 31 January at Three Rivers Theater, open to ages 11-18! You can find more details and book your audition spot here! Finally, join us for a Valentine’s-themed improv night at Three Rivers Theater on 6 February from 5:30-6:30PM - open to ages 7+!
We’d also like to welcome and give a HUGE shoutout to all of our brand-new students that have begun lessons or added a new program over the last few weeks! We had so many students receive music, dance, or drama lessons for Christmas this year, and we can’t wait to see you at your first class! If you haven’t already done so, give us a call to get your classes scheduled!
Did you get a new instrument over the holidays, or maybe you WISH someone would have gifted you lessons? The New Year is one of the most popular times for students to get started in music, dance, and drama at any of our 3 campuses in Covington, Harahan, and Mandeville. Now is the perfect time to try something fun, new, and exciting! As a community performing arts school, we love working with students of all levels, ages, and abilities. Whether you’ve never played a note before or need help preparing for your next audition, our faculty are some of the most talented, genuine, and inspiring educators you’ll meet! They are trained to ensure that, no matter where you may be in your educational journey, your classes are fun and progressive, and, for private lessons, customized for your specific interests and goals!
Lesson times tend to fill quickly at this time of year! Remember, we love chatting, human to human, on the telephone or via text and are happy to get you started! Our administrative team are pretty awesome at finding options that work best with anyone’s schedule. Be sure to check the back/bottom of this newsletter for a special offer to help you get started!
Once again, thanks to everyone for being a part of our school, and we look forward to many our 2026 productions and events! Puffs, Bye Bye Birdie, Newsies, Peter Pan, LAAPAFEST, honors performances, summer music concerts, dance recitals, & drama showcases… and *so* much more! Summer camp registration is already live, too! Book your spot, choose your week(s), and pick your favorite music, dance, and drama programs!
*Your first and immediate resolution of 2026: download a copy of our calendar to stay up to date on everything we’ve got going on, particularly music and dance performance dates!*
Let’s make 2026 the best year to date!
Happy New Year,
~ Ryan Cullen, Executive Director
Get your tickets for "Puffs" and book your audition spot for "Bye Bye Birdie" NOW!
For mainstage shows: All seating is reserved, and tickets are limited! Tickets can be purchased here or click the button below!
For mainstage auditions: Auditions are open to all LAAPA students and the public, ages 11-18! Learn more and reserve your spot here or click the button below!
BIRDIE AUDITIONS: INFO/BOOKING
Student News - Got something to share? Send it to us!
We love getting your news, success stories, and comments. If you'd like to share your news with us, please e-mail at studentnews@laapa.com. Please note that we publish our newsletters monthly, and if you don't see your submission in this edition, it will be published as soon as space is available! Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/laapaface, youtube.com/laapatube, and on Twitter at @laapatweets.
Recording Studio
Our recording studio is located at the Mandeville campus and features a 32 track ProTools system, 4k video cameras, premium mics and equipment. Click the button below to learn more, schedule a studio tour or book your session today!
January Birthdays and Upcoming Events
Shoutouts - New Students and Faculty & Staff!
January Student Spotlight - Evan Grossnickle
This month’s Student Spotlight features Mandeville campus student Evan Grossnickle! Believe it or not, Evan’s been taking piano lessons at LAAPA for almost a decade - December 2026 will mark nine full years at LAAPA! What a journey it’s been.
Outside of LAAPA, Evan enjoys keeping up with sports, particularly football and basketball, as well as playing piano. His favorite music genre is pop, so it should come as no surprise that Evan’s favorite artist is Taylor Swift! He even had a viral moment back in 2024: a video from Ponchatoula High, featuring a school faculty member (shoutout Mr. Tim Richardson) and our student of the month himself, proving that Evan is the #1 Super Swiftie. You, reading this, might not have known how much music means to Evan, but now you do! And these words on a page can’t even begin to describe how excited Evan was to see Taylor on her Eras tour! In fact, music means so much to him, Evan wants to become a music teacher *and* keep progressing in all things piano.
Evan has been with his current piano instructor, Mr. Nicoli, for quite some time now - roughly three and a half years! He loves everything about Mr. Nicoli - who doesn’t? - and has learned so many things from him. Evan has progressed so much in his lessons, to the point where he’s able to teach himself new songs! He loves performing in our summer and winter concerts, and we, too, enjoy seeing Evan embody all that we hold dear as both a performing arts business and as individuals. We are so very proud of what you’ve accomplished in all of your years thus far at LAAPA, and we are so very excited to see what the future brings you!
Artwork by Michaela Howell
We are very fortunate to work with local artist Michaela Howell. Many of her paintings and art are on display at all three of our school campuses!
Michaela recently brought in new artwork that can be viewed at both of our Northshore campuses. The beautiful piece above is available for purchase at our Mandeville location for $850. Interested in purchasing art from Michaela? Inquire at the front desk!
With down home country humble beginnings Michaela has always been very resourceful. She cuts, sands, primes, paints, and in some cases stains her abstract versions of the wooden instruments, creating very hands-on works of art. This resourcefulness has “Played” out very nicely in her most current work. Though the recycling of varying musical instrument components including guitar strings, violin knobs, music sheets featuring the instrument showcased, Michaela portrays a ‘current’ sense of style combined with a very vivid color pallet, creating a symphony for the senses!