Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Segerstrom Center for the Arts believes in the power of the performing arts to transform lives and that the shared experiences and stories told on our stages arts help unite Orange County, creating a more culturally connected and vital community. We help shape the cultural vitality Orange County through meaningful collaborations with diverse communities and embrace creativity in all its forms. enabling a more inclusive, vibrant performing arts scene at the Center and across the region.

We will maintain the excellence of our core artistic and educational programs while demonstrating the entrepreneurial resolve to extend resources, know-how and creativity into these communities we engage. The Center will be transformed into a cultural center and dynamic town square deeply engrained in the fabric of our community, artistically ambitious, yet accessible to all, one that shines as the very model of the successful performing arts center of the future.

Since its opening in 1986, Segerstrom Center for the Arts has been widely recognized as the cultural hub of Orange County and one of the nation’s premier performing arts organizations. It presents the world’s finest artists in a wide range of performance series and offers and outstanding array of arts education programs and community engagement opportunities that collectively reach over one million patrons, educators, and students annually.

The Center has established itself as one of the nation’s leading presenters of the highest quality of dance, musical theater, jazz, cabaret, classical music, and family programming. In addition to topnotch performances in its halls, the Center presents over 30 weekends a year of free programming on its outdoor Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, ranging from dance lessons to cultural festivals to jazz nights and more, appealing to a growing and diverse audience.

By far the largest provider of arts education on the West Coast, Segerstrom Center for the Arts ranks among the top five providers in the nation. Its nationally-recognized education programs support the work of educators and reach underserved students. Over its 35-year history, the Center’s education programs have benefited more than 7 million students, teachers, and family members throughout Southern California and reach approximately 300,000 individuals each year.

Mainstage
Segerstrom Center is nationally recognized for its presentations of Broadway, Dance, Chamber, Jazz, and Cabaret.

Education and Community Engagement Programs
As the largest provider of arts education on the West Coast, Segerstrom Center's nationally recognized programs serve student from across Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties on the Center's campus, in schools, and in community settings. Segerstrom Center offers 15 unique programs throughout Southern California to provide arts education to our community's most vulnerable children and youth.

EDI Programs
The Center continued to expand its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) plan which has been incorporated into the Center’s Long-Range Plan. Building on the success of the EDI Leadership Council, an EDI Working Group was formed made up of select members of Center staff across multiple departments and staff levels to guide the plan.

American Ballet Theatre
The Center and its partner, American Ballet Theatre (ABT) will continue to provide world class dance performances throughout the year. This continues the commitment the Center and ABT have set for themselves to present the best in dance ever year. Since the beginning of the Center’s partnership with ABT, together the two have created Of Love and Rage, Whipped Cream, Uniting in Movement, Water for Chocolate, and more.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts firmly believes that exposure to the is invaluable in the development of a child. The Common Core Standards emphasize creative problem-solving, abstract thinking, perseverance, and engagement with complex texts, each of which presents school districts and arts institutions with unique opportunities to revive the arts in classroom education. California’s teachers are not only tasked with guiding their students through the academic requirements of the Common Core Standards, they must also establish and maintain the critical balance between productive classroom behavior and an open and supportive student-teacher bond. It’s a profession that demands innovation, creativity, and energy – qualities the Center aims to support.

Difficult economic times have meant budget cuts for California public schools. Arts programs in all curriculum areas – music, drama, and fine arts – have suffered greatly from these cuts. California state law mandates that the Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA), which include music, dance, visual art, and theater, be included in the school curriculum for all students in grades 1-6 and be offered to all students in grades 7-12 (California Education Code, Sections 51210 and 51220). Unfortunately, many schools do not meet these standards because there is no enforcement for it and because neither the visual nor the performing arts are included on standardized tests.

A wide body of research demonstrates that young people who participate in the arts are more likely to excel academically, professionally, and socially than their peers who have not been exposed to the arts. Americans for the Arts has found that students involved in the arts are four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair and to be recognized for academic achievement. In addition, students who are highly engaged in the arts are 18% less likely to drop out of high school and are more than twice as likely to graduate college as their peers with no arts engagement.

High levels of arts education positively impact student attendance, teacher motivation, and academic performance, providing avenues for otherwise struggling students to achieve success. For students with disabilities and those for whom English is a second language (the 2010 Census reports approximately 44% of Orange County residents do not speak English at home), arts education offers a connection that helps them participate and grow. The Center makes the arts available and accessible to California students on another level through its education and community programs.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts offers arts education programs to 45 Orange County school districts and five Southern California counties, focusing efforts on underserved schools and districts with low-income, Title I student populations.

Segerstrom Center prides itself in being able to unite Orange County through the shared experience and exploration of the art. The past year has greatly emphasized the value of human connection and togetherness, and we are thrilled to bring back uplifting opportunities to connect through the arts you and our community. Thank you for your engagement with Segerstrom Center for the Arts. You make all of this possible, and it truly enriches our community. Through your generosity, we create a more culturally connected and vivacious Orange County!