STUDENTS SHOWCASED NOBEL ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES STUDENTS' SKILLS IN MUSIC, DANCE.

Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer

The arts were celebrated at Noble Avenue Elementary School in North Hills recently with a showcase featuring several of the school's students.

The performance included Laura Hanley's first-grade class performing ``The World Is A Rainbow,'' followed by several selections by the school's orchestra under the direction of James Carter.

Hanley helped coordinate the event, which featured student artwork on display outside the school auditorium.

Students in keyboard classes taught by Vanessa Harrington played two classical pieces -- ``Ode to Joy'' by Beethoven and ``A Little Night Music'' by Mozart.

Several students in guitar classes taught by Billy Coane performed ``Malaguena,'' ``This Land Is Your Land'' and the crowd-pleasing ``La Bamba,'' which they performed with the school's chorus, also under the direction of Coane.

Then, a drill team, made up of Noble students and coached by Michelle Morales, performed. The team is part of an after-school program called LA's BEST.

Teacher Craig Smarden's third-grade class performed dance routines to two songs, ``This Business of Love'' and ``The Mask.''

The showcase closed with Kristin Ulrich's fourth-grade class performing a play titled ``Gold!'' written by Malcolm MacDonald and directed by Kimberly Sanko.

Valerie Cadron, assistant principal at Noble Elementary, served as emcee for the showcase. Margaret Espinosa-Nelson is principal at Noble.

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Eric Lopez, Jessie Cantellan and Manuel Bernal, members of Noble Elementary School's string orchestra, perform during the annual Festival of the Arts showcase.