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The Boston Arts Academy, Boston’s only arts-focused public high school, will host its first artists in residence this February.

Caleb Teicher and Conrad Tao, a tap-dance-and-piano duo, will perform at the BAA’s new theater through Celebrity Series of Boston. But for the few days leading up to their performances, Teicher and Tao will be teaching a masterclass for students at the school.

“Conrad and Caleb are going to do an improvisation workshop with our dancers and musicians,” said Maura Tighe, the artistic director of the BAA.

“We're going to put a tap dance floor down, and he’s going to demonstrate what it means to improvise with music, and he's going to take some kids and try it. And then they get to see the show. It’s really a growth experience for them.”

Teicher and Tao’s residency will also allow technical theater students, who study things like lighting or stage management, to help produce the performance behind the scenes in the new theater. BAA has had the space since its new building, located on Ipswich St. across from Fenway Park, was constructed in 2022, but it has not yet opened it up as a public venue.

“We want to use the building mostly for our students, because it’s a public school,” Tighe said. “We don’t want to be a rental venue in town. Celebrity Series is our first foray into a professional resident company using our space, and we feel really strongly about it because of our solid relationship with them.”

Celebrity Series has previously done much education outreach, including bringing artists to teach master classes at BAA and inviting students to performances for free, Tighe said.

“We have a history of working with Boston Arts Academy with our engagement activities when we have visiting dance companies in Boston, and that’s been going on for a number of years,” said Nicole Taney, the artistic director of Celebrity Series.

Taney said she had been in talks about working with BAA on a residency program since the fall of 2023, as a next step in the two organizations’ work together. Both Taney and Tighe said they planned to do more artist residency programs at the school in the coming years.

This performance, called “Counterpoint,” is a combination of Tao’s piano performance and Teicher’s tap dance choreography. The music will include excerpts from famed composers like Bach and Gershwin, as well as original compositions by Tao. The show will run on the evening of Friday, February 7, and twice on the following Saturday, February 8. Teicher and Tao will hold a post-show Q-and-A after the final Saturday performance.

“ I just think it's a really wonderful performance for people to see,” Taney said. “I love the conversation between the two of them. They’ve known each other for a long time, they’re both YoungArts [award] winners, and they’ve been in collaboration for years. It should be a really fun performance for people.”

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