Ellie Dubin

Beverly Hills, CA | 17

2013 Award Recipient

Passionate about teaching and performing arts, Ellie Dubin created a student-run musical theatre program called Kesem Shel Shir (the Magic of Music) for students at public schools with little or no arts programming. She began by directing 20 elementary school students from Los Angeles in a production of Cinderella. Over the course of eight weeks, they covered acting, singing, and choreography, as the students built community, self-confidence and respect for one another. Ellie’s deep-rooted connection with Israel inspired her to forge a partnership with the Youth Renewal Fund to run a similar two-week program for middle school students in Ramla. She used theatre not only to foster harmony in that religiously diverse community, but also as a vehicle to improve English-speaking skills for the 22 participating students. This summer, Kesem Shel Shir is bringing its program to elementary school students at a small rural school in Costa Rica. Ellie also hopes to train other teens in the Los Angeles area to lead the program and plans to create a template for future Israeli programming as well.