The Ensworth School may be synonymous with impressive academics and championship-caliber athletics, but the excellence doesn’t stop there. Woven into the fabric of the curriculum is an emphasis on the arts – a powerful inclusion that’s directly shaped the lives of many students. We’re not just talking decorated songwriters and professional actors; even alumni who have made it to the NFL credit Ensworth arts with their success.
Every Ensworth student takes four semesters of visual or performing arts before graduation. This isn’t meant to be a checkbox, but rather a tool to shape well-rounded students.
“I think Ensworth offers a healthy balance of academics, arts, and athletics, allowing kids to invest in all three different dimensions,” says Jim Aveni, Ensworth's director of arts.
Ensworth’s dedicated arts building features a ceramics studio with a working kiln, a black box theater, a dance studio, a theater lobby that doubles as a visual arts gallery, and its crown jewel, a 680-seat theater equipped with a hydraulic orchestra lift that makes it tough to remember you aren’t on Broadway, but rather a high school in Bellevue.
The program spans both visual and performing arts. Visual arts students choose from disciplines like drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and darkroom photography, while performing arts offerings include music, dance, acting, and guitar.
The ensemble program is especially robust. From jazz and rock bands to orchestra, choir, and dance company, there’s no shortage of ways for students to take the stage. And yes, collaboration is built into the calendar – jazz and rock bands share the stage in the fall, while the spring features a concert pairing orchestra and jazz, and a standalone rock show.
But if there’s one moment when the entire arts program comes together, it’s the musical.
“It’s our biggest show, where all the arts are firing on all cylinders,” Aveni says. “You see kids from the dance program, acting programs, singers, and choirs all showing up in a wonderful theater with a full pit orchestra full of students.”
While the musical for the 2025-2026 school year hasn’t yet been announced, keep your eyes on the school’s dedicated arts landing page for an announcement. Because, yes, it’s open to the public and is a feast for the senses. In fact, every performance – from musicals and choir concerts to tailgate rock band sets and cozy singer songwriter events – is open to the community.
What makes the arts program so successful here is how it’s seamlessly woven into student life. A student might spend first period in AP Biology, third period in jazz band, and head to soccer practice after school. They don’t have to choose between passions, and as it turns out, the disciplines have a knack for weaving together.
“We’ve had a couple of students go on to play in the NFL, and they talk about how those classes help them develop complementary skills,” Aveni adds. “An offensive lineman has to have good footwork and maintain balance.”
He shares the story of Henry Byrd, a student who played football at Princeton and then in the NFL, who credits an upper-level dance class called Dance by Design. Turns out, tap dancing and choreography come in handy on the field.
“Kids reciting lines of Shakespeare and learning how to perform is going to feed them when they’re walking into a courtroom as a lawyer someday,” Aveni says. “We’re building composure, confidence, and character that is a transferable skillset. They can do many things.”
Some students go all-in on the arts, stacking dance, acting, and orchestra classes to become true triple threats. Others dabble. Either way, the school’s model supports whichever path they choose. Students can progress from Photography I to Photography IV over the years or opt to diversify their studies by taking single classes in guitar, sculpture, and vocal arts throughout high school.
Many Ensworth students take their talents far beyond graduation.
Alum Briana Middleton is now a rising film and television actress. Jack Alcott landed a lead role on the recent reboot of Dexter. Audrey McGraw just released a single and is touring with Brandi Carlile. Others double major in college—biology and theatre, law and music—bringing the same interdisciplinary mindset they honed at Ensworth.
Even when school’s out, the arts are very much in session. Ensworth’s summer programs offer everything from stone carving and filmmaking to rock band camp and a middle school musical. Open to the public, the camps are a playful, low-pressure way to explore the arts.
“Ensworth offers a healthy balance of academics, arts, and athletics, allowing kids to invest in all three different dimensions."
“We’re building composure, confidence, and character that is a transferable skillset."