In 1948, a similar institution – the High School of Performing Arts – was created in an effort to harness students' talents in dance.

In 1984, the schools moved to a new concrete building, designed by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano and adjacent to Lincoln Center.

Prior to the building's completion in 1985,[6] Music & Art – colloquially known as "The Castle on the Hill" – was located in Manhattan at Convent Avenue and 135th Street in what has since become part of City College of New York's South Campus; the building is home to A. Philip Randolph Campus High School.

Students at LaGuardia take a full academic course load while participating in conservatory-style arts concentration.

Recent productions have included Gypsy, Les Misérables, West Side Story, Hair, Ragtime, Hairspray, Guys and Dolls, Sweet Charity, Grease, In the Heights, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, and Cinderella.

[12] Following this, students elect vocationally oriented courses in the fine arts such as Digital Media, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, Fashion Design, and Photography.

The department has worked with composers and organizations such as Eric Whitacre, Josh Groban, Arturo O'Farrill, Béla Fleck and NPR's Radiolab.

After completing their first year with an ensemble, students may fulfill the remainder of performance credits with electives.

Students spend the first two years training solely in classical ballet and the combined modern techniques of Graham and Horton.

Senior year, the dancers take career management classes to support their success and take part in two performances: the Winter Showcase and the Graduation Dance Concert of the spring.

Concepts and aesthetics are taught using contemporary teaching methods that utilize state-of-the-art equipment.

Winter season sports include basketball, gymnastics, and indoor track (boys' and girls').

[citation needed] The school has documented issues with heavy drugs such as opioids and other pharmaceuticals.