Academy Showcase

        With the completion of the 2011-2012 Season comes the much anticipated Academy Showcase! Although parents are always welcome to observe their child’s progress in Academy classes, nothing quite compares to the excitement of a performance on “The Big Stage”. Late every May, our Academy Showcase provides students with the opportunity to perform at the Arts United Center to the enthusiastic support and applause of family and friends. The performance is open to the public, allowing the community a glimpse into the remarkable talents of our young dancers.

 

            With a showcase for the Primary Division of the Academy (Fun ‘N’ Dance to Ballet 2 levels) that begins at 6pm on Thursday, May 24^th, as well as a showcase of the Secondary Division (Ballet 3 and up) that begins at 8pm on Thursday, May 24th, there is great opportunity for friends, family and patrons to enjoy an evening of diverse dance.

 

            Tickets are on sale at the Arts United Box Office. Please call 260-422-4226 between 12 noon & 6:00 pm.

We hope to see you at the Theater! 

- Ms. Alexis

Nurturing Pathways®, Creative Movement from Birth to 4!

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances. 

Maya Angelou 

 

As the child of a pre-school teacher, I have always been around children. I have joined in countless circle times and I know all the lyrics to Raffi’s “Baby Beluga” (not to mention the rest of his Bananaphone album!). So when I found the Nurturing Pathways® program I was immediately intrigued. Nurturing Pathways® is a creative dance program that gives parents the tools to help motivate and stimulate their children.  Classes are offered in three different groupings: Babies(3 months to pre-walking), Waddlers (walking to 24 months) and Toddlers (2-3 year olds) and include age and developmentally appropriate activities to stimulate early motor skills.  Each class focuses on one specific dance related topic (space, shapes, levels, etc) and includes cooperative music, rhyming exercises, and sensory play.  The activities that parents and caregivers learn in class help develop their child’s brain and body by reinforcing the building blocks of neural pathways. 

I know you may be thinking “Really? A 3 month old in a dance class? What could they possibly do?” The amazing thing is that our bodies are born to move! Babies’ brains grow neural connections from moving and exploring. Families today are pretty familiar with “Tummy Time”. Though babies can sometimes detest it, Tummy Time is optimal exercise for a new baby’s body and brain.  Every Nurturing Pathways® Babies class begins with Tummy Time “exercises” that promote bonding and secure attachments (they also give caregivers good tools to distract baby during Tummy Time!).  As hearing is our most developed sense at birth, caregivers sing nursery rhymes while helping move the babies bodies through space. See a video of NP Babies in action

Dancing is wonderful or all stages of a childhood. It is good for both body and brain of toddlers as dance develops motor skills and neural circuitry at the same time. 1 out of 6 children in the US suffers from Sensory Processing Disorder to the extent that it interrupts their daily living or school performance. It is a neuro-developmental disorder that can only be resolved with motor activity. Creative movement classes are an excellent source of gross motor activity that can begin at any age, and they integrate music, movement and creativity. See a video of NP Toddlers in action. Creative dance is an infant’s and toddler’s best friend because their entire sensory system is being equally stimulated. “Each sense needs its own autonomy so that it can integrate with the other senses with dynamic mobility and stability.” – Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

 

 

Babies brains double in size within the first 12 months of life. Grow the mind great through movement!

Fort Wayne Ballet Celebrates National Dance Week

Once again Fort Wayne Ballet brings National Dance Week to the area, and with it comes unique opportunities to enjoy and experience dance with special classes and some unexpected appearances around town.

            Two master classes, taught by Sonia Warfel (who comes to Fort Wayne from the University ofIllinois in Urbana-Champaign) provide a highlight for the dancers of Fort Wayne Ballet and beyond. The first of these contemporary classes, designed for intermediate and advanced dancers, took place on Tuesday, April 24  with a second taking place on Saturday, April 28 from 12:30-2 p.m. Warfel, who earned a B.F.A. in dance from New York University, has experience in teaching, performing and choreography. More information about Warfel and her teaching philosophy can be found on her website, soniawarfel.com. These master classes are funded through a grant from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

 

            Friday, April 27 will see the return of Fort Wayne Ballet’s popular visits to area businesses and open locales. Flash Dances! is an opportunity to experience dance in unexpected and often surprising places, and this year the dancers will visit Vera Bradley Design Center, Lutheran Hospital, Parkview Hospital on Randallia, and the Georgetown Subway restaurant in the morning before heading downtown at the noon hour to visit a variety of locations, including Club Soda, One Summit Square’s Plaza, the public green at the Allen County Courthouse, Lupke Rice Insurance and Financial Services, the Arts United Center plaza and Freimann Square area, and Lincoln Financial. For six hours Fort Wayne Ballet’s talented corps of dancers will be sharing their love of dance with hundreds of local residents.

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            Also returning this year are the Fort Wayne Ballet trading cards. While the previous sets of cards, released in 2010 and 2011, featured the Fort Wayne TinCaps, this year’s set include all three of Fort Wayne’s popular minor league teams with the addition of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and the Fort Wayne Komets. Trading cards will be available beginning April 27 at all Flash Dances! sites. Those interested in obtaining cards after that day are welcome to visit our studios at 300 East Main Street during normal business hours.  National Dance Week activities and Fort Wayne Ballet trading cards are sponsored by Indiana Michigan Power.

Above all, find your own way to celebrate National Dance Week. Everybody Dances! (Michele DeVinney)

A Toast to Downtown

At our second annual Wine Tasting event, Fort Wayne Ballet once again toasted to downtown. This year’s event invited guests to celebrate our move to the Auer Center for Arts and Culture. Anyone who has visited our new space knows we have a number of reasons to celebrate the space…beautiful windowed studios, dressing rooms with lockers and showers and conveniently located right across the street from the Arts United Performing Center.

A Toast to Downtown 2012

Guests were invited to share in the festivity at Club Soda. The event hosted a variety of guests, including Board members, Academy parents, Ballet supporters and even some new friendly faces. At the event, guests were treated to delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by Club Soda, live music from a jazz trio, an opportunity to enter a drawing to win a unique Bradley Gough piece, bidding on a variety of silent auction items and of course, wine from Cap n’ Cork distributors.

Board member, Stephanie Fisher and her husband, Martin Fisher, enjoying the Silent Auction.

Guests mingling at the event.

The event raised over $13,000 to support theAcademyofFort Wayne Ballet. If you missed this event, there are a variety of other ways you can support the Ballet, such as the 2011-2012 Academy Fund.

 The Academy Fund is essential in increasing the accessibility of education, enhancing the scope of instruction and ensuring the opportunities for performance. Ticket prices and Academy tuition are kept at levels that offset only 39% of our annual operating costs. We depend on the generosity of individuals donors like you to provide the crucial support that allows Fort Wayne Ballet to continue offering the gift of dance to our students and the community.

So however you choose to contribute, know that your gifts allow us to ‘extend our reach’ to better serve our students and the community in the 2011-2012 season.

Thank you for your support.

-Genevieve

The Sleeping Beauty

There are few among us who are not familiar with the classic fairy tale, The Sleeping Beauty.  The harrowing but magical story of Princess Aurora is a favorite among both children and adults, thanks in no small part to its popularity among the Walt Disney collection of animated films and DVD releases. But the tale predates Disney by many years, and the ballet – which features the music of Tchaikovsky – has been around since 1890 and is this year’s spring collaboration between Fort Wayne Ballet and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. As I sit at my desk today, rehearsals with the full cast – together this afternoon for the first time – already demonstrate how beautiful the story can be when set to dance, with no words spoken at all.

Along with the talented corps of dancers from the Ballet, four guest performers from North Carolina Dance Theatre will also bring their artistry to the stage. David Ingram is well known to Fort Wayne audiences and fans of Fort Wayne Ballet. A frequent performer whose summer performances of Fort Wayne Ballet, Too have brought a diverse audience to local dance, David has spent the 2011-12 season commuting between his responsibilities in Indiana and North Carolina. The Sleeping Beauty marks his last visit to the city before moving here permanently in April to assume duties as faculty and Men’s Division Coordinator full-time.

            David brings with him three colleagues from NCDT. Jordan Leeper, a native of Jamestown,New York, studied at the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet School until the age of 17, adding training at the New York State Summer School of the Arts in 2005 and 2006. Jordan also attended a summer intensive program at San Francisco Ballet School, where he was asked to remain to further his studies. He danced with the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre in Georgia before joining North Carolina Dance Theatre 2 last year.

            Daniel Rodriguez was born in New York City and began dancing at the age of 10. With training at the National Dance Institute and LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, Daniel danced at Manhattan Youth Ballet for three years before joining North Carolina Dance Theatre 2 last year.

            Frederick “Pete” Leo Walker II grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, studying at Dansations Performing Arts Center and Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before receiving a scholarship at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts in Connecticut. During his time with Nutmeg, Pete performed with MOMIX for Pope Benedict XVI and performed the pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty among other notable ballets. He joined North Carolina Dance Theatre 2 in 2010 and last year was the recipient of the Princess Grace Dance Fellowship Award.        

            With costumes by Tess Heet, who has been with Fort Wayne Ballet for more than 25 years, The Sleeping Beauty promises to enchant, appealing to adult romanticism and the youthful fascination with royal princes and princesses. For more information call Fort Wayne Ballet at 260-484-9646 or visit our website at www.fortwayneballet.org

A few good men

I’ve been having such a great time substituting for Mr. David’s boys’ classes over the past few weeks.  It is so valuable for young male dancers to be in an all-male (except, of course, for Ms. Alexis) environment.  While those of us familiar with dance know the enormous strength, agility, coordination and endurance a male dancer must have to be able to perform what is asked of him, (Ballet Dancers Are Fitter Than International Swimmers, Study Finds) it can still be hard for a young dancer when he is the only boy in class.  

 In researching some video of Male Variations from different ballets to share with the Boys, I recently found a blog that I wanted to share with everyone!

 http://boysdoballet.blogspot.com/?m=1

The blog features some video clips of AMAZING male dancers, from Rudolph Nureyev to Fred Astaire to Lil’ Buck (of So You Think You Can Dance fame) that all dancers, not only boys, might enjoy.                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                  - Ms. Alexis                    

My Johnny Appleseed Experience

Being new toFort Wayne, I had never heard of the Johnny Appleseed Festival. But in my position as the new Development Officer, I discovered that I would be volunteering at the event. What I did not know is that volunteering meant I had to wear a costume, one that included a bonnet. Then I heard the whispers of the Johnny Appleseed police, how they come to your booth to make sure you are following the rules which usually leads to them making you cover something in burlap. Before the event even started, I was convinced I would be escorted out of the festival for not wearing the proper black or brown leather shoes.

Despite the terror of the festival police, I arrived at the Johnny Appleseed fairgrounds bright and early on Saturday morning, prepared to step into the 1800s for the weekend. As I felt the cool autumn breeze, I got dressed in my costume – bonnet and all. Then before the first shift had a chance to breathe and way before the cannon shot to announce the start of the day, customers were lined up at the booth ready for their apple dumplings! That success continued throughout the weekend. Customers shared their love for our apple dumplings all weekend, with testaments of how our dumplings are the only reason they come to the festival each year. In order to serve all of our customers, volunteers were consistently caramel saucing, whipping creaming and serving apple dumplings. This led Fort Wayne Ballet’s Apple Dumpling Booth to sell out both days!

As a new staff member of the Ballet, I am thrilled at the success of this event but I am even more excited about having the opportunity to share this bonding experience with all of the volunteers. I got to know so many of Fort Wayne Ballet’s family members, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you to all the volunteers, board member and staff who helped make my first Johnny Appleseed festival so fun – and successful! See you next year.

 -Genevieve

Back to Business

It’s been a crazy time, with the move being the central focus for so many weeks, even as summer camps and classes kept our old building on Penn Avenue humming.  While the faculty kept their attentions on the students, the rest of us were concerned about crates and logistics, and the entire staff needed to carefully pack each office for the move.  Now, mostly unpacked and settled into our new quarters, it’s time for the real fun to start–company classes and youth company classes begin this week with the full schedule of classes beginning next week.

Our Open House was a rousing success, with many families stopping by to check out the new studios and the beautiful surroundings of the Auer Center for Arts & Culture.  We’re very excited to have some many new and returning students to share our joy and our dance! (Michele D.)

Lunch on the Square

Visited the bustling Lunch on the Square today along with David and Alexis Ingram, our newest additions to the FWB faculty and dance corps. Things were hopping–great crowd–for the kickoff of the Lending a Hand program and the debut of its theme song, “Everyday People,” by Sugar Shot.  We enjoyed a little time in the sun and the chance to talk with people about our new studios and this Saturday’s Open House.  Mayor Henry was there to signal the beginning of the Year of Lending a Hand, and he was most gracious in chatting about the new ballet studios and his granddaughter’s great appreciation of our production of The Nutcracker.  Perfect day to be downtown, and we look forward to participating in these weekly opportunities more next year.  Our early efforts in June were foiled by rainy and windy weather, but today was ideal–and we love being a short walk from the festivities in downtown.  (Not to mention the many lunch options now available within a few short blocks!)

Hope to see some of you visiting our new space on Saturday (10 a.m. until 2 p.m)–let us know if you heard about it from our blog!  (Michele D.)

Coming home

Last week was exciting, with the move from Penn Avenue to Main Street and the fun of settling into our new work stations and studios.  But this week the place really feels like  home with the return of David Ingram and Lucia Rogers, both of whom were sharing their dance talents with the rest of the world. With David in New York City and Lucia in Chicago, there was a feeling that the family was not complete as we made this monumental change. Today with everyone here and things being hung on walls (always the last, best touch), we can finally ready ourselves for the swirl of activity ahead.  Saturday we will open our doors to the public and share for the first time our new studios and offices.  Our schedule of  classes will broaden a bit, too, with more open classes, particularly lunch hour offerings meant to bring the community to our studios for everything from ballet to Pilates, yoga to Zumba.  Please feel free to stop by Saturday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) to find out more or give us a call at 260-484-9646 if you’re interested in more information about FWB classes!