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TBTS Times Keeping you up-to-date and on pointe
Student Spotlights
Happening this Summer
Spring Performance (Backstage Access)
Coming Soon
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Student Spotlights Claire Mildren Claire Mildren’s seven years of training thus far with TBTS paid off when she received a scholarship from the Dance Council of North Texas. Claire will be training at American Ballet Theatre in New York and Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet this summer thanks to the funding. In order to qualify for the award, Claire learned a variation and trained with principal Kathryn Warakomsky for the scholarship audition. Her favorite part of dancing at TBTS is performing at venues like Bass Hall. She said she would one day like to be a dancer for a professional company. “Taking classes and performing helps me get stronger.”
Emily Thompson Emily Thompson has been dancing with TBTS for the past nine years. She has performed alongside company members in various TBT shows including the recent production of Swan Lake . “My favorite part of dancing with the school is how we’re so close to the company and we can see what we’re striving for,” she said. Now that she is going into her last year of high school, she is following her dreams of becoming a professional dancer by going to Pittsburgh to train at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School’s High School Program. She credits TBTS with making her the dancer she is today and preparing her for the next step in her career.“They’ve given me a very good technical base with which I can build on in the future. Also they’ve instilled a sense of knowing that this is an art, not just steps and a lot of places don’t do that. There is a very strong focus on the artistic side here.”
photo by Ellen Appel
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Spring Show
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photo by Ellen Appel
you were able to attend this year’s Spring Performance, you may have noticed a variety of dance styles. The show included everything from Les Sylphides, a traditional ballet choreographed over 100 years ago, to the innovative works of student and faculty choreographers. After seeing the finished product, we are now going to take you backstage to tell you what some of the students and choreographers thought of the experience. Les Sylphides This classic ballet is often described as a “romantic reverie” and is a staple among professional company repertoires. Choreographed in 1909 by Michel Fokine with music by Frederic Chopin, it has a long history on stage. TBTS student and soloist Kara McCormick said the style of the ballet differs from their day to day training and took a lot of hard work to master. “It was a lot of work. The corps de ballet requires a lot of rehearsal to make it look good. I performed the waltz variation which requires a lot of jumping in addition to many controlled arabesques and penchées, all of which take strength and skill,” she said. Working with the company members has pushed Kara to grow more in her technique. Performing the classic piece contributed to the show overall, she said. “It was a lot of fun; I really enjoyed doing Latino Caliente and Glazunov Variations. I like that we did two very different ballet pieces, one very old style but also one that had a Hungarian flair to it. It was a great experience and I enjoyed it.” (home menu)
Student Choreography A dynamic modern piece accompanied by Nathan Lanier’s Sand was the brainchild of TBTS student choreographer Clarissa Warren. Clarissa said she choreographed her first piece last year, enjoyed the experience and plans to keep doing more. She has been dancing at TBTS since 2008 and was inspired by a former modern teacher at TBTS while developing the piece. “Her ideas, the way she would have us move, she would say, ‘just go where the music and the movement takes you’ and that’s what I did with it. I kind of copied that idea. But the movements, I have no idea where they came from, they just came.” Some of the company’s past modern choreography, she said, influenced her work. Her training at TBTS has also helped her to grow as a dancer. “They have helped solidify my technique,” she said. “They’ve helped strengthen me and they’ve helped teach me those background ideas of how the dancer should be, how they should carry themselves, how they should approach dance.” While her choreography had more of a Modern flare, she said she sees Ballet and Modern both as possibilities in her future professional career.
photo by Ellen Appel
Latino Caliente Finishing off the Spring Performance was a mix of Latin ballroom fused with stylized jazz. The piece entitled Latino Caliente was choreographed by Associate Artistic Director Tim O’Keefe for the Advanced and Trainee dancers. Mr. O’Keefe has been taking ballroom lessons for the past seven years and was inspired by the music he heard during one of his lessons. He said this was the first time he had incorporated so many ballroom steps into a piece. Although the style was new to many of the students, they quickly fell into step. “Once they finally got into it, I felt like many of them, especially the students, came alive which was fun for me to see as they really started performing,” O’Keefe said. The piece rounded out the performance by taking the audience from the 100 year old styles of Les Sylphides to the more modern steps in Latino Caliente. Comparing it to a Triple Bill, O’Keefe said “You get to see different styles of dance in one evening which actually educates the audience.”
photo by Ellen Appel
photo by Ellen Appel
Spring Show Slideshow (Click to view slideshow)
photos by Ellen Appel
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Happening this Summer! Тhis summer, TBT has
welcomed dancers from around Ballet Basics DFW, incluing some from out of state, for Ballet Basics (Click to view slideshow) and Junior Summer Intensive. The young dancers in Ballet Basics have been busy crafting, performing circus and fairytale themes and filling the studio with lots of energy! Meanwhile our Junior Intensive dancers are developing their ballet technique while being introduced to a variety of styles including modern, jazz, broadway and tap which many do not have the opportunity to take during the year. The program is rounded out with Pre-Pointe/ Pointe classes, Jumps & Turns and Repertoire to develop strength and enhance their ballet technique training. Each Junior Intensive week of Ballet Basics concludes (Click to view slideshow) with a themed performance and the final week of the Junior Intensive culminated with a performance of Ballet Repertoire, Jazz, Modern and Broadway choreography. It’s wonderful to see the studio normally occupied by company members filled with young aspiring dancers.
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Oh the
Places You’ll Go... After their hard work this year, some TBTS students are off to programs across the country to work some more on developing their technique. These students had to audition for these prestigous programs and we are very proud of their acceptance.
•AnnaMarie Li – Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet •Claire Mildren-American Ballet Theatre New York & Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet •Abby Shaffer-Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre •Courtney Stack – Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet •Caroline Staniford – American Ballet Theatre Young Dancer Workshop •Emily Thompson-Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre •Sara Warren- Kaatsbaan Extreme Ballet •Clarissa Warren – Tulsa Ballet Congrats!
Exclusive Offer!
Bring a friend to any Adult Drop-in Class and they only pay $5 for their first class! Mention you saw this ad to redeem offer. For more information on the adult class schedule go to Texasballettheater.org. (home menu)
Intern Intro Claire O’Connor
Claire graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Communication Studies and a Business Foundations Certificate. A former dancer and Fort Worth native, she is excited to begin working with Texas Ballet Theater. In Austin, she worked as a Programs and Development intern for the non-profit organization Marathon Kids, as a Tour Marketing intern at Triple 8 Management and as the Development Intern at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. This summer, she has been assisting with the CityDance Outreach Program as well with the marketing and PR effort for the Texas Ballet Theater Schools.
Contact Claire at Intern2@texasballet.org
Sarah Greufe Sarah is a TCU graduate who studied journalism and anthropology. She has enjoyed dancing from the time she started to walk and has tried to not stop since. While at TCU, she interned in the marketing department for the Dallas Black Dance Theater, The Multicultural Alliance and served as editor of The Daily Skiff for one semester. She also spent a semester studying in Dublin where she learned a few jigs. She is inspired by the beauty of the ballet at TBT and is enjoying her time working with the schools. She has been assisting with the marketing and PR efforts for TBTS and is also working in the Ballet’s box office.
Contact Sarah at Intern1@texasballet.org
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Coming Soon... Senior Summer Intensive Students are coming from all corners of the country and from the country of Chile to attend this year’s Senior Intensive on the campus of TCU. Through this pre-professional summer program, the TBT Company looks for prospective members. It opens up doors for young aspiring dancers by providing training with professionals on a variety of styles. Our next newsletter will feature an inside look at what’s happening at TCU this summer.
Important Dates
Ballet Bootcamp
•July 7-18 Ballet Basics •June 23-July 26 Senior Intensive •July 25–Senior Intensive Showcase at Texas Christian University •August 18 – New Student Auditions •August 20 – First day of classes •August 23 – TBTS Open House (Invite your friends for a FREE class and a waived registration fee!)
Contact Ashley@texasballet.org with questions about our upcoming programs or visit our website at texasballettheater.org. (home menu)
August 11-15 10:00-11:30 a.m. TBT company dancer Nicole Von Enck, who is a TBTS Ballet/Pointe teacher as well as a certified ZUMBA® instructor, will be leading a one week bootcamp. The classes will consist of Ballet barre work as well as Pilates and Zumba fitness instruction. Come out for a fun and effective work out!