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(Berkshires, Mass.) Dec. 8, 2016– Local student dancers, ages 7 to 17 with at least 1 year of ballet training, perform with Moscow Ballet professional company of 40 December 30 at the Performing Arts Center in McAllen this Christmas season.
The aspiring dance students auditioned in person for Moscow Ballet Soloists/Auditions Directors in the fall and rehearsed their roles at Host Dance Studio, the Royal Dance Center . Children’s roles in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker are created by Mary Gianonne Talmi for the “Dance with Us” program. These roles are suited for the young dancers’ ages and skill levels and are ancillary to the professional roles. The Dance with Us roles are as Party Children, Small Mice, Snowflakes, Snow Sprites, Snow Maidens, and junior dancers in Act II’s Variations.
The experience of being fitted in Moscow Ballet costumes, rehearsing on the stage with the Russian professionals, and performing for a live audience is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these children spurring some to become professionals themselves. Moscow Ballet producers have included the Dance with Us opportunity in the North American tours since 1994 and have seen the program grow from local dance schools in 8 cities to about 100 host dance schools, with 50 children each, in 2016. See the Great Russian Nutcracker with local student dancers at www.nutcracker.com/buy-tickets.
Act I Dance with Us student dancers:
Party Children: Ciara Salazar, Cecilia Garza, Galia Elizondo, Lorelai Martinez, Adriana Surita, Emily Pena, Myrtha Campos, Odalys Villagran
Act II Dance with Us student dancers:
Snow Sprites: Miranda Avila, Odalys Villagran
Snow Maidens: Lauryn Martinez, Lorelai Martinez, Ciara Salazar, Myrtha Campos Mia Luna, AnnMarie Arceneaux, Alycia Garcia, Alejandrina Pineda
Spanish Variation: Susana Cruz, Annacaren Gutierrez, Emily Pena, Adriana Surita
Chinese Variation: Grecia Campos, Anais Hernandez
Russian Variation: Valeria Alvarado, Miranda Avila, Marianna D’Pool , Ariana Hernandez
French Variation: Cecilia Garza, Galia Elizondo
Royal Dance Center was founded by Laura Marie Romero, dance academy director and choreographer. She has staged events with artists Shakira, Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee and Paula Yunis, to name a few. She was also Guest Judge for America’s Got Talent. Laura Marie has 20 years of experience teaching dance and guiding young artists on numerous stage performances. The studio offers ballet, aerial dance, hip hop, musical theater, zumba and more movement classes.
Dance with Us brings a professional, live ballet performance experience to over 5,000 student dancers in the US and Canada each year since 1994.Local student dancers ages 7 to 17 audition and rehearse with Moscow Ballet Audition directors who travel to each town eight weeks before the performance. The auditions are open to student dancers from all studios.
Julia Zhmutski of Julia’s Dance Academy in Oklahoma City said, “It was such an amazing opportunity for our young dancers to learn and grow and see how a professional company works. We loved the fact that the original Nutcracker was used and the costumes were breathtaking.” Dance with Us Audition Directors travel to 100+ North American cities in September and October auditioning and rehearsing local. Dance with Usis underwritten by Moscow Ballet. Partnerships with local dance studios in performance cities are developed by co-producer Mary Gianonne Talmi who also developed “Dance with Us” program. Click for more.
Moscow Ballet – 2016 is the company’s 24th consecutive year touring North America. In addition to the popular Great Russian Nutcracker, company repertory includes classic ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella and more. The company features award-winning and rising star dancers, from Lilia Sabitova in 1994 to Alisa Voronova in 2014.
The company performs 100+ engagements annually across Canada and in most of the United States’ largest cities consistently receiving critical acclaim. In addition to public performances, Moscow Ballet dedicates resources to community engagement programs. The 23 year Dance with Us program shares the Russian Vaganova ballet training with over 5000 American dance students annually bringing them on stage in ancillary roles to perform side-by-side with the professionals.
Underwritten by Moscow Ballet, the program was developed by choreographer and co-producer Mary Gianonne Talmi. The intensive cultural immersion project “New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life” benefits thousands of school children in tour cities and programs Musical Wunderkind and Summer Intensives also touch the lives of many children and young adults. Moscow Ballet’s partnerships with corporations and not-for-profit organizations such as the President’s Challenge Program and Children’s Hospitals, has raised significant revenue. www.moscowballet.com.
