The Rockbridge Ballet Presents a 25th Anniversary Alumnae Concert
|
|
When Jessica Pyatt Martin, Artistic Director of the Rockbridge Ballet, began to plan the Ballet’s 25th anniversary concert, she wanted to represent its past, present and future. Crossing her fingers, she shot an email invitation to dancers from previous years, encouraging them to participate. Within days her inbox was full of responses from graduates offering to return to choreograph, train and perform with the 30 resident dancers. She chose Kelley Ann Walsh Camden, Kitty Dean, Elizabeth Reynolds, Katen Reynolds, Sarah Ross, Ashleigh Smith and Shaleen Wallace, all currently pursuing careers in the arts. They wanted, they said, to revisit old colleagues and to express their gratitude.
“This has been an amazing experience for both our current dancers and our alumnae,” said Martin. “These women want to give back to the organization that helped springboard them into a dance profession. Their success in the world of dance is an inspiration to our current dancers. But it is their sincere affection for the current corps and appreciation of what the Rockbridge Ballet does that has energized this performance beyond all expectations.” As visiting artist Sarah Ross, professional dancer, choreographer and dance teacher expressed in the concert program bio, “Thank you to Jessica and Sherri…; I would not be where I am today without you. “
For twenty-five years, the mission of the non-profit Rockbridge Ballet has been to take aspiring dancers from any local dance school and offer them an opportunity to perform in six concerts at the pre-professional level. “We have never kept official records, but a rough count indicates that about 25% of our graduates go on to a career in dance,” said guest artist Elizabeth Reynolds, a previous member then resident choreographer for the Ballet who now dances and teaches professionally in Philadelphia.
The visiting artists have choreographed original pieces for the concert. “The Rockbridge Ballet is known for its original and imaginative choreography,” Ms. Martin said, “but this concert takes diversity and imagination to the max.” Pieces range from the classical (an excerpt from the classical ballet Don Quixote and an original ballet piece danced to the music of Pachelbel and Vivaldi) to the playful (an upbeat modern number danced to pop music). One of the most eclectic is by Kitty Dean. The movement is inspired by the music, the environment, and the people of West Africa, but the choreography is classically founded and danced in pointe shoes. Entitled Akwaaba, which means “welcome” in Fante, the piece celebrates the beauty of the unconditional welcoming Dean experienced while studying in Ghana.
In addition to the choreography of the visiting artists, Sherri Lamont, the Ballet’s founder and director of 24 years, the current director, Jessica Pyatt Martin, and Meagan Herald are also choreographing and staging pieces for the concert. Their joint participation underscores the concert’s celebration of past and present and the continuity of a focus on excellence for which Lamont was known.
Most of the visiting dancers will also perform as well as choreograph. Four (Sarah Ross and Shaleen Wallace; Elizabeth Reynolds and Katen Reynolds) will dance in two duets; and six will dance in the grand finale with the resident corps.
The finale brings not only the past and present to the stage but also a hint of the future. “Guest pianist Gail Bailey,” Ms Martin said, “will introduce my commitment to live music.” Martin intends to increasingly include local musicians in the Ballet’s upcoming concerts and to foster mutual support between the two genres. “Dance and music are utterly linked. With so much musical talent in our region, it is logical to aim for a union of the two. I believe audiences will love it, and so will the dancers.
“The Alumnae Reuion Concert offers,” she continued, “an opportunity to bring people together, bridge generations, and to celebrate 25 years of achievement.”
The Rockbridge Ballet Alumnae Reuion Concert
Saturday, March 27, 3:00 & 7:30
Sunday, March 28, 3:00
The Lenfest Center for the Performing Arts
Tickets: $10 adults/$5 students/$12 at the door
Available at Sunday’s Child or Books & Co.
or online at www.rockbridgeballet.org
For more information, go to www.rockbridgeballet.org
|  | Elizabeth Reynolds
|
|  | Sarah Ross
|
|  | Ashleigh Smith
|
|
|
