Troupes dance away the weekend at
Eisemann Center
12:00 AM CDT on
Tuesday, April
15, 2008
By MARGARET
PUTNAM / Special
Contributor to
The Dallas
Morning News
RICHARDSON – For
three days, the
Eisemann Center
and the
Renaissance
Hotel were abuzz
with master
classes,
lectures and
performances as
some 600 dancers
in 25 companies
descended for
the annual
Regional Dance
America/Southwest
Festival.
The festival
culminated
Sunday night at
the Eisemann
Center with the
gala
performance, and
if I were the
betting type, my
money on who is
most likely to
emerge as a star
would go to
Dallas Ballet
Company's
16-year old
Julia Cinquemani.
As a dancer, she
has everything
one could hope
for: elegant
legs and feet,
subtle presence,
silky control.
Next year:
American Ballet
Theatre.
Of the 12 works,
six stood out.
One was funny,
three somber,
one bordered on
the surreal and,
thankfully, one
was a frolic.
The comedy came
from
BalletForte's
Scherzo.
Dancers lose
their place in
line, someone
gets slapped, a
short man leaps
into the arms of
a tall woman,
and everyone
ends up in a
heap. At the
center of the
mishaps, Jeiron
Wong plays a
"Who me?"
character with
perfect timing,
a Bugs Bunny in
tights.
The moody and
modern cast a
spell in Midland
Festival
Ballet's
Outside of Time,
City Ballet of
Houston's
Elegy and
Ballet Ensemble
of Texas'
Grace Under Fire.
Clean and
expressive
dancing met the
demands of
imaginative
choreography.
A bench, two red
and three black
umbrellas, 15
dancers in white
dress and a
dimly lit stage
created an
ambience of
mystery with a
hint of the
surreal in
Kingwood Dance
Theatre's
Moments of a
Rainy Day.
The conceit
behind Dallas
Ballet Company's
Hommage à la
Russe was to
celebrate
Russia's 200th
birthday, but
the music, dress
and daring
dancing said
otherwise. It
was Hungarian
Gypsy all the
way.
Margaret Putnam
is a
Richardson-based
writer who
covers dance.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone:
972-745-0199
March 28, 2008
COPPELL, TEXAS
– Ballet
Ensemble of Texas to Host
Regional Dance America
Festival
The Ballet Ensemble of Texas
will soon be performing and
also hosting at the Regional
Dance of America Southwest
Festival in Richardson at
the Eisemann Center for the
Performing Arts. The
Coppell-based company will
be performing a premiere by
company Director Lisa Slagle
Nicholson, “Festive
Overture” (pictured here),
as well as works by company
choreographers Darrell
Cleveland and Tammie Reinsch.
There will be 3 nights of
performances at the Eisemann
Center’s Hill Performance
Hall April 11, 12 and 13 at
7:30 each night, and in
addition to the Ballet
Ensemble of Texas will
feature 24 other regional
dance companies from Texas,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, and
Louisiana. The last time
this Regional Festival was
in the Dallas area was in
1973, and is considered to
be one of the dance events
of the year for North
Texas. Tickets for the
performances are $25.00 for
Adults, and $20.00 for
Students and Seniors, and
can be purchased by calling
the Eisemann Center Box
Office at (972) 744-4560 or
by going to
www.eisemanncenter.com
. For more information on
the Festival visit the
website at
www.rdasouthwest2008.org
or call the Ballet Ensemble
of Texas at (972) 745-0199.
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February 6th,
2008
Ballet Academy of Texas Dancer Receives Top Honor at
Youth America Grand Prix -
COPPELL, TEXAS –
Youth America Grand Prix, an
international ballet
competition for students
ages 9 – 19, held their
Semi-Final competition for
the Southwestern area of the
United States last weekend
at the Irving Arts Center.
More than 200 dancers
attended from all over the
United States. Ballet
Academy of Texas student
Brittney Dito, (age 14),
received the Youth Grand
Prix award for receiving the
highest scores in both the
Contemporary and Classical
Dance categories for her age
division. She will compete
at the New York Finals in
April, which brings the top
young dancers from all over
the world to New York for 3
days of competitions and
classes. The Ballet Academy
also performed well in the
Ensembles competition, where
they entered 4 large
Ensemble pieces. All 4
dances placed in the top 12
of Ensembles, with “No
Pressure”, the unique
choreography of Academy
staff member Tammie Reinsch,
receiving a 3rd
place honor.
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'Firebird'
burns
brightly
DANCE
REVIEW:
Young
lead
meets
challenge
of
demanding
role
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10:59 AM CDT on
Monday, April 2,
2007
By MARGARET PUTNAM /
Special Contributor
to The Dallas
Morning News
IRVING – Wonders
never cease. Ballet
Ensemble of Texas
proved that even a
14-year-old can
create magic in the
demanding role of
the Firebird.
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The Ballet
Ensemble of
Texas showed
hard-to-match
skill in
The
Firebird
on
Sunday at
Irving's
Carpenter Hall.
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Sunday afternoon at
Carpenter Hall, this student
company met every challenge
with an aplomb and technical
skill few other youthful
groups could match.
The program opened with
Gerald Arpino's neo-classic
Reflections, a pretty
affair but without much
bite. It featured 10 girls
in tiny pale blue dress and
three men, who in solos,
duets and trios performed
seven variations on a theme.
They offered a textbook
example of precisely
executed bourees, little
beats of the feet, hops on
pointe and balances in
arabesque.
The one compelling variation
came in Variation VI, where
Lee Scoggins began a series
of turns that reversed at a
90-degree angle. On the
other side of the stage,
Jennie Hyland emerged,
walking backward. When she
turned to him, her initial
caution changed to
curiosity, and soon the
couple engaged in a touching
pas de deux.
Reflections was no match for The Firebird, a
Russian fairy tale about a
Firebird with magical
powers. First created by
Mikhail Fokine for Ballets
Russes in Paris in 1910, it
was a sensation then, with a
dynamic score by Igor
Stravinsky. Sunday's version
was that of George Skibine,
the late artistic director
of Dallas Ballet and former
star of Ballets Russes, and
was restaged by Thom Clower.
The Firebird opens with the Prince, Ivan Tsarevich (Paul
Adams, 17) lying asleep in
the forest. Soon he awakes,
and in darts the Firebird
(14-year-old Meredith
McDonald) with big, bold
leaps. Once he captures her,
she frantically tries to
escape, trembling as he
holds her tightly, her body
stretched forward and arms
fluttering. When she manages
to escape his grasp, it is
her exotic beauty that wins
her release.
The mood lifts to a sunny
garden where Princess
Tsarevna the Beautiful
(Emily Dixon, 18) and
maidens in blue and violet
filmy dress flutter like
delicate flowers.
And then violence erupts as
monsters in wings and capes
storm the stage and swarm
over the Prince. Tye Love
makes a truly terrifying
evil magician, but he ends
up slithering and crawling
when the Firebird comes to
rescue the Prince.
The end is simple and
moving, with the Firebird
touching the shoulder of the
newly married Prince. She
lets go and balances on one
leg in arabesque as though
to announce her magical
power.
As the Firebird, Ms.
McDonald captured the
essence of the role's
mysterious nature with a
wonderful mix of large,
flashing jumps and steely
legwork.
Margaret Putnam is a
Richardson-based freelance
writer.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone:
972-745-0199
January 29, 2007
Ballet Academy of Texas receives
Top Honors at Youth America Grand Prix
__________________________________________________
 COPPELL, TEXAS –
Youth America
Grand Prix, an international ballet competition for students
ages 9 – 19, held their Semi-Final competition for the
Southwestern area of the United States last weekend at the
Irving Arts Center. More than 200 dancers attended from as
far away as Hawaii. For the third year in a row, the
Coppell-based Ballet Academy of Texas received the top award of
“Outstanding School”, as well as 1st and 2nd
Place in the Ensembles Competition. Many of the
Individual Competitors also received awards. In the
Pre-Competitive Division for ages 9 – 11, Julia Nicholson,
age 10, received 2nd place. Dancers age 12
and up are divided into 2 categories, Classical (competitors
have to perform something from the Classical Ballet Repertoire),
and Contemporary (original choreography in any form of dance).
In the Junior division, (age 12-14) 14 year-old Coppell
resident Betsy McBride received the top award, the Youth
Grand Prix, for receiving the highest score in both the
Contemporary and Classical divisions. Other winners from
the Ballet Academy of Texas in the Classical Category were
Katie Boren, winner of 1st place, and Brittney
Dito,
winner of 3rd place.
In the Senior Divison (age 15-19), Paul Adams (age 17)
received a 2nd
place award in the Contemporary Category. Other
Ballet Academy dancers who finished in the top 12 of their
divisions and qualified to attend the final competition in New
York in April were Emily Dixon, age 18, Lauren
McBride, 17, Anna Chastain, 16, Laurel Link, 16, and
Meredith McDonald, 14.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: 972-745-0199
October 22, 2006
Ballet Academy Students to dance
in Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular
__________________________________________________
 COPPELL,
TEXAS –
The Ballet
Academy of Texas is pleased to announce that 2 of its students,
Julia Nicholson, age 10 of Coppell, and Brittney Dito, age 12 of
Lewisville, were selected at a recent area-wide audition to
perform in “Radio City’s Christmas Spectacular”. They will
alternate the role of “Clara” in Radio City’s section of the
show devoted to “The Nutcracker”. Requirements for the
role were for the young dancers to be small, but technically
proficient enough to be able to dance en pointe.
Ms. Dito is a
7th grader at Hedrick Middle School in Lewisville,
and the daughter of Twila and Bill Dito. In addition to
her daily dance classes at the Ballet Academy, she is also a
performing member of the Coppell-based Ballet Ensemble of Texas.
Ms. Nicholson is a 5th grader at Austin Elementary in
Coppell, and the daughter of Ballet Academy of Texas directors
Lisa Slagle Nicholson and Thomas Nicholson. In addition to her
daily dance classes at the Academy, she is also a regular cast
member of the “Barney” children’s show in the role of “Laura”.
Performances
of the Christmas Spectacular begin November 10th and
run through December 3rd at the Nokia Theatre in
Grand Prairie. |
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: 972-745-0199
October 10, 2006
Ballet Ensemble of Texas Dancer
awarded Scholarship
__________________________________________________
 COPPELL, TEXAS – Southlake resident Laurel Link,
pictured above, has been awarded the prestigious American Ballet
Theatre National Training Scholarship. Ms. Link, a junior
at Carroll Senior High School, attended American Ballet
Theatre’s New York Summer Intensive program last summer.
After reviewing her talent and potential, the staff awarded her
the scholarship for the second time, which entitles her to
return to New York next summer on a full tuition scholarship, as
well as paying her school of dance studies here in Texas, the
Ballet Academy of Texas, a stipend for her training.
Laurel is a leading dancer with the Ballet Ensemble of Texas
performing company, and will be seen next month in featured
roles in their annual performances of “The Nutcracker” in
Coppell and in Irving.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone:
972-745-0199
October 10, 2006
Ballet Ensemble of Texas Dancer awarded Scholarship
__________________________________________________
 COPPELL,
TEXAS Coppell resident Katie Boren, pictured above, has been
awarded the prestigious American Ballet Theatre National
Training Scholarship. Ms. Boren, a freshman at Faith
Christian School in Colleyville, attended American Ballet
Theatre’s New York Summer Intensive program last summer.
After reviewing her talent and potential, the staff awarded her
the scholarship for the second time, which entitles her to
return to New York next summer on a full tuition scholarship, as
well as paying her local ballet school, the Ballet Academy of
Texas, a stipend for her training. Katie is a leading
dancer with the Ballet Ensemble of Texas performing company, and
will be seen next month in featured roles in their annual
performances of “The Nutcracker” in both Coppell and Irving.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone: 972-745-0199
March 20, 2006
Coppell
Dancers from the Ballet Academy of Texas Receive Multiple
Scholarships
__________________________________________________
COPPELL, TEXAS
–
Congratulations to the
following Ballet Academy of Texas Dancers who have received
Scholarships for
2006 Summer Intensive Study
Paul Adams -
Dance Council's Thom Clower scholarship of $ 500.00. Full
tuition scholarship to Joffrey Midwest workshop
Hannah
Alexander - Full scholarship to Regional Dance
America's Craft of Choreography Workshop
Melanie
Auinbauh - Full tuition scholarship to Houston
Ballet Academy
Katie Boren
- American Ballet Theatre National training
scholarship (full tuition)
Emily
Brideau - Dance Council's Natalie Skelton
scholarship to attend the Glenda Brown Choreography Project
(full scholarship)
Kate
Butterfield - Full tuition scholarship to Beaumont
Civic Ballet summer workshop
Anna
Chastain -
Regional Dance America $ 500.00 scholarship
Diana
Herrera - Full scholarship to Craft Choreography
workshop - apprentice contract to Sierra Nevada Ballet
Laurel Link
- American Ballet Theatre National training
scholarship (full tuition)
Tye Love -
Full tuition scholarship to Joffrey Midwest workshop
Lauren
McBride -
Full scholarship to Craft of Choreography workshop - full
scholarship to Sierra Nevada Ballet workshop
Betsy
McBride
- 1/2 tuition scholarship to American Ballet Theatre
summer intensive, N.Y.
Meredith
McDonald - Dance Council's Nadyne Legere Memorial
Ballet scholarship of $ 500.00
Lindsey Yoes
- Glenda Brown Choreography project of $ 500.00
The Ballet Ensemble of Texas
participated last weekend in the Southwest Regional Dance
America festival in Houston. In addition to performing in
2 shows, the dancers were evaluated for merit-based scholarships
to national Summer Workshops, Colleges, and Dance Companies.
Several of the Ensemble dancers, all residents of Coppell, were
awarded scholarships. Melanie Auinbauh, age 16, received a
full-tuition scholarship to attend the Houston Ballet School’s
Summer Intensive. Kate Butterfield, age 15, received a
full scholarship to the Beaumont Civic Ballet Summer Workshop.
Anna Chastain, age 15, received a $500.00 scholarship from the
Regional Dance America organization to attend the
Kaatsbaan Summer Intensive in New York. Hannah
Alexander (15), Lauren McBride (16) and Diana Herrera (18)
received full scholarships to attend the Craft of Choreography
Conference in Utah in July. Lindsey Yoes received a
$500.00 scholarship to attend the Glenda Brown Choreography
Project in Kansas City in July. In addition, Ms.
McBride received a full scholarship to attend the Sierra Nevada
Ballet Workshop in Nevada. Ms. Herrera, pictured here as
the lead dancer in “Paquita”, received an Apprentice Contract to
perform with Sierra Nevada Ballet for the summer. All of
the Ballet Ensemble of Texas dancers will be performing April 1st
and 2nd at the Irving Arts Center, where they will
present, in addition to “Paquita”, 2 Southwest Premieres, in a
program of dance suitable for the entire family. Their
performances last year were included in the Top 10 Dance Events
for 2005. For more information, call (972) 745-0199 or
visit their website at
www.balletensembleoftexas.org
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Dance review: Guest artists at
'Gathering' mesmerize at Eisemann Center
07:38 AM CST on Monday, February
13, 2006
By MARGARET PUTNAM / Special
Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
RICHARDSON – Chamberlain
Ballet's "Dances at a Gathering" flew in all directions
Saturday night at the Eisemann Center, propelled by giddy
skits one moment and soaring into the stratosphere the next.
If there were a few dull moments, guest artists Wendy Whelan
and Philip Neal from New York City Ballet more than made up
for them. They established the standard of excellence twice,
in Balanchine's neoclassic Diamonds and Albert Evans'
riveting In a Landscape. Landscape was a
special bonus, performed for only the second time at the
Eisemann after its New York City Ballet debut last fall.
Except for Dallas Black Dance
Theatre II's short, smart trio to Indian music, student
groups filled out the rest of the show. Chamberlain Ballet
and Ballet Ensemble of Texas more than held their own. Only
Chamberlain Musical Theatre Company showed the rawness of
youth, but more because of the choreography than the
execution. Trouble in Paradise
plodded except for a very funny Jake Nelson proclaiming
not a bit of jealousy over his wayward girlfriend.
Daydreaming in Dallas , Mr. Neal's take on football,
cheerleaders and a girl's dreams of becoming a ballerina,
was a high-spirited mess.
Chamberlain Ballet offered a
Balanchine-inspired Concerto #8, choreographed by
Carter Alexander and set to the music of Arcangelo Corelli.
While it showed off to advantage the company's crisp
footwork and silky arms in ever changing formations, it was
otherwise dry and overlong. No such problem with Ballet
Ensemble's
Slavonic Dances, restaged only last year for the
company by Fernando Bujones before his untimely death last
fall. Clad in red and gold, dashing men leapt, women swirled
and both slapped hands to face smartly in this jaunty and
idealized balletic version of folk dance.
Brilliance does not require
flash, as the two pas de deux made evident. Diamonds
shimmered and spun like the facets of a jewel caught in the
sun. Both elegant and grave, the dance brings the two apart
and together again and again, with Ms. Whelan bourréeing
away, only for Mr. Neal to pull her back. Maybe it was
Tchaikovsky's emotionally drenched music with its Swan
Lake mistiness that offered the undertone of longing and
defeat, of resistance and surrender, but whatever the
inspiration, it worked.
In a Landscape
planted the ballet firmly in the present, with John Cage's
minimalist but moody music and dancers bathed in somber dark
light. The movement was both angular and smooth,
capitalizing on Ms. Whelan's sinewy limbs and air of
detachment. Impeccably partnered by Mr. Neal, she stretched
out long legs and arms only for Mr. Neal to fold them in
like an accordion in 90- and 180-degree angles. The effect
was strange and mesmerizing, as though Ms. Whelan became a
mechanical object under his spell at one moment and a very
awake lover the next.
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Contact:
Lisa Slagle Nicholson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phone:
972-745-0199
February 6th, 2006
Ballet Academy of Texas
receives Top Honors at Youth America Grand Prix
__________________________________________________
COPPELL, TEXAS
–
Youth America Grand Prix, an international
ballet competition for students ages 9 – 19, held their Semi-Final
competition for the Southwestern area of the United States last weekend
at the Irving Arts Center. More than 200 dancers attended from as
far away as California. For the second year in a row, the
Coppell-based Ballet Academy of Texas received the top award of “Outstanding
School”, as well as the “Best Teacher(s) Award” for
its directors Lisa and Thomas Nicholson, and 2nd Place
in the Ensembles Competition. Many of the Individual Competitors
also received awards. In the Pre-Competitive Division for ages 9 –
11, first-time competitor Julia Nicholson, age 9, received 2nd
place. Dancers age 12 and up are divided into 2 categories,
Classical (competitors have to perform something from the Classical
Ballet Repertoire), and Contemporary (original choreography in any form
of dance). In the Junior division, (age 12-14) the Ballet
Academy of Texas dancers received several awards: For Classical
Category, 13 year old Betsy McBride received 1st place and
13-year old Katie Boren received 2nd place. In the
Contemporary Category, Betsy McBride and Katie Boren tied for 2nd
place. In the Senior Divison (age 15-19), Paul Adams (age 16)
received a 2nd
place award in the Classical Category, and Susan Nudo received a 2nd
place award in Contemporary. Many other Ballet Academy dancers
finished in the top 12 of their divisions and qualified to attend the
final competition, a prestigious international event bringing young
dancers from all over the world, to New York City in April. With
the exception of Mr. Adams, all of the above-named dancers, as well as
the directors, are residents of Coppell. |
