CBA on the 5 o’clock news!
July 8, 2011
Click the image to check out a video of Co-Director Emily Mott on the CBS 19 News promoting summer dance camps at Charlottesville Ballet Academy!
The interview helps promote the City of Charlottesville’s “Staycation” initiative, which encourages families to stay local, save gas, and discover the amazing possibilities for summer fun right here in the Charlottesville area. For more information about this initiative, visit www.MyBackyardVacation.org.
Link to Newsplex interview: http://www.newsplex.com/video?clipID=6029640&autoStart=true&contentID=125184429
Charlottesville Ballet is pleased to announce the opening of Charlottesville Ballet Academy, the official training school for the professional company! The Academy will provide world-class dance education for students ages 3 through adult beginning in July 2011.
The location of the new studio is in Greene County, VA off of Route 33 in Stanardsville in the former home of a beautiful dance school called The Dance Barn. Kelly Silliman, the owner of The Dance Barn, played an integral role in Charlottesville Ballet since the company’s inception by graciously donating The Dance Barn space to the professional company for the past three seasons. Now at Smith College pursuing her masters degree in Dance, Ms. Silliman is thrilled to see Charlottesville Ballet flourish and continue her vision of promoting dance education in the Greene County area. We are so thankful to her for making this transition possible and we look forward to working with her students at the new Charlottesville Ballet Academy.
We’ve been hard at work the past few weeks doing some light renovations at the studio– check out our photo gallery of before and after images as we create the new CBA!
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Charlottesville Ballet Academy’s summer classes and summer dance camps begin July 5th, 2011. For more information about CBA and the Summer 2011 dance offerings, visit www.charlottesvilleballet.org/education or call us on the studio line: 434.985.3200.
We would like to sincerely thank all of our patrons and donors who have made this new venture possible. We look forward to dancing with you soon!
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“But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.” -Vincent Van Gogh
I dance because it is a way to communicate without words.
I dance because it’s exercising without feeling like I’m exercising.
I dance because it crosses over all barriers and reaches out to people in a powerful way.
I dance because I like to get down with people.
I’m currently returning for graduate school at Hollins University for my MFA in choreography. I teach exclusively at Swift Creek Academy of the Performing Arts located in Midlothian, Virginia. I’m also training for a triathlon sprint that will be dedicated to my husband while he’s overseas.
I love to play the fiddle and I’m trying to read the entire Bible this year.
Come see Charlottesville Ballet’s Mainstage Two Performance on April 16th! It will be the world premiere of my new work “A Letter To My Love” based on women during World War II.
Also, check out my website www.RaineyLacey.com for more choreography and information on upcoming projects.
Our Monthly “Meet the Artist” Series- KIRSTEN GLASER
March 10, 2011
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“What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” -Aristotle
I currently work at the McDonalds in Ruckersville as a crew trainer (the new store has bamboo flooring and recycled counter tops– come visit!) I hope to someday return to school to get my degree in Psychology.
Some of my other passions include writing and baking. When I have free time I like to create stories and poetry. Someday I hope I will be able to come up with a best selling novel, but for now I will continue to do it for fun. As far as baking goes, whether its brownies, cookies, or cakes, I like to invent my own flavors and make something delicious that I can share with my friends and family.
The company is now rehearsing works for the Mainstage Two Performance and I’m really excited to see how the new pieces unfold. Come see the company perform on April 16th at 7:30pm!
Our Monthly “Meet the Artist” Series- VERONICA HART
February 7, 2011
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“If you’re on a path that’s beaten, it’s not your path.”
My family has a ballet school in Crozet, Albemarle Ballet Theatre, where I wear many hats. I teach ballet and jazz, I choreograph, run rehearsals, and do bookkeeping and scheduling. It’s the perfect job for me…I love to teach and choreograph, and I love multitasking. I would love to open a contemporary dance company with my sister one day. I love doing freelance work as a dancer…this summer I’ll be performing in Ashlawn Opera’s “The King & I” . I have been working as a chef for the past 6 years. I work for an amazing backstage catering company in the summer and get to cook for rock stars…it’s my “other” life! I also work as a captain for a really great local catering company, Harvest Moon, and I moonlight as a bartender at South St. Brewery.
I love to cook…the kitchen is like my lab, it’s where I get to experiment. I love music…listening to, watching, and playing it. I am a concert addict…I can’t get enough live music. I played classical piano for 11 years, and though I’m terribly out of practice, I love getting to sit down with Beethoven or Mozart. I love to surf, I miss living on the coast! Travel…I have a huge thirst to see the world and experience everyday life as locals do in other cultures…particularly Southeast Asia and Italy and Greece. I also make jewelry, I’m really into feathers and primary colors right now. I enjoy everything about the English language…I love words and etymology. I love my job as a dance teacher. I feel like I get to make a difference in the future generation of dancers.
I’m so blessed to get to do what I love, and it has been such a pleasure dancing for Charlottesville Ballet this season. I love the repertoire. I’ve also grown so much technically and as an artist, and I’ve made some really great friends. It’s such a healthy, nurturing, and open environment to work in, and I feel equally challenged and completely at home here.
“Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”
PCA Member Blog: Charlottesville Ballet
January 23, 2011
C’ville Ballet was recently highlighted on the Piedmont Council for the Arts (PCA) blog. Check out our new member profile:
http://charlottesvillearts.org/blog/pca-member-profile-charlottesville-ballet/
For information about all the awesome things PCA is up to, visit their website at www.charlottesvillearts.org
Our Monthly “Meet the Artist” Series- CO-DIRECTOR EMILY MOTT
January 6, 2011
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“Life forms illogical patterns. It is haphazard and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return?”
-Margot Fonteyn
When I was growing up, I was always divided between academics and ballet (I was a “Governerd” and went to a Governor’s School for Math, Science, and Technology). As I approached high school, however, I knew that the window of opportunity for a dance career was extremely small. When I was in 11th grade, the ballet studio in my hometown shut down and I was left with nowhere to dance. At that moment it seemed like the most tragic misfortune, but it actually propelled me forward and I chose to move away from home to pursue ballet more seriously. I attended Virginia School of the Arts (VSA) my senior year of high school, which helped set me on a path to a professional ballet company.
After graduating, I danced as a trainee with the Richmond Ballet until 2006, but I got injured with a horrible stress fracture and could not walk (much less dance!) for five months. This sort of derailed my dancing (both emotionally and physically), but it was a great time for reflection and helped me rethink my ideals and what I wanted out of the dance world.
I had met Sara Jansen (the other Co-Director) at Richmond Ballet and worked with Ariadne Conner (our co-founder and Choreographer in Residence). Our relationship continued through several summer dance projects and I was delighted when they discussed the idea of starting a ballet company. I knew that I would be attending the University of Virginia in 2007 (my grand return to the academic life!) and I kept reinforcing that Charlottesville was the PERFECT home for the new company. Charlottesville Ballet was created in 2007 and I was one of the founding members of the organization. Since then, I’ve taken on leadership roles as a Co-Director and have created ballets for the company, but I still perform and love being on stage!
All of his pieces are so musical and I love his blend of ballet and modern styles.
Here’s a clip from Nacho Duato’s Remanso– so simple, yet so brilliant!
I also love Red Angels by the late Ulysses Dove. The ballet is set to the music of one electric violin, played by Mary Rowell of Ethel String Quartet (one of my favorite groups). Check this link to watch a segment from of New York City Ballet performing his piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7W8jwsYz6A
I fell in love with this art form at a young age and it has really shaped who I am as a person. I didn’t necessarily want to be a ballerina my whole life– at many points I was going to be a doctor or a teacher– but I’ve always come back to dance as my one true “passion”. I love the physicality of the movement and using every bone, muscle, tendon, ligament in my body. I feel like dancing is the most natural way for me to express what I’m feeling. I love hearing music and interpreting it, almost “becoming the music.” I also love the challenge and the discipline of ballet as an art form.
You know those stupid inspirational quotes that say “life is too short” or “live your passion”– every time I read one of those I feel like it’s a pat on the back for all of my work with Charlottesville Ballet. The famous Harvey Mackay quote also speaks to me: “Find something you love to do and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
Haha- too many to name! In addition to being the Co-Director of Charlottesville Ballet, I am also a full time student at the University of Virginia, where I am pursuing an interdisciplinary degree in Non-Profit Management and Arts Administration. I also teach ballet at The Dance Barn studio in Stanardsville, VA, where I get to share the joy of dance with young students every week!
Unlike most directors of ballet companies, both Sara Jansen and I are still dancing and actively performing in addition to running the business side of C-ville Ballet, so we’re always balancing the administrative tasks of running a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the tasks of being a “ballerina.” I also choreograph for the company and direct our Children’s Ballet Series productions. Last year I created a 45-minute, interactive ballet called A Fairy Tale Gathering, which premiered to sold-out houses in Charlottesville. We took the ballet on tour to Lynchburg, VA in October and the company will be performing it again this February in C-ville.
All of these various roles are sometimes a lot to handle (most people chose one or two at a time!)– being a full-time student, running a nonprofit organization, creating children’s ballets, teaching at a studio, and performing with the professional company– but I absolutely love what I do and cannot believe what progress Charlottesville Ballet has made over the past two seasons!
I play the violin (less than I’d like to these days) and I love cooking and entertaining. I also love sewing and making ballet costumes– my mother and I create many of the costumes for C-ville Ballet. I enjoy writing (both creative and administrative) and have sometimes been accused of being a “grammar Nazi.” I recently learned how to do HTML coding (I’m the Charlottesville Ballet webmaster), which totally appeals to my left-brain, engineering side.
[PS- if you ever see typos or errors on the website, please shoot me an e-mail: emott@charlottesvilleballet.org !]
I hope that our “Meet the Artist” blogs are enjoyable and help you get to know the beautiful dancers of Charlottesville Ballet! The company’s next performances are Saturday 2/12 and Sunday 2/13– come see A Fairy Tale Gathering and the Mainstage One Performance!!
Our Monthly “Meet the Artist” Series- SARAH OBUZOR
December 7, 2010
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I work at Red Robin (YUMM) in Fashion Square Mall. I also teach ballet classes at Albemarle Ballet Theatre. Other than that, I like to try and stay active– especially over summers when I am home with my family… I love white water rafting and biking. In the winter I bake, mostly cookies.
Baking. It started with Christmas cookies, but this past summer I got the chance to make two wedding cakes and I enjoyed it so much!
“Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!” -Christian D. Larson
Come see The Nutcracker Suiteon Saturday, December 18th at 3:30pm– I’ll be performing as a Russian Ribbon Dancer!!! (More info at www.CharlottesvilleBallet.org)
Our Monthly “Meet the Artist” Series- HEATHER LIVELY
November 1, 2010
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I am a full-time student at Piedmont Virginia Community College and plan to transfer later to pursue my teaching degree (I’d like to become an elementary school teacher). I’m a bit of a work-a-holic and hold a couple of different jobs outside of dancing. I am a jazz and creative dance teacher at The Dance Barn in Stanardsville, VA. I also teach jazz classes at the Boars Head Inn in the fitness center, where I also work a floor position (I fold towels and clean some of the machines). As if that weren’t enough, I’m a waitress at an Italian restaurant called Ragazzi’s….I also sleep occasionally =)
I really enjoy choreographing. I’m working on some choreography for the dance program at PVCC, and hopefully will get to show my work on Charlottesville Ballet one day. Through out high school, I really enjoyed acting and if I had anymore time I would like to get into it again. I also enjoy singing at the top of my lungs in the privacy of my car!
I can’t wait to see what Charlottesville Ballet has in store for us this year!
Lynchburg News & Advance article about “A Fairy Tale Gathering”
October 14, 2010
Check out the newspaper article about our Children’s Ballet Series ON TOUR! in Lynchburg, VA.
The article was published on October 12, 2010 and written by the lovely Casey Gillis. Enjoy!
http://www2.newsadvance.com/lifestyles/2010/oct/12/tea-party-tutus-ar-559036/
