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Summer '08
Hello to Everyone!
Well it’s been quite a summer for many of our advanced dancers. Last summer, as you may recall, six dancers went to the Kirov Academy of Ballet summer intensive, one to the Harid Academy in Florida, and another to American Ballet Theater. Then Barry Molina ended up with a full scholarship to New York City Ballet for the school year. So this summer, folks auditioned again, and all went in very diverse directions.
Britta Anderson, a junior at Stillwater High, was accepted to the Houston Ballet Intensive, and is reportedly very much enjoying her experience there. Callie Peterson and Krista Swedenburg, both in school at St. Croix Prep, chose to go to the Royal Winnipeg, probably Canada’s finest ballet school and company. Callie was invited for the full year, and has decided to accept, so we'll be saying a farewell to her at the Gala.
Anne Gutierrez was accepted to the Joffrey Ballet Intensive in New York City, and is in their most advanced class there, jaunting to several places a day in Manhattan (how fun) for classes and rehearsals. John Roesler, Grace Johnson, and Allegra Sweeney were all accepted to the Kirov in DC, Grace was there for a full six weeks, John and Allegra for three. Sophia Ogren-Dehn went to Duluth to participate in the Minnesota Ballet summer intensive. She said she saw former SCB dancer Suzie Baer up there, who is now an apprentice with the company.
Monica Grandlienard decided to audition for the Point Park University in Pennsylvania and has been accepted. Barry Molina, after a full scholarship with the Miami City Ballet for the summer, has again received a full scholarship for the coming school year at the New York City Ballet, which is probably the largest company in the United States.
Finally, Olivia and Liam Hovey were invited (Olivia for the second time) to study year-round at the Harid Academy in Florida. So Olivia will be saying farewell to Stillwater for a year to give it a go. She’s very excited, but we’ll miss her.
Liam, on the other hand, already has so much opportunity opening up for him. After working locally with the well-known Anna Marie Holmes (former director of the Boston Ballet) she invited Liam to join her for a two-week festival of dance at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts. There he worked with young professionals from all over the world, and said it was a fabulous experience. Then Liam went to Florida, joining his sister at the Harid Academy until he left a little early to go to New York City Joffrey Ballet for their workshop, where he’s joining Annie Gutierrez. He then will go to Stuttgart, Germany, to work with their program for two years.
Wow! This is really quite remarkable. Several dancers were also invited to study at various schools full-year, which is a nice honor, even if it doesn’t happen ($20,000 to 37,000 a year!). I congratulate hugely every one of these dancers for their hard work through many years. In addition, their parents have supported them year in and year out, getting them to classes and helping with productions to give them much needed performing experience. That’s what it takes: dancers with appropriate bodies for dancing, parents to support them, and good training. Congrats to all!
Thank you’s to Ms. Cheri for the patience of a saint as she has taught hundreds of little ones through the years. Thanks to Ms. Susan for the rich dimension of partnering and setting ballets she has brought to the studio. And thanks to our Russian friends, Grigoriy Ilyevskiy, Kirill and Svieta Bak, and Ukrainians Inna and Neka Tobak for the wonderful contributions they have made to the culture of the studio.
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