Tag Archives: Ballet Arkansas

Ballet Arkansas Master Class

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Internationally known dancer/teacher/choreographer Tong Wang will teach an open master class for intermediate and advanced dancers this Thursday. The class begins at 6 pm and will conclude at 8 pm. This will be the first class in a series of Master Classes to be taught by Ballet Arkansas’ guest choreographers and guest dancers throughout the 2012-2013 Season. Mr. Wang is choreographing a new work for Ballet Arkansas’ fall concert, American Images</em, which premieres at Wildwood Park for the Arts October 12-14.

Where: Ballet Arkansas Studio at Shuffles & Ballet II
1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock

When: This Thursday, August 30th
6:00-8:00, please arrive early to register

Class Fee – $25
Observer Fee – $15

Both participants and observer numbers are limited, so advance reservations are required. Female dancers should bring pointe shoes.

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Tong Wang is assistant professor at the University of California at Irvine Department of Dance. For the last twenty years, he has enjoyed a successful international dance career as a principal dancer. After graduating from Beijing Dance Academy in 1986, he danced with Shanghai Ballet, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Dayton Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and most recently, Ballet West in Salt Lake City. He has performed almost every leading male role in the classical ballet repertoire and also danced a full range of ballets created by world-renowned choreographers such as George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, Paul Taylor, Glen Tetley, Birgit Culberg, Choo-san Goh, William Forsythe, Ben Stevenson, and Hans Van Manen. While dancing professionally, he completed his B.F.A and M.F.A degrees with the University of Utah Ballet Department and also worked as a guest faculty member.

In addition, he has enjoyed a choreographic relationship with Ballet West, the University of Utah Ballet Department, Wright State University, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, DanceOhio, and Ballet West Conservatory. Mr. Wang has served as Assistant Professor of Dance at Wright State University and at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Ballet Arkansas honors Kolb, announces 2012-13 season

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Earlier this month, Ballet Arkansas hosted its annual spring soiree.  At the evening, Joseph F. Kolb was presented with the “Above the Barre” award.  Kolb was recognized for his past leadership on the Ballet Arkansas board.  In the early 2000s, Kolb served as the producer of the annual Ballet Arkansas production of The Nutcracker when there was no staff available to do so.

Joe and Cindy Kolb

Kolb has also been an active board member of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre and Historic Arkansas Museum. He and his wife Cindy have two daughters. The oldest one is taking dance classes, so he now his most important connection is a ballet dad instead of being a ballet board member.

Also at the soiree, Ballet Arkansas announced its 2012-2013 season and featured dancers presenting preview moments.   The season will kick off with American Images on October 12 – 14, 2012. The dancers will interpret iconic pieces of art in dance. The performances will take place at Wildwood Park for the Arts in conjunction with Wildwood’s Harvest Fest.

Next up will be the annual production of The Nutcracker from December 7 – 9, 2012 at Robinson Center Music Hall.  This holiday tradition will featured not only Company members and Ballet Arkansas II but also dozens upon dozens of local dance students.

Ballet Arkansas spring into Spring at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. From April 5 – 7, 2013, it will present Spring into Motion which will feature a variety of dances.

Throughout the season, the Company tour beyondCATEGORY throughout the state. In conjunction with this tour, the Company will also offer workshops.

Lauren Quick Strother is the Executive Director of Ballet Arkansas.  The guest artist and artistic advisor is Michael Bearden, courtesy of BalletWest.  Guy Couch is the Tour Director. The 2012-2013 Company includes: Leslie Dodge, Lauren McCarty Horak, Toby Lewellen, Anna Maris, Sean Porter, Laurel Dix, Paul Tillman, Katchiri Feys Tillman and Amanda Sewell.

Happy 100 to WR

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One hundred years ago today, Winthrop Rockefeller was born in New York.  After moving to Arkansas in the early 1950s, he would establish himself as a positive force for the development of the state.

Perhaps his most obvious impact was helping to transform the provincial Little Rock Museum of Fine Arts into the first rate Arkansas Arts Center.  He and his family were generous donors of money and art to this effort.

Through the effort of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, many cultural institutions have received funds for programming which has reached into every county and every corner of this state.  For instance, one of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s string quartets is the Rockefeller Quartet.

Mr. Rockefeller at the groundbreaking for the Arkansas Arts Center

It is hard to quantify what impact his efforts had on cultural institutions which did not even exist in his lifetime.  Without the elevation of the arts and the understanding of their impact, it is doubtful that endeavors such as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Opera Theatre (now Wildwood Park for the Arts) and Ballet Arkansas would have had success with donors in their nascent days.

In 2012, a year-long Celebration is planned to highlight the legacy of Winthrop Rockefeller in the state 40 years after he left office as the state’s 37th governor.  His leadership in political, economic, and cultural arenas as well as in his philanthropic endeavors had a significant impact on the development of Arkansas. This celebration is intended to promote an understanding of these accomplishments to an audience that may know little of his deeds as an historical figure or his contributions to the evolution of the state.

Over the next year, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Winrock International, the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the Central Arkansas Library System, and the Arkansas Arts Center will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Winthrop Rockefeller’s birth by reaching out from Petit Jean Mountain, the home he created in his adopted state, to the rest of Arkansas and the United States.

This Centennial Celebration will offer a variety of programs that will honor his legacy, bringing it alive to a new generation. These programs will convene some of the nation’s leading thinkers and innovators to explore his contributions and take a contemporary look at the issues about which he cared so deeply. Alongside celebratory events, the Celebration will include an assortment of academic conferences, public forums, art exhibits, and educational programs.

LEAP DAY – Preview of Ballet Arkansas’ “Beyond Category”

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Since it LEAP DAY it seems appropriate to preview Ballet Arkansas‘ upcoming program Beyond Category.

On March 9, 10 and 11, Ballet Arkansas will explore various musical genres, which, when combined with various dance genres, make for an exciting and very eclectic concert program. The show transitions from classical ballet pieces performed to Tchaikovsky and Granados, to an act devoted to the great musical genres of jazz and blues, then finishes with a contemporary ballet to classic rock. With choreography by Michelle Jarvis, Bud Kerwin, Keisha Ilama-White and Arkansas native Leslie Schickel – this concert promises to be just what the title suggests – beyond category.

Performances are

  • March 9, 2012 – 8:00pm – Opening night and reception
  • March 10, 2012 – 8:00pm
  • March 11, 2012 – 2:00pm

Performances will be at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road.

To order tickets, click here.

 

Wildwood’s LANTERNS continues tonight

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LANTERNS!, Arkansas’ only deep-winter outdoor festival, illuminates Little Rock for a fourth year of family fun and glowing entertainment. Admission includes live entertainment, family activities and a cultural experience like no other in Central Arkansas!  The event concludes tonight from 6pm to 10pm.

LANTERNS! celebrates the first full moon of the lunar year with a variety of indoor and outdoor entertainment. Visitors will take a mystical stroll along paved pathways lit by fire pits and luminaries into Wildwood’s winter woodlands to visit eight cultures around the globe.

From Asia to the Moon, LANTERNS!, is a magical evening designed to delight children and adults alike. This year’s vistas include:

  • China: the Lunar New Year celebrations in this country are the inspiration for the entire festival!
  • Paris: featuring FREE performances of dance (with Ballet Arkansas!), french art song and more on stage in the Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre, as well as dessert crepes and champagne for purchase in the lobbies
  • Rio de Janeiro: featuring delicious edibles for purchase from Cafe Bossa Nova, live Bossa Nova music and dancing!
  • India: featuring tasty delights for purchase from Star of India Restaurant and fabulous mango smoothies from Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
  • Shakespeare’s England: featuring fabulous performances by the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival and food for purchase, including Lear’s (Turkey) Legs!
  • Venice: featuring wishing lanterns and splendid desserts for purchase!
  • American Baseball: featuring giveaways from the Arkansas Travelers, baseball games on the radio and hot dogs for purchase from Little Rock favorite Hot Dog Mike!
  • and even The Moon!

General Admission:
$10.00 for adults
$5.00 for children ages 6 to 12
FREE for children ages 5 and under

Member Pricing:
$5.00 for adults
FREE for children 12 and under
Find out More about Membership!

Holiday Music with the ASO

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For many Arkansans, the Christmas season is marked by attendance at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra December pops concert.  This year, it is entitled simply “Happy Holidays” and the music is programmed to ensure that audience members leave happy and full of the holiday spirit.

Music Director Philip Mann will take the podium and lead the musicians of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Christmas and Hanukkah music both old and new.

Among the selections are: Tyzik: “The Skater’s Overture,” Styne: “Let It Snow,” Anderson: “Sleigh Ride,” Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons: Winter” (featuring violin solo work by co-concertmaster Kiril Laskarov), Gabrieli: “Canzon Noni Toni,” Richman: “Holiday Cheer!” Biegel: Hanukkah Fantasy,” Tchaikovsky: Selections from The Nutcracker,” Bob Hupp narrating “The Night Before Christmas,” Rimsky-Korsakov: “Snow Maiden Suite: Dance of the Clowns” Tyzik: Ave Maria,” “The Wonderful World of Christmas/Silver Bells” and Finnegin: “Christmas Singalong.”

In addition to Hupp, special guests include performances by the O’Donovan School of Irish Dance, Ballet Arkansas, Episcopal Collegiate School Steel Drum Band, baritone Darren Drone, Winter Pops Chorus, and Cathedral School Choristers.  And of course, St. Nicolas himself, that jolly old elf Santa Claus will be on hand.

The concert is sponsored by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  Performances began last night and continue tonight at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm.  At 2pm on Sunday, a children’s fair with arts and crafts will take place.  Also on Sunday, because of the sponsorship of Entergy Arkansas, children from Kindergarten through 12th grade are admitted for free with a paying adult.

March of the Nutcracker

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Ballet Arkansas continues the tradition of presenting The Nutcracker this weekend at Robinson Center Music Hall.

The title role is being essayed by Ballet Arkansas company trainee Jake Catlett while Michael Bearden, Ballet Arkansas’ artistic adviser, is a guest artist and dances the role of the Cavalier.  Alternating in the role of Clara are Lauren Frances Wood and Kathryn Latham.  Other roles are being danced by Leslie Dodge (Sugar Plum Fairy), Lauren McCarty Horak (Snow Queen),Toby Lewellen (Snow King),  Anna Maris (Frau Von Stahlbuam and Dew Drop Fairy), Sean Porter (Rat King), Stephen Stone (Drosselmeyer), Allison Wilson (Rat Queen) and Perry Young (Herr Von Stahlbaum, Mother Ginger).

The choreography for this production was created by a Jana Beard, Sydney Ippolito, Marius Petipa, Traci Presley, and Allison Wilson.  Geoffrey Robson, associate conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, will conduct musicians from the ASO in performing Tchaikovsky’s ballet score.  Tickets are available from the Arkansas Symphony box office at 666-1761 or http://www.arkansassymphony.org.