Tag Archives: Melody Mennite

Ballet Arkansas MOMENTUM this weekend

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Photo by Lily Darragh featuring Ballet Arkansas artist Amanda Sewell and Toby Lewellen

Photo by Lily Darragh featuring Ballet Arkansas artist Amanda Sewell and Toby Lewellen

With the hiring of Artistic Director Michael Bearden, a growing company of professional dancers, and plans to move studio space to Main Street, “momentum” is definitely a word to describe the activities of Ballet Arkansas these days.  Therefore it is fitting that the professional dancers of Ballet Arkansas will grace the stage of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre with a new concert, Momentum, April 25-27.

Ballet Arkansas’ Momentum will be a celebration of the beauty of ballet with Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, a brand new work to the music of Bolero by Pacific Northwest Ballet Soloist Kiyon Gaines, and new works by Shayla Bott, Houston Ballet’s Melody Mennite and Ballet Arkansas Artistic Director, Michael Bearden.

“From the classic beauty of Arpino’s Birthday Variations to the raw, dynamic energy of Gaines Bolero, this program has something for everyone,” said Bearden. “It is a testament to Ballet Arkansas’ momentum and to the city’s blossoming arts community on Main Street.”

This production will be the second collaboration between Ballet Arkansas and The Arkansas Repertory Theatre. “The partnership between the ballet and The Rep has proven to be an invaluable asset to our growing company,” said Lauren Strother, Ballet Arkansas’ Executive Director. “With our new home right across the street from The Rep we look forward to many more opportunities to bring new and innovative experiences through collaboration with our neighboring arts groups in The Rep and Symphony.”

Tickets for Momentum are available through The Rep box office at (501) 378-0405 or online at http://www.balletarkansas.org. Tickets are $35 for Orchestra and First Mezzanine seating and $30 for Second Mezzanine seating. Momentum will open Friday, April 25, 2014 with an evening performance starting at 7:30 p.m. followed by a champagne reception in The Rep lobby.

Other show times include an evening performance on Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m.

Ballet Arkansas programming is made possible through the support of season sponsors Parker Audi, Footlights Dancer Store and the Arkansas Arts Council a department of Arkansas Heritage.

Ballet Arkansas offers Master Class with Melody Mennite this Saturday

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MelodyHerrera_photo by Pam FrancisOpen Intermediate/Advanced Ballet Master Class with
Houston Ballet Principal
MELODY MENNITE

When: THIS SATURDAY
January 4, 2014
10:00am – noon

Where: Shuffles Studios – 1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock

Class Fee – $25
Observer Fee – $15

Both participant and observer numbers are limited; advance reservations are required.
(Participants need to be at least 12 years of age.)

Email info@balletarkansas.org to reserve your spot.

MELODY MENNITE

A native of Santa Cruz, California, Melody Mennite trained at Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre under Robert Kelley and Diane McLarty and at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She also attended summer intensive programs with Suzanne Farrell. At the age of 13, Ms. Mennite began her training with Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy and also attended three consecutive summer intensive programs with the academy. In the 2000-2001 season, she spent one year in Houston Ballet II on full scholarship and stipend. Ms. Mennite also won a scholarship award from Regional Dance America in 2000. She was invited to tour with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre through Tansonmer, Austria. Prior to joining Houston Ballet, she performed numerous leading roles with Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre: the Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen in The Nutcracker; Kitri in Don Quixote and Odette in Swan Lake. She has performed a number of featured roles with Houston Ballet including: Olga and Tatiana in John Cranko’s Onegin, Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Neopolitan Princess in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake, the Spring Fairy in Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella, Swanilda and Dawn in Coppelia, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Cio-Cio San and Kate in Madame Butterfly, and Cinderella in Stanton Welch’s Cinderella. Ms. Mennite has also been featured in contemporary roles including the white pas de deux in Jirí Kylián’s Forgotten Land, and Petite Mort; Stanton Welch’s Velocity, Indigo, Wildlife, and Brigade; Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances, Rooster and Hush; Harald Lander’s Etudes; Paul Taylor’s Company B; William Forsythe’s In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated; George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Serenade; and Mark Morris’ Sandpaper Ballet.

Created the role of Marie in Stanton’s Marie, Rosie in The Core, Nikya in La Bayadère, Odette/Odile in Swan Lakeand Spring in The Four Seasons, Divergence, Falling, Carmina Burana, Velocity; The Sylph in August Bournoville’s La Sylphide; Lise in Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée; Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free; Principle Roles in Balanchine’s Rubies, Emeralds, and Ballo De Regina; William Forsythe The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude; Principle role in Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel; Younger Daughter in Christopher Bruce’s Hush,Rooster, Sergeant Early’s Dream; Jiří Kylián’s Falling Angels, Petit Mort; Manon in Sir Kenneth McMillan’s Manon; Blue Bird in Ben Stevenson’s The Sleeping Beauty. Frequently appears as a guest artist in galas and with companies nationally and internationally. Also performs in Seattle with Whim W’Him, where she originated roles in Cylindrical Shadows by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Monster by Olivier Wevers.