A Fairy Tale Ending To A Year Of

                     Classical Dance Studies

By Shannon Hicks

Spring performances last weekend by the students of Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet (NCCB) offered audiences creative sets, gorgeous costumes, melodious music, oh… and yes, talent. Lots of talent, from the youngest students who are just starting to get their footing on the stage to the high school students graduating from school and the ballet studio and everyone in between.

The students of Jennifer Johnston offered two performances last weekend in the cafetorium at Reed Intermediate School. There was an evening show on Friday, June 15, and an early afternoon show the following day.

The performances opened with members of the studio’s Malenkee Ballet Repertoire Company each given their own time on stage. Offering self-choreographed performances, with their choice of music and costume, seven of Ms Johnston’s dancers offered solo performances. The music selections were quite wide-ranging.

Kelsey Cantore began each show with her interpretation of Less Than Jake’s “Look What Happened.” Dancers and performances continued with Patricia Culligan dancing to “Skies So Blue” by Rocket Summer; Jacqueline Hoolehan dancing to “Goodnight Goodnight,” performed by Hot Hot Heat; and Mary Alice Upshur dancing to “El Tango de Roxanne” by Feliciano, Koman and McGregor.

Jennifer Tichon offered an interpretation of Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings,” Sarah Burke performed to Green Day’s “Good Riddance,” and Kayleigh Metviner took on “Do You Only Wanna Dance” by The Julio Daivel Big Band.

The Repertoire Class then offered a performance by the full company. Choreographed by Ms Johnston, eight dancers — Jennifer Agius, Lauren Bauer, Patricia Culligan, Alexandra Hamar, Jackie Hoolehan, Tory Senete, Mary Siroky, and Mary Alice Upshur — performed to “Walk Away” by The Cranberries.

The program continued with the second half of the Malenkee Company offering their self-choreographed variations, again with myriad selections representing the dancers. Megan Primavera had selected “On My Way” by Phil Collins, Aileen Toal went with Avril Lavigne’s “Keep Holding On,” and Lauren Bauer danced to “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence.

Alexandra Hamar performed to “I Could Have Danced All Night” as performed by Marni Dixon, Mary Siroky danced to “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical Wicked; Jennifer Agius had selected George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” and Tory Senete performed to “Before The Throne” by Selah.

Three dancers — Miss Bauer, Miss Hamar and Miss Siroky — then concluded the first half of the recital with a variation of Swans, using the music of Tchaikovsky and also following choreography created by Ms Johnston.

Following an intermission, the audience was then treated to a performance of Cinderella featuring all members of NCCB.

The origin of Cinderella can be traced back centuries, passed on from culture to culture since the 1800s in books, ballets, and operas until 1950 when Walt Disney produced it as a movie. Ms Johnston wrote information about the fairy tale-turned-onscreen favorite within her program notes for the second half of NCCB’s performances.

“As with any full-length ballet, when you put it to a score of music by a particular composer, you have the opportunity to design the choreography to fit the vision the choreography to fit the vision you want to project on stage while utilizing a timeless fairy tale storyline for reference,” she wrote. Ms Johnston had selected the Strauss score from 1901 for her students this year, rather than the Prokofiev music (which the ballet was originally based on, she pointed out), because of the light-hearted nature in which Strauss composed his music.

The selection allowed Ms Johnston to create roles that were suitable for all of her students, from youngest to most advanced. The dancing told the story with the grace that ballet audiences expect. Ms Johnston’s choreography showcased the talents of her older students, while keeping most of the steps easy, fun, and playful for the youngest dancers. It was a perfect mix of choreography, talent, music, and storytelling.