It's Christmas in July!

For some people, The Nutcracker is a yearly tradition. For others, it’s an occasional escape back to childhood. For all, The Nutcracker is a timeless classic that keeps people wanting more.

For those who aren’t familiar with The Nutcracker, here’s a little bit of history.  The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet that was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, and includes the famous score by Pyotr Llyich Tchaikovsky. It premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on December 18, 1892 on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. The ballet itself is an adaptation of E.T.A Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Alexandre Dumas called The Tale of the Nutcracker. The plot had to be greatly simplified and some parts, including a flashback that explains how the Prince was turned into the Nutcracker, had to be cut from the ballet.

The story takes place on Christmas Eve at the home of the Silberhaus family.  (With different productions, the names and plot of the story vary slightly). The Christmas tree has been decorated and the children are in awe of the sparkles and adornments. Herr Drosselmeyer is a local councilman, as well as Clara and Fritz’s godfather, and he’s brought gifts for the children. The toy that Clara takes a liking to is a wooden nutcracker in the shape of a little man. The play follows Clara as she goes on an adventure with The Nutcracker, who is turned into a handsome prince, to the Land of Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

In honor of this timeless classic, BalletMet is celebrating an early Christmas in July! For a limited time, now through July 29^th, you can purchase tickets for The Nutcracker at half off! The half off tickets are only available for the Dec 7, 8, and 9 performances, excludes Prime Orchestra and Loge, and there is a limit of 6 tickets per purchase. To order you can call 800-982-2787, go online to Ticketmaster.com or visit the BalletMet Dance Academy Open House on July 24 from 6:30-8:00 pm at the downtown location. When ordering use the code CIJBMC to receive the discount.

It’s never too early to buy your Christmas gifts, so celebrate Christmas in July with us and get your Nutcracker tickets before the offer ends! Just don’t forget where you put them J

- Mackenzie 

It's Time to Leap and Twirl!

Leap and Twirl,
BalletMet's new children's book

Last week was the book launch for BalletMet’s own children’s book, Leap and Twirl!  There was a great turnout with kids, parents, and community members coming together to celebrate this wonderful picture book conceived by Ambre Emory- Maier, written by author Steven C. Anderson and illustrated by Sarah DeAngulo Hout.

Author and Illustrator,
Anderson and Hout

It might seem a little strange to have a children’s book as part of a dance education program, and it is. Leap and Twirl is the only children’s book associated with a dance company. The book is apart of the Magic in Movement- Grow up Great! Program, which is a collaboration between BalletMet, PNC Foundation, and the Columbus Urban League. The program is starting its third year as a way to develop and improve social growth and literacy skills, foster creative expression and better prepare children for kindergarten.

To start off the event, Ambre Emory-Maier, the Director of Education, and Cheri Mitchell, the Executive Director, talked about the numerous educational programs that BalletMet has, and how important dance and education is to BalletMet. Cheri summed up BalletMet’s mission statement by saying they believe that “dance is for everyone and everyone should have to chance and opportunity to experience it.”

After hearing about the book and programs, the audience finally got a chance to see the book as Steven Anderson read the book aloud, inviting all of the children in the audience to join him. We heard all about Leap and Twirl’s week at school, and how they got experience the joy of dance in their life. After the reading, the audience got a special treat as children from the Columbus Urban League gave a little demonstration of how the book is being used in the educational programs. The kids moved around to live music as they pretended to be butterflies, and bears, and to leap like a frog and twirl like a squirrel, which was inspired by the characters in the book.

 

The book launch was a great success, and I think all of the kids in the audience enjoyed it. If you are interested in purchasing your own copy of the book, visit our website at https://www.balletmet.org/dance-education/education/education-materials.

Leap and Twirl, the title characters

And don’t forget, as Steven Anderson writes in Leap and Twirl, “Every day is a day to dance!” 

- Mackenzie :) 

Dance, Friends, and Fun - It's Summer Camp!

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year again – Summer Camp! Here at BalletMet, the Summer Dance Camp is well underway. It’s only the second day, but the studio is already bustling with students ready to get their tap shoes on, and leap and twirl across the floor. For me, summer camp was always my favorite part of the summer. New friends, new experiences, and most importantly, a whole lot of fun! Since I can hear them downstairs already best friends with each other, I think it’s safe to assume they’re having fun.

This week there are two camps going on here at the Downtown location. For the 4-6 year olds, there is the Fancy Nancy Tea Party class, inspired by the book series. From 9-11 am every day this week they are enjoying a full on adventure complete with tiaras, fairy wings, tutus and more! There probably aren’t too many boys in this camp, but for a little girl it will sure be a week for her to remember! This same camp will be offered again for kids aged 3-5 at the Vista Plaza-Gahanna location from July 16-20.

For our campers that are a little bit older, there’s the Summer Celebration! This camp is a full day of dance for boys and girls ages 7-12. They’ll spend the whole week learning various types of dance like Ballet, Tap, and Jazz, and even get to do a little Improvisational Acting, Drumming and other cool things! I know this morning they were learning a tap dance to Yankee Doodle with flags as props. It sure looked like a lot of fun to me! These dedicated campers are here all day from 9am-4pm experiencing the joys of dance. This afternoon they even got a special treat with a guest appearance from BalletMet Company dancer, Olivia Clark! She showed them a few dances as well as answered a lot of questions about dancing, Pointe shoes, and her career with the Company. The kids even pressured her into showing them a fouette turn, right after admitting it was one of the hardest moves she’s ever learned, and that she still struggles with them.      

Summertime is a great time for kids to get out there and make new friends, try new experiences, and just be kids. Summer Camp is the place to make all of that happen. If your child loves dance, it’s also the perfect time for them to try out new styles, improve their technique, and spend time doing what they love! If you haven’t signed up for one of our Summer Dance Camps yet and you feel like you’re missing out, don’t fear. There’s still time! This is the only week camp will be at the Downtown location, but there are still camps going on in July and August at the Gahanna and Reynoldsburg locations. For more information, check out https://www.balletmet.org/images/documents/summer_main.pdf. 

- Mackenzie :)