We hope everyone is having a fun and relaxing Spring Break. So far the weather has cooperated (for those who stayed home in the north!) and it has been warm and sunny! Enjoy your break from classes everyone - except Caleigh who hates going a week without a ballet class!
Classes resume Monday, March 23. Everyone will have to buckle down to prepare for the year-end recital of “Coppelia”! Stay tuned for information about purchasing tickets and other studio information.
Congratulations to Alissa and Emilie on their wonderful dance performances in the Hamilton Urban Theatre Production of “Hamlet”. The acting was excellent, the set design simple but effective and the dancing enhanced the mood of this tragic tale. The Dance Choreographer was Robert Desrosiers. For those who missed this fine production, be sure to catch the next production by Hamilton Urban Theatre and let’s hope they include dancing again! We are truly lucky here in Hamilton to have such a vibrant arts community in so many areas!
HCB is excited to announce two new workshops in the Spring for Modern & Yoga: Friday, April 3 & May 1.
5:00-6:00 PM - Modern (Junior age 10-14)
6:00-7:00 PM - Modern (Senior age 15+)
7:30-9:00 PM - Yoga & Meditation (Open for all ages)
These are tentative dates and times. A sign-up sheet will soon be posted at the studio or email the HCB- info@hamiltoncityballet.com. Space will be limited, so sign-up quickly!
Pilates anyone?
Let us know if you would be interested in Pilates classes. Great for all to strengthen your core & muscle toning, especially dancers!
We are pleased to announce that the preparations for our year-end recital have begun. Hamilton City Ballet is proud to present for the very first time - “Coppelia”- a three act Ballet. There is no more need to pester Mr. Max about his annual secret- which ballet the dancers will be performing that year!
The recital will take place in Hamilton at the Downtown Arts Centre- 28 Rebecca St.
Performance Dates: Friday, June 12, Saturday, June 13, and Sunday, June 14
The school will be having three performances this year! Mark these dates on your calendars!
The Hamilton City Ballet Valentine’s Potluck was a wonderful evening of fun and food for everyone. Many students and their parents joined Miss Melania at the studio last Friday, February 13. There was delicious food, toys and fun for the kids, and joyful music. Everyone had a fabulous time. We’ll look forward to the next HCB potluck!
By Miss Melania
Ingredients:
~One hairbrush
~One or two hair elastics
~One or two hair nets (to match colour of hair)
~One dozen hair pins or Bobby pins
~Hair gel, mousse, hair spray (optional)
Step 1: Wet hair with a bit of water, gel or mousse. Brush into a tight pony tail and tie with elastics.
Step 2: Twist ponytail and roll into a loose bun. Anchor down with 2 pins.
Step 3: Wrap hair net a few times over bun. Remove the 2 pins.
Step 4: Mold bun into a flat circle (like a hamburger pattie- or soyburger pattie if you prefer). Anchor down the bun with many pins.
Step 5: Use hair spray (optional for class- recommended for performances)
Et Voila! Happy Dancing….
Recipe makes 1 bun.
Exciting News!
Mr. Max was nominated for a City of Hamilton Arts Award. At the awards presentation on November 24, Mr. Max won the Hamilton Arts Award 2008 for Dance! Finally the city of Hamilton is recognizing the incredible jewel they have with Hamilton City Ballet and the talents of Mr. Max and Miss Melania. We are all so lucky to have them here to teach and share their extensive knowledge.
In other news, Ricky and Caleigh were both accepted by Ontario Ballet Theatre for its upcoming Nutcracker production.. They just completed two weeks of intensive training, and from November 25 through December 21 they will be touring and performing the Nutcracker in many different communities throughout Ontario. Check out www.ontarioballettheatre.com to get tickets in a community near you.
Up and coming!
Tis the season for Nutcracker….. almost. Hamilton’s own Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble will be performing the Nutcracker along with the esteemed Ballet Nacional de Cuba. This is a unique version of the Nutcracker, not to be missed, and features local dancers including several from HCB. Performances are December 11-14. Check out www.cbye.ca for more information and to get tickets.
Ballet Jorgen will also be presenting the Nutcracker in various locations throughout Ontario in November and December. Check out www.balletjorgen.ca for more information on their performances.
This weekend, on Saturday, October 4 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 5 at 2 pm at the Great Hall at Hamilton Place, the Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble presents Giselle, performed by the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. While the Cuban Ballet company is not well known in Canada, the dancers are amazing to watch. Their strength and skill is unmatched and watching their passion for dance is sheer joy.
Giselle was the prized role that Ballet Nacional de Cuba founder, Alicia Alonso, made almost untouchable. Alicia Alonso has once again graced Hamilton with her presence. Going to see Giselle is worth it even for a brief glimpse of this fabulous lady.
As a young woman Alicia practiced dancing in her mind when she was on bed rest for her eye problems. Later as her eyesight failed her she continued to dance in spite of her challenges. Today she remains the head of the ballet company and guides the final product for the ballet productions. While her sight is very limited, her vision is very clear and her productions are a sight to behold and enjoy. Now THAT is a prima ballerina.
We highly recommend taking the time to go see the Cuban ballet perform Giselle this weekend. While Alicia will not be in the starring role, her presence will still be felt in this ballet that has meant so much to her.
Welcome to the Hamilton City Ballet Blog. Visit us here regularly for school updates, photos, up and coming local dance events and auditions, Mr. Max stories (not to be missed), and Vaganova Pointers.
The Hamilton City Ballet has started up its exciting 2008/2009 dance season. After a summer of hard work for many of the dancers, most are back at the HCB studio to work even harder!
During the summer, Ulana went to study for a month with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. We look forward to hearing more about her time in Winnipeg, and hope to share it with you here.
Caleigh went to Cuba for two weeks to study at the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. She loved working with the Cuban dancers and hopes to return there soon to work with them again. They have a fabulous company and great school to study at.
Emile, Cassandra, and Ailish went to the Quinte Ballet School in Belleville for the summer program.
Sadly, Ricky was not to be seen much in the HCB studio this summer. His pas-de-deux support was sadly missed but we think we’ll see more of him this season. Where have you been Ricky?
Mr. Max was away for a while also but his location was no secret- Mr. Max did guest teaching in London, England and in the U.S. He was in high demand this summer, but even with his super human driving skills, he could not be everywhere at once!
This is a year of change for HCB as many of the senior students have moved on to University. Stacey, Maria, Andrea, Olesya, and Madeleine will be sadly missed. We wish them well in their endeavours and hope to see them sometime in the future at the studio again.
Classes have now started and even with the missing dancers the classes seem to have expanded, meaning lots of new students to share their talents with us at the year-end recital. Welcome to all the new students! On the topic of the recital, there is already speculation about what Mr. Max’s year- end show will be. The studio rumour mill is running although we know it will be quite a while until Mr. Max will reveal the great annual secret….
We hope everyone has picked up his or her copy of last year’s recital- Pinocchio and Don Quixote. The DVDs are all ready and waiting. A huge thanks to Peter Armstrong for doing the filming last year.
For anyone interested in photos of the recital, please check out the website with lots of lovely photos from the recital. Andrei Chelekhov did a fabulous job of capturing the dancers at the shows. Go to www.picasaweb.google.com/ashel58 to see the photos.
Check back with us often for the latest news and community dance events.
Happy Dancing everyone!
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