It's City Center Ballet's 16th Season!

And there is lots to look forward to!

Clara's Dream

City Center Ballet will present this holiday classic in a series of four performances at The Lebanon Opera House! Mark your calendars for December 4th-6th, 2014! Tickets are on sale now on the City Center Ballet website.

Alice in Wonderland

This year City Center Ballet will be presenting a new ballet based on Lewis Carroll's  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. We are so excited to be presenting this magical tale to the Upper Valley Community on April 11th and 12th, 2015 at the Lebanon Opera House. Tickets are on sale now on the City Center Ballet website. If you're planning to attend both shows presented this year, season tickets are available. 

Peter and the Wolf

This year City Center Ballet will be offering it's third story ballet performance in schools across the Upper Valley. This educational outreach program brings the magic of City Center Ballet to you! Contact City Center Ballet at Dance@CityCenterBallet.org for more details about getting Peter and the Wolf  in your child's school!

What do CCB Dancers do during the summer?

Our dancers work very hard during the school year, but they continue that hard work throughout the summer. Lebanon Ballet School continues to offer a wide variety of classes all summer (both to challenge CCB dancers and classes open to the community), but many students choose to enrich their dance education by traveling to dance programs over the summer. Our students spent the winter carefully selecting and preparing for auditions at a variety of summer programs and we'd like to congratulate them on their accomplishments!

Washington Ballet

Lexie

Three students from Lebanon Ballet School and City Center Ballet were accepted and are attending this intensive program in Washington DC. Congratulations Maddie, Lexie, and Amy! We are looking forward to seeing everything you've learned when you're back in the fall. 

Amy

Maddie

Marya

Miami City Ballet

One of City Center Ballet's graduating Seniors, Marya, will be attending Miami City Ballet this summer before she heads off to Purchase College Conservatory of Dance as a member of the class of 2018. 

Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB!)

Several of City Center Ballet's dancers are off to the 5-week intensive program at CPYB. This has been an annual favorite summer program among CCB dancers and we are proud to have representatives at this program every year! Congratulations to Anna, Becky, Lara, and Amanda! 

Amanda 

Anna

Becky

Lara

Eden

Aya

The Rock School

Eden and Aya were accepted to this 3 week summer intensive program at The Rock School they will enjoy working in a variety of dance styles, including ballet, contemporary, jazz and hip-hop, and more. 

Zoe

Boston Ballet

Zoe will be attending the Boston Ballet Summer Intensive program where she will enjoy a weeks of comprehensive ballet training in classical ballet, pointe, partnering, and more. 

Burklyn Ballet

Sophia L.

Located conveniently in Johnson, VT, four of City Center Ballet's dancers are headed to Burklyn Ballet for the summer where they'll enjoy a comprehensive program focused on ballet technique and performance, they will rehearse and perform new work each week they are there. Congratulations Sophia L., Sophia P., Meredith, and Kassady!

Sophia P.

Kassady

Meredith

Interlochen Center for the Arts

Daniel

Daniel will be spending part of his summer in Michigan at Interlochen Center for the Arts, Interlochen is an Arts Academy focused on arts education throughout the year. Daniel will spend time  in ballet technique class, modern, jazz, as well as conditioning and repertory work. 

The Ailey School

Lily

Located in Manhattan, The Ailey School, founded by Alvin Ailey, offers a wide range of classes, focused on ballet and modern technique. one of the strongest contemporary performers in the City Center Ballet Company, Lily, will get to further explore different modern techniques from what she gets in her training at Lebanon Ballet School. 

Congratulations to all these Dancers! We'll miss you this summer, but are looking forward to exciting things in the fall! 

Press Release: New Board Members and Successful Fund Drive Boost Local Ballet Company

City Center Ballet brings on three new board members and raises over $19,000

Written by Heidi White

This press release was published in The Valley News and The Complete Hoot in May 2014

Lebanon NH, May 9, 2014. City Center Ballet (CCB), Lebanon’s non-profit ballet company, is enjoying a brief boost to its board membership and finances. The board recently brought on three new members with backgrounds in fundraising, business management, and dance—CCB’s costume designer, Elizabeth Lurie; former Broadway performer, Susan Lamontagne; and Dartmouth Clinical Researcher, Kimberly Thompson. As new board members were drawn to the board, finances followed through a fundraising challenge posed by benevolent local sponsors Ann and George Hackl.

CCB Artistic Director, Linda Copp, feels “blessed with such a supportive community and three new board members that are as committed to the community and to dance as I am. It is an extra blessing that they come with the expertise to help me raise the money that will help us continue to provide unique artistic experiences for audiences in the Upper Valley.”

Kim Thompson is a project coordinator at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Kim has performed with CCB in the past and currently teaches modern dance classes for CCB’s sister company, Lebanon Ballet School. Kim grew up in a company that was very similar to CCB and says “a good portion of the success I’ve had in school and work stems from my upbringing in dance and I know that students at CCB acquire those same skills.” As a board member, Kim hopes to “help CCB branch out further into the community and continue the board’s fundraising activities to ensure that CCB is here to stay.”

Former Broadway performer Susan Lamontagne currently teaches Zumba classes in CCB’s studio space. Susan knows the lifelong benefits that dance training provides young dancers. After a 20+ year professional career Susan says “the benefits of a company like CCB go beyond the benefit to the community. Even the dancers who don’t go on to dance professionally learn discipline and social skills that help them succeed in anything they do.” With 4 years experience working in not-for-profit organizations Susan hopes to bring the best of two worlds to help support the CCB's growth.

New board member Elizabeth Lurie has designed many of the ballet company’s most eye-catching costumes over the past five years. Aside from her artistic talents, Elizabeth brings a background of fundraising earned through her development work with the Student Conservation Association in Charlestown NH. “I am looking forward to being part of an active fundraising board,” says Elizabeth, “I believe in Linda’s vision. Her ability to bring a high level of professional dance performance in this non-urban environment is really special and unique.”

As Elizabeth joined the CCB board, her parents, Ann & George Hackl, set a $5,000 fundraising challenge for the company. If CCB could raise $20,000 within six weeks, the Hackls promised to chip in $5,000. With Elizabeth’s help, City Center Ballet blanketed the area with donation requests and reached just shy of their goal, collecting $14,071. Fortunately, Ann & George were lenient. They donated the $5,000 to bring the total up to $19,071. The funds were used to pay bills incurred by the April performance of The Sleeping Beauty.

The board, now bolstered with the energy of three new members, will continue their fundraising activities to finance upcoming performances, including Clara’s Dream: a nutcracker story in December 2014 and Alice in Wonderland in April of 2015.

The City Center Ballet is a non-profit, semi-professional ballet company that produces performances and educational opportunities for young, devoted dancers in the Upper Valley. Established in 1999, City Center Ballet is located in Lebanon, New Hampshire and develops classical and repertory ballets that enrich and delight audiences while providing challenging and diverse experiences for company members.

Why I support City Center Ballet

I got involved with City Center Ballet four years ago when I became a member of the faculty at Lebanon Ballet School, the school of City Center Ballet. There are many many reasons that I have chosen to give my support to City Center Ballet and their mission to provide professional-level performing experience for young dancers in the Upper Valley.

The youth involved in the City Center Ballet company have invested hours and days of their lives to mastering their craft. Most of the girls involved in the City Center Ballet Company have committed 4-8 hours a day, 6 days a week to this organization, in addition to keeping up with their academic work. The students that participate in these performances are bright and energetic and have developed such a deep relationship with dance that has become an integral part of their lives. Because I too have nurtured my own relationship with dancing over the last 24 years, since my mom enrolled me in that first pre-ballet class, I know that this is a passion that will follow them into their adult lives and continue to bring them joy.

The discipline that comes from learning to balance school and all those hours at the studio will allow these students to be successful in whatever they choose to do after City Center Ballet, whether it is dancing or not. These students have learned to do everything they do with passion and that while perfection may not always be achievable, if that is what they aim for they will be overwhelmingly successful in whatever they do. They have learned to be critical of themselves and to take criticism from others in stride, they have learned to rejoice in their own successes as well as the successes of their friends and colleagues, and they have learned that when things don't go their way that the best thing they can do is learn from their mistakes and apply the lessons they've learned until they find success.

City Center Ballet is more than a company that presents amazing performances for the Upper Valley community to enjoy, it is an organization that is nurturing young minds that will eventually go on to do many great things. I invite you all to join me in supporting City Center Ballet as they present The Sleeping Beauty this weekend at the Lebanon Opera House, tickets are for reserved seating and are available on this website. 

Two days until the curtain rises on The Sleeping Beauty

City Center Ballet is so excited to present The Sleeping Beauty to the Upper Valley community.  It has been several years since City Center Ballet has presented this ballet and it is back and completely refreshed! The costumes and set pieces have been gorgeously rebuilt and enhanced and the dancers are beyond excited to be presenting this ballet again.

Several professionals are joining the City Center Ballet cast on stage, don't miss this chance to see some absolutely stunning dancers in your backyard! Head over to the Lebanon Opera House website and purchase your tickets now, prices do increase the day of the show, and seats are filling up!

Plan a romantic evening out with your special someone, there are several excellent restaurants walking distance from the theater! Or plan a fun family afternoon, this classic ballet is such a fun story everyone can enjoy it!

Please remember to become a follower of City Center Ballet's blog to stay up-to-date on Company happenings and to get the inside scoop on the dancers, choreographers, guest artists, and upcoming performances!

Performances of The Sleeping Beauty are on Saturday, April 26th at 7pm and Sunday, April 27th at 1pm at the Lebanon Opera House.

What's in your dance bag?

It's school vacation week for most the schools in the Upper Valley, while many kids have gone on vacation or are getting some much needed R&R at home, the City Center Ballet company has been hard at work all week! They are just one week away from Opening Night, so I thought I'd swing by rehearsal today and check in with some of the girls.

Dancers are notorious for lugging around giant "dance bags" full of all kinds of useful items for class or rehearsal.  Most things are pretty routine, an extra leotard, tights, and maybe an old pair of shoes or two, a needle and thread, some hair products, and maybe a lip-gloss. However, most dancers have one or two unusual things in their bags that they just can't live without, for me it's one of my brother's old lacrosse balls...fantastic for keeping feet warm and loosening up inevitable foot-cramps. So I asked a few of the dancers what the strangest thing they keep in their dance bag is, and what they use it for...

Lily

Lily will be performing as The Sapphire Jewel, a nymph, and one of Aurora's Friends in The Sleeping Beauty.  Lily prefers to warm-up in big-baggy clothes, so she has stolen a lot of her brother's clothing, which may be one of the more unexpected things in her dance bag. She also keep a lighter in her bag...because you never know when you may need to burn the ends of some fraying ribbons.

Lexie -Soloist

Lexie appears as the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty. If Lexie's bag doesn't contain unusual individual items, it certainly contains an unusual number of items; 4 chapsticks, a baseball, a tennis ball, several therabands, 4 pairs of pointe shoes, sweatpants, t-shirts, and a phone charger.

Kassady -Soloist

Kassady appears as the Crystal Fountain Fairy, The Ruby Jewel, a nymph, and one of Aurora's Friends in The Sleeping Beauty. Kassady keeps giant hershey kiss (or other form of chocolate) and a jar of peanut butter in her bag so she never goes hungary.

Check-out these dancers and many others on stage at The Lebanon Opera House on April 26th at 7pm and April 27th at 1pm in The Sleeping Beauty. Tickets are available here, seating is reserved and ticket prices go up $5 the day of the show, so buy yours soon! We'll see you at The Ballet!

Tutu Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Excitement is growing for City Center Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty at The Lebanon Opera House on April 26th at 7pm and April 27th at 1pm (click here for tickets). This classic fairy tale, set to a stunning score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, follows the story of Princess Aurora, cursed by the evil fairy Carabosse at her christening to prick her finger upon a spindle on her 16th birthday and die. Thankfully, the Lilac Fairy, not having enough power to undo the evil curse, is able to alter it and instead of dying the princess will merely fall into a deep slumber.

This ballet is full of all the royal glitz you would expect from a story full of royalty, fairies and other magical creatures.  The story is a classic, the dancing is wonderful...but this is Tutu Tuesday...so lets get to the tutus!

The Lilac Fairy

The heroine of the story, overriding Carabosse's curse, she'll be hard to miss in this beautiful tutu designed and constructed by CCB's Elizabeth Lurie. 

Photo Credit: Marcella Jane Photography

Photo Credit: Marcella Jane Photography

 The Golden Vine

Appearing in the prologue to gift the baby Aurora with courage, the Golden Vine Fairy wears this stunning tutu was also designed and constructed by Elizabeth Lurie. Still under construction in the photo below, come see the finished product on stage!

Photo Credit: Marcella Jane Photography

The Meadow Rose

Appearing in the prologue, the Meadow Rose Fairy gifts Princess Aurora with the gift of charm. This Tutu was designed and constructed by Elizabeth Lurie.

Photo Credit: Marcella Jane Photography

The Woodland Glade

Appearing in prologue, the Woodland Glade Fairy gifts Princess Aurora with the gift of beauty. This Tutu was designed and constructed by Elizabeth Lurie.

Photo Credit: Marcella Jane Photography

Catch these tutus, and many others in just a few short weeks at the Lebanon Opera House! I hope to see you there!

See City Center Ballet at the HOP! For FREE!

The first half of 2014 is packed full of opportinities to catch the City Center Ballet crew at it again.  Clara's Dream - a nutcracker story was an amazing success, thank you a million times to all of our community supporters for coming out in droves to support City Center Ballet. We are so hoping you will join us for the ballets we're presenting this spring.

Your first opportunity to join us is at The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College on March 15th at 11am. A small cohort of City Center Ballet dancers will present an abbreviated version of Cinderella.  City Center Ballet presented Jennifer Henderson's full-length version of Cinderella in 2012.  This year, with the addition of Rob Royce to the artistic staff at City Center Ballet, we are thrilled to present his take on this classic tale to exhibit some of the younger company members. Many are familiar with the tale of Cinderella, a beautiful young girl forced to live under the rule of her step-mother and two step-sisters.  Cinderella, forced to stay home from the royal ball by her step-family, is surprised by her magical fairy godmother who summons the power of the four seasons to help Cinderella make it to the ball, you know the rest...the prince falls in love, the clock strikes mid-night, Cinderella runs away and looses her slipper in the process, the prince commisions an investigation to find the young lady who lost her slipper, the prince finds Cindreella and everyone lives happily ever after.  This performance is part of the HopStop Family Series designed for children age 3 and up accompanied by an adult...and the performance is FREE! Bring your family to see this story about how the right pair of shoes can change your life!

More information is available on the Hopkin Center website

In April, you can catch the full company in their performance of The Sleeping Beauty....more on that soon!