The Hendricks County Community Foundation awarded The Children’s Ballet grants totaling $1,500 to purchase 36 costumes for students dancing in a 2016 performance of The Nutcracker with the Hendricks Symphony Orchestra. The costumes will also be used in future performances of The Nutcracker in Hendricks County. The grants were made possible by the Sargent Fund for the Arts, the Hendricks County Youth Philanthropy Fund, the Danville Community Fund and the Deedee Daniel Opportunity Fund.

“We are so thankful for this grant which will allow us to stage dances from The Nutcracker, performed by local students, here in Hendricks County,” said The Children’s Ballet executive director Anne Johansson. “We know many local families look forward to attending this holiday classic. In the past, they had to travel to performances in Indianapolis or Hamilton County. With support from the Hendricks County Community Foundation, we are proud to bring The Nutcracker to Hendricks County.”

As Hendricks County’s only non-profit ballet school, The Children’s Ballet in Danville is dedicated to providing high-quality dance instruction while instilling in students self-discipline, dedication, positive self-esteem, and an appreciation for the art of dance. The school’s staff is committed to educating, enriching, and inspiring each student’s unique gifts of talent and creativity in a safe studio environment.

Since its founding in 1987, The Children’s Ballet has provided an instructional home for many extraordinary dancers and teachers, some of whom have performed in many of the region’s finest programs and companies including Indianapolis Ballet Theater, Ballet International, Dance Kaleidescope, Butler Ballet and Indiana University Ballet. Other alumni have opened their own schools, employing many of the same encouraging and empowering teaching methods they learned at The Children’s Ballet. Many of The Children’s Ballet’s original students now enjoy seeing their own children take flight at the school, ensuring the joy of dance will continue for future generations in Hendricks County.

Students who join the school for even a brief time, including very young students, receive an education in classical ballet appreciation, learning about classical music, composers, French ballet terminology, and how ballets can tell a story without words. The school continues to produce its annual full-length ballets, written and choreographed especially for each season’s dancers with full stage productions.

Every year, The Children’s Ballet trains students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to develop their coordination, their appreciation for classical music, and their ability to perform before their families and their peers with pride and excitement. Part of the excitement of any classical performance of The Nutcracker are the colorful and lavish costumes. However, many of these costumes can be expensive to purchase and maintain. The grant provided by the Hendricks County Community Foundation will allow students of The Children’s Ballet to participate in The Nutcracker for many years without putting a financial burden on families to purchase costly costumes.

The community is welcome at all performances staged by The Children’s Ballet. More information on upcoming events is available at www.thechildrensballet.com.

“We love partnering with local nonprofits to bring excellence in the arts to Hendricks County,” said William Rhodehamel, Executive Director of HCCF. “I’ve been a musician for most of my life and know firsthand the value of an arts education. Training in the performing arts has the power to instill within children the values of discipline, self-worth, creative expression, and appreciation of art in all its forms. This grant is just one example of how HCCF is working to enrich the lives of children in Hendricks County–one ballerina at a time.”

ABOUT THE HENDRICKS COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

The Hendricks County Community Foundation works to improve the quality of life in Hendricks County by helping donors match their passion with community needs, awarding grants to nonprofit organizations and projects, and collaborating to address community issues. The Community Foundation manages assets of over $11 million in a collection of funds created by individuals, families, businesses and organizations for charitable purposes. In 2015, the Community Foundation gave over $840,000 in grants to charitable organizations and scholarships to local students.

For more information, call 317-268- 6240 or visit www.hendrickscountycf.org.