Celebrate The Season. See The Nutcracker with The Children’s Ballet!

The Children’s Ballet Presents Dances from The Nutcracker

7:30 p.m. Friday, December 9 | 3 p.m. Sunday, December 11

The Children’s Ballet will present scenes from The Nutcracker as part of Hendricks Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas program at Avon Middle School North, 1251 Dan Jones Road. Dances performed by students of The Children’s Ballet will include Lighting of the Christmas Tree, The Marche, Children’s Gallop, Grandfather’s Dance, Spanish Dance, Arabian Dance, Chinese Dance, Dance of the Reed Flutes, Trépak, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Waltz of the Flowers. Come out and support our students with this classic holiday celebration. Get tickets online at hendrickssymphonic.org.

The Nutcracker: Presented by The Indianapolis School of Ballet

3:00 p.m. Sunday, December 18

Throughout November and December, Miss Emily’s classes will learn dances, study music, and read stories about The Nutcracker. Let this study come to life for your dancer by joining us for a live performance of The Nutcracker! The Indianapolis School of Ballet is celebrating 10 years of performing The Nutcracker, and will be joined for the first time by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Limited group rate tickets (adults $25; students $20) are available through The Children’s Ballet by ordering at www.thechildrensballet.com or paying a teacher during class. The Murat Theatre is at 502 North New Jersey Street in Indianapolis, and parking instructions are available at www.oldnationalcentre.com/faq.

Nutcracker at The Art Sanctuary

2:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10

Can’t get enough Nutcracker? Us either! Come see some beautiful dancing and support our advanced dancers as they perform several Nutcracker divertissements under the direction of Miss Heidi. This performance is at the Art Sanctuary in Martinsville on Saturday, December 10th at 2:30 pm and is free and open to the public.

Support Our Friends

Hendricks Civic Theatre presents “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” starting December 2nd. Current student Emily Sharton will play a role; get tickets at hendrickscivic.com!

Studio Spotlight: Mandy Milligan, Instructor

MandyMiss Mandy is originally from Sidney, Ohio. She graduated high school from Interlochen Arts Academy in 2010 with a focus in Dance and went on to attend the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music where she received her BFA in Ballet Performance. In 2013 she spent a semester abroad studying modern dance at the Beijing Dance Academy.

Her professional experience includes an apprenticeship with Mamluft&Co. Dance, guest artist and choreographer for the Performance Time Arts series at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Dance Theater (2010-2014), performing artist in Cincinnati’s Area Choreographers’ Festival, and Dance Kaleidoscope Apprentice for their 2015-2016 season. This is her first season with The Children’s Ballet, and we are so glad to have her and her wide range of talents and knowledge, which includes teaching pilates!

Here is an early dance memory from Miss Mandy:

“Nutcracker was my very first performance as a 3 year old. I was a reindeer that led the sleigh with Clara and Sugar Plum across the stage at the end of the show, and I was terrified to go out on stage. They ended up throwing me in the sleigh with Sugar Plum just to get me to go on, and I just remember sitting there with tears in my eyes and waving at my mom in the light booth while they pulled us across.”

In Class

In Miss Emily’s classes, we have been learning about The Nutcracker! We have done so through many diverse methods – reading the story, listening to the music, and dancing the dances.

We have danced the party scene, the Spanish dance, Arabian dance, and many others. You may have even seen flying shoes and a blizzard in the studio!

Terms

Développé, temps [tahn dayv- law-PAY]: Time developed, developing movement. Through common usage the term has become abridged to développé.

A développé is a movement in which the working leg is drawn up to the knee of the supporting leg and slowly extended to an open position en l’air and held there with perfect control. The hips are kept level and square to the direction in which the dancer is facing.

Did You Know?

The original choreographer of The Nutcracker, Marius Petipa, gave the composer, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, extremely detailed instructions for the composition of each number, down to the tempo and number of bars. The ballet premiered unsuccessfully in 1892, but today, major ballet companies generate 40% of their annual ticket revenues by performing it!

Tuition Due

First week of December (cash or check to teacher, or online here).

Children’s Ballet performs with the HSO

December 9 and 11

Nutcracker Performance at the Art Sanctuary

Saturday, December 10 at 2:30 pm

Nutcracker field trip

Sunday, December 18 3:00 pm at the Murat

Christmas break

December 19-January 1

Looking Ahead

We can’t wait to announce our performance in January! On Friday, May 26 and Saturday, May 27, 2017, The Children’s Ballet will cast and stage a performance of an original ballet written and choreographed especially for this season’s dancers.

The performance includes parts written and choreographed for your dancer. Please notify the studio if your student must miss classes after February 1. Students should be available for all rehearsals the week before the performance.

Payment for costumes for the spring performance are due January 15 (costume fees range from $40-$90). Dancers wearing more than one costume in the performance may pay 100% of the costume cost in January, or 50% by January 15 and 50% by February 15.

Extras

In order to keep students (and teachers) healthy throughout the winter months, please keep students at home from dance if they have stayed home from school that same day. Contact Miss Emily if a makeup lesson is required.
The Children’s Ballet follows the Danville School System for closings due to weather. We will also keep you informed via Facebook for closings.

OUR MISSION

We serve students of all ages from Hendricks County and surrounding areas.

We are dedicated to providing high-quality dance instruction while helping students develop self-discipline, dedication, positive self-esteem, and an appreciation for the art of dance.

We value and nurture each student’s unique gifts of talent and creativity in a safe studio environment in order to educate, enrich, and inspire.

2023-24 SEASON SPONSORS