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PERMIT NO 00005
June 12, 2015 Vol. 8 No. 46
Dancing in the Desert
Ballet students receiving the Royal Academy of Dance Certificates are front row, left to right, Victoria De Santis, Brooke Ogaard, Valerie Gonzales, Alexandra Saas and Sareen Bhakta. Back row, left to right, Noelle Johnson, Mikki Weisstein, Natalie Saas, Genevieve Jones and Lily Jones. With the young ballerinas is their teacher, Valerie Mahabir with Monica Chimitt, office manager. Image Courtesy Monica Chimitt By Pamela Price The Valerie Mahabir Academy of Ballet and Performing Arts in Rancho Mirage too ballet to a new level on June 4th event as Eleven of her talented students received awards from The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). The organization is known for their
exams that set standards in classical ballet worldwide and considered a global leader in dance education. Among those in the audience, attending the ceremony was local Author, Grace Robbins, who was impressed with the ballerinas in training. “ The ballet students
were well disciplined, poised and graceful as they accepted their Awards. Their parents were there to support them, very proud and enthusiastic. The Coachella Valley is fortunate to have such a dynamic ballet school, with such extraordinary facilities,” she said. Nerandra Patel, an internationally
Splash House Returns By Dan Marinelli PALM SPRINGS – Splash House is returning to Palm Springs this Saturday and Sunday for the first leg of the twice summer; two-day music festivalpool party mash-up. For those living under a rock, Splash House is an electronic music-centered festival equipped with a lineup that concentrates on forward-looking, up-and-coming music producers. The event spans over three different resort pools (The Saguaro, Palm Springs Hilton and The Hacienda Cantina & Beach Club) with the custom-built, stateof-the-art festival stages ready for dancing. Previous editions have seen performances from artists such
as Chromeo (DJ set), Cut Copy (Live), A-trak, Flume, Kygo and Jagwar Ma. This weekend; Splash House will feature Amtrac, Anna Lunoe, Cashmere Cat, Viceroy, Thomas Jack and many more. The brilliant hybrid concertpool party idea – especially in the dry, hot, desert climate – could have landed anywhere, but calls the Coachella Valley home. Splash House creator Tyler McLean, a Palm Springs native, saw a timely opportunity available in his old city and took advantage. “I was in college at the time I came up with the idea “ (for Splash House), McLean said. “I was aware that Palm Springs was making a push to bring back Spring Break, and kind of bring back young people. And that
sort of sparked the idea – maybe there’s is a way to actually give young people a reason to come.” That reason is Splash House, and people have come. In fact, the two-day party has grown so rapidly that attendance has tripled since last June’s event –, and it is no accident. With such outrageous temperatures, Palm Springs is naturally a pool town. The carefree pool atmosphere in the hot climate, combined with amazing musicians is enough to lure any fun-seeker, nowadays. “I had the feeling that if you leverage these pools and connect them together for one event. It showcases one of Palm Springs’ greatest assets (the pools), and Continues on Page 5
known architect with a flair for futuristic design, designed the studio. Valerie, on a first-name basis with everyone was born in Trinidad In the West indies, she has 27 years of experience in teaching more than 10,000 students prior to establishing
her school in Rancho Mirage. In 2014, she celebrated her 55year dance career, with friends and family joining her for the occasion. Pamela Price is the coauthor of Fun with the Family in Southern California published by the Globe Pequot Press