Non-Profit Org. US Postage
PAID
Toledo, Ohio Permit 1143
Spring 2011
Marie Bollinger Vogt, Founder, Artistic Director Emerita
Westfield Franklin Park 5001 Monroe St., Suite R20 Toledo, OH 43623 Westfield Franklin Park 5001 Monroe St., Suite R20 Toledo, OH 43623 419.471.0049 FAX 419.471.9005 www.toledoballet.net
If you have a disability which requires an accommodation, please advise the business office, 419-471-0049. TTY/ TTD 1-800-750-0750
Faculty
BECCA BROOKOVER MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP In 2008, a doe - eyed, auburn haired girl made the brave decision to leave her dance studio of nine years to transfer to Toledo Ballet. According to her parents, it was a move she wished she had made years earlier. She was welcomed immediately into our TB family and her dancing blossomed. Several months after joining us, Becca was diagnosed with leukemia. Over the course of the next two years, Becca received very aggressive treatments at both Toledo Children’s and Cleveland Clinic. During those wonderful interludes when she was in remission, Becca returned to the studios and danced every free moment she could and sang her heart out in musical theatre intensives. This fall, although Becca’s condition became officially terminal, she continued to dance until just weeks before she died. She died December 27 at home with her family. Toledo Ballet has established a memorial fund in her memory. Each year on October 14, Becca’s birthday, a scholarship will be awarded to a current dancer who, over the course of the year, has shown uncompromising focus, commitment and passion for dance. It is the only scholarship fund NOT limited to classical ballet. Please consider donating to honor the memory of this much loved and much missed sixteen year old dancer. Go to toledoballet.net to donate or make checks payable to Toledo Ballet and in memo, please write “Becca Brookover Scholarship Fund.”
Natalie Alexiou Steven Brown Kristin Del Verne Frances Fu Jeanie Bugert-Hayward Ann Heckler Caitlin Hudson Kathy Humphrey Barbara Kandalski Victor Knighten Michael Lang Lisa Mayer Armon Miller Beverly Robinson Ariel Warrick Michael Warrick
Staff Mari Davies
Executive Director
Lisa Mayer
School Director
Elizabeth White
Business Coordinator
Kelby Sodeman
Grants Coordinator
Michael Lang
Artistic Director, Spring Production
Condessa Croninger
Educational Outreach Coordinator
Margarita Dobbins
Administrative Assistant
Anthony Piercefield
Administrative Assistant
Jessica Prchlik
Administrative Assistant
Nicholas Schroeder Webmaster
MUSEUM OF DREAMS MARCH 11 & 12, 2011 • 7:30 P.M. • VALENTINE THEATRE When Museum of Dreams Artisitc Director Michael Lang shared his vision for this production with Executive Director Mari Davies, she was instantly enthusiastic and put into motion this partnership with Toledo Museum of Art. Lang’s vision was to bring to life pieces of art currently on exhibit at Toledo Museum of Art by creating their stories through dance. Ms. Davies contacted TMA’s then Interim Director, Rod Bigelow, and the three met to discuss Lang’s vision and to brainstorm ways of developing and promoting this collaboration. “I was amazed at the collection at The Toledo Museum of Art,” said Lang. “The more time I actually spent in the Museum, the more I felt I would be doing a disservice not to include all of the diversity that the Museum has to offer. At one moment I found myself taken in by something like Rodin’s Eve and then I would walk around the corner and find myself in the craziness of Marisol Escobar’s The Party. This seemed to fit my diverse tastes in dance and movement, as well. As a choreographer, this is the way I like to create. So in true Michael Lang fashion, Museum of Dreams will have a little something for everyone.” Over the ensuing months, Toledo Ballet continued to meet with museum staff members and convey the concept to new TMA President, Director, and CEO Brian Kennedy. The celebration of our museum’s art has been met with great excitement from all constituents at the museum. “The concept of art works coming alive, the figures in them dancing and acting out a fantasy is imagined brilliantly by director Michael Lang in Museum of Dreams and realized memorably by the dancers of Toledo Ballet. The Toledo Museum of Art is thrilled to collaborate with such a creative exploration in theatrical dance,” said Mr. Kennedy. Some of the TMA pieces highlighted in this original dance concert include Duane Hanson’s “Executive,” Escobar’s “The Party,” “The Dancers” and “The Rehearsal Room” by Degas, Rodin’s “Eve,” “Untitled Print” by Pollock, and “St. Francis de Paolo” by Kehinde Wiley. Auguste Rodin, (French, 1840-1917) Eve. Bronze, 1881. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1952.92
Officers
Robert A. Koenig President James Hill President-Elect
FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES –
WHY THE ARTS ARE IMPORTANT On stage before each Nutcracker performance Toledo Ballet
Judith Leb Secretary
Executive Mari Davies shared with the audience an anecdote
Damian Rodgers Treasurer
Croninger. Immediately following the Nutcracker Student
relayed to her by Nutcracker Outreach Director Condessa Performance, Miss Condessa was in the lobby to greet the children
Trustees DeAnn Gorun – Baker Yolanda Mora-Calderon Stephanie Cihon Dawn Coleman Stephanie Dames John Gorun Jeanette Grzeszczak Sarah Householder Anne Izzi Kathy Jones Darren LaShelle Gail Mirrow David Saygers Barbara Stengle Marie Bollinger Vogt Bruce Works
whose classrooms she had visited in order to prepare them for the performance. Suddenly, one of the thousand third graders bolted across the lobby and grabbed Miss Condessa around the waist, exclaiming, “Today was the best day ever in my whole life!” © 2011 Photoworks, Inc.
A mother of a Down syndrome child wrote, “She absolutely LOVED
it! She calls it the ‘cracker dance.’ For her to sit through a two hour performance and never once ask to leave or try to leave is truly a miracle. She watched the whole thing - sometimes on the edge of her seat, clapping at all the right places.” In a struggling economy, the question does arise: Where do the arts fit and what role do they play? Well, in the eyes of these children they are, quite simply, life changing. In many children’s lives, the palate of their days is often monochromatic, with little opportunity to explore novel possibilities. This performance brought an exploding “Technicolor” experience to twenty four hundred children. Two hours brought great inspiration to more than these two children. Who knows what inspired writing and conversation ensued in those classrooms following that performance? As Toledo Ballet Founder and Artistic Director Emerita Marie Vogt says, “The arts nourish us.” I think it is safe to say that these children would second that notion.
DOCUMENTARY TO AIR NATIONALLY The WGTE “Toledo Stories” documentary RÉVÉRENCE: TOLEDO BALLET will air nationally in 2011. The 30 – minute program was selected by 77 local American Public Television affiliates nationally. A program needs a minimum of 25 selections to quality for national distribution. RÉVÉRENCE: TOLEDO BALLET had its premiere on WGTE in April 2010. In November 2010, the documentary was awarded a Crystal Award for Excellence by the Toledo Chapter of Business in Communication (formerly the Association of Women in Communications). The documentary highlights the power of dance and the important place this 72 year old institution holds in the community. A combination of dedicated young dancers, former Toledo Ballet dancers, current directors, and Toledo Ballet Founder and Artistic Director Emerita Marie Bollinger Vogt share their memories and their insight into Toledo Ballet’s history and current activities.
RECONNECT:
ALUMNUS BRADLEY PARQUETTE For the past several summers, our dancers cheer with delight when TB alum Brad Parquette returns home to give back to the studio in which he grew up. His calm, gentle demeanor, his statuesque presence, and his sparkling eyes and smile make many a heart skip a beat as he conducts his summer intensive. What first drew you to dance? I spent a great deal of time as a child drawing, painting and creating all sorts of visual art, so when I saw my first ballet performance there was this recognition of “Oh, you can make art with your body moving through space, too”. I had to try. What are so me of your fondest memories of your years at TB? I have wonderful memories of the old Toledo Ballet studios on Central Ave. at Cricket West. At -time, the entire cast would come for rehearsals. I have no idea how we all fit, or, how Mrs. Vogt kept her sanity with all of those people present. If we were to ask Madame Vogt to use three words to describe you as a young dancer, what would they be? Passionate, rebellious and hard-headed. What did you take with you from your training with Madame Vogt and Madame Velta that remains with you today? An appreciation for “line”, as in, how to best present my body on the stage and in the classroom, how to make beautiful lines with it. When I went out into the world of dance it was a revelation to me that not many men in ballet at the time had a grasp of that concept. You left TB for an opportunity to study at the Joffrey. Describe your experience with the Joffrey. The Joffrey was where I learned where I really fit into the dance world. I was star struck at first. I would find myself standing at the barre with people I’d seen on the stage and on television. I thought to myself, “I’d better buckle down, and get to work!” Eventually, you left performing to teach at the university level. What are the differences between teaching at a studio and at a university? The dance department at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I taught, was primarily focused on contemporary dance. The dancers were encouraged to “think” dance as well as “do” dance. University dance opened up a broader path for them while at the same time asking them to explore specifics. Teaching dancers who are learning to flex their minds as well as their muscles is quite invigorating. From a male dancing perspective, what influence do you think televised dance programs will influence males’ interest in exploring dance in our culture? Televised dance is certainly exposing more and more men to dance. I do think it a bit sad that these dance “contest” programs are adopting the framework of competitive sports. Do we have to compete for a prize? Does one of the artists have to “win”? I’d like to think that we all win, are all enriched, by simply getting to view those beautiful, articulate bodies moving across the stage. What advice would you give to our TB dancers who aspire to a dance career? Listen, and watch. Your instructors will offer you their knowledge; what you do with it is up to you. Take what they give you and continue to teach yourselves. And, maybe most importantly, never doubt yourself. You really can do anything you set your mind to, but you really have to focus, don’t waver.
Toledo Ballet thanks its Guild for making this gorgeous ILLUMINATED sign possible
PAYING IT FORWARD Ninety four year old Toledo Ballet alumna Beverly G. wanted to sponsor a child for our 2010 summer programs. So TB Executive Director Mari Davies contacted her and asked if the funds could be used for a current Toledo Ballet student whose family was experiencing numerous crises. Not only did Mrs. G. agree to cover Jenny’s summer intensive; she also picked up the cost of regular summer tuition so that Jenny would be ready for Nutcracker auditions. Jenny had earned money for her summer intensive tuition, so when Mrs. G. made her generous contribution, this very special Toledo Ballet dancer decided to donate her own hardearned funds to Toledo Ballet’s scholarship fund, so that she could help someone else who loved to dance but could not afford it. Jenny’s mother had emphasized the importance to Jenny of having dance as a healthy emotional and physical outlet during this frightening time in her family’s lives, and Jenny wanted someone else to have that same opportunity. Dance remains with a dancer throughout their lives, whether they still can execute the steps or not, because they remember how it makes them feel. It is rewarding to know just how important dance is in our lives, whether we are fourteen or ninety four.