Verbiculture: November 2020 Issue 2

verbiculture November 2020 | Issue 2

PANDEMIC CONDUCTING BlueWater Chamber Orchestra teams up with Verb Ballets

BACK ON STAGE

Photo:Jackie Sawjewski 2020 Dancer: Kate Webb

Nostalgic Nutcracker magic amped up with Neil Zaza's, holiday show One Silent Night...

CREATING LEGACY New endowment fund set up to ensure a bright future

inside verbiculture 14 02 12 04

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The Director's Note Conducting through the Pandemic New Board Leadership Creating Legacy Stories of Giving Last Season by the Numbers Ways to Support

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Strain Inflicted & Honoring Loss 10 Q's with Kelly Korfhage Who is Wasted Talent Media Meet Betsie Schaeffer Rockin' New Traditions on Stage

For more content and exclusive videos, visit www.verbballets.org

DIRECTOR'S NOTE 2020 is coming to an end. In many ways it feels like the year has lasted an eternity. It is hard to fathom how the pandemic has shaken our industry. I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish, shifting to virtual programming and exploring new ways of presenting dance. As the governor has begun to allow theatres to open with limited audiences, we are happy to participate in the experiment of a socially distanced audience at the Akron Civic Theatre for a family matinee of Peter and the Wolf. In December, we will make a guest appearance in Neil Zaza’s One Silent Night... show again at the Akron Civic Theatre. It is a strange new norm, but I am grateful to continue to bring dance to our audiences. We are all eager for a vaccine and to resume life as we knew it. The second half of our season will most likely be fluid as we see what is the best situation to present work.

I am very much looking forward to the upcoming collaboration with BlueWater Chamber Orchestra on November 21st. Daniel Meyer is the Artistic Director and Conductor of BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and serves as director of many additional regional orchestras. We first started working with him two years ago at Lakeside Chautauqua. This partnership has grown and now audiences will be treated to a collaboration specifically made for virtual performance.

Thank you for your patience and continued support. The history and strength of this organization has always been in its creativity. This season is experimental in nature as we find new approaches to do what we do best - dance. Read more about exciting new works

Photo:Kolman Rosenberg

coming soon.

Dr. Margaret Carlson Producing Artistic Director

Grace (2020) Dancer: Lieneke Matte

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WE HAVE BIG PLANS FOR INTRIGUING AND DELIGHTING CLEVELAND AUDIENCES WITH PROGRAMS THAT MOVE AND

DANIEL MEYER

Photo: Susan Bestul

INSPIRE MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES.

E X P L O R E

C L A S S I C A L

M U S I C

CONDUCTING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC Captivating and imaginative conductor Daniel Meyer was appointed permanent Artistic Director and Conductor of the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra in April of 2019. As Music Director of the Erie Philharmonic and Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director of the Westmoreland Symphony, and Director of Orchestral Activities at Duquesne University, Mr. Meyer has reinvigorated orchestras with his innovative programs, engaging presence and keen musical intellect. We sat down with him to talk about the the new collaboration in store.

Tell us about your background working with both dance and orchestra together?

My first experiences with ballet and live orchestra were with the Pittsburgh Ballet and Attack Theatre, a modern dance ensemble based in Pittsburgh. With the Pittsburgh Ballet, we performed Balanchine's Serenade, which re-orders the movements of the Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings into an emotional ensemble piece. With Attack Theatre, we created a premiere version of Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat, a fascinating wartime Faust tale for chamber ensemble and dancers. I learned right away that the tempos and inflections that best suit the dancers will ultimately reveal the best results, even if I would make different choices in the concert hall. It's truly a collaboration, and I also do my best to stay connected to the physicality of what the dancers do - it deeply influences how I pace the musicmaking.

The program is titled “Building Bridges Together.� How did the organizations come to that name and what were you hoping to share?

With the pandemic still raging in our country, we have been anxious to create experiences that keep us connected to our audience. We want to find ways to build a bridge to our Photos: Susan Bestul Performance photos prior to COVID-19 (2019)

audience at home, and that led to an idea that we could build a bridge to one of our treasured artistic partners in

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Verb Ballets. The passion and beauty of dance is such a visual experience, and to marry that to the way BlueWater Chamber Orchestra makes music and satisfies our need for auditory stimulation, I hoped that the combination would in some way strengthen us through this tie and give us hope for the future.

Were there any unique challenges or opportunities conducting with a socially distanced orchestra?

The orchestra performed with at least six feet between each of us, so the way that we subconsciously react to each other changes drastically. I also never fully appreciated how our facial expressions signal to each other what we are about to do, how we will do it, and how we feel about it all. I do believe we have to finely hone our other senses to a degree that compensates for what we lack in visual stimulation and visual cueing.

How has working with film brought out the unique qualities of the orchestra?

In this format, our audience has a close-up view of our musicians working their hardest to fill each musical gesture with meaning and passion. You can really feel as if you are a specially invited guest who gets to hear and watch the orchestra onstage. I happily get to experience this sensation on a regular basis, and it gives me great pleasure to share this vantage point with our audience.

What did you most enjoy about working with Verb Ballets?

I first had the pleasure to experience

Verb Ballets when they came to

I knew we were kindred spirits in

Lakeside Chautauqua to perform with

terms of our love to create, execute,

the Lakeside Symphony Orchestra. I

and dream. I just knew that someday

was immediately struck by the

it would be inevitable that the

creativity of the choreography, the

BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and

fascinating choices of music, and the

Verb Ballets would collaborate.

notably high quality of dancing. There was obviously a special chemistry between the dancers, and that came across to clearly on the Hoover Auditorium stage. Once I had then the chance to collaborate with Maggi and Richard the following summer,

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Don't miss Building Bridges Together November 21st at 7:00pm ET Get tickets now!

Photo: Bill Naiman

Carmen (2019) Dancers: Noe Iwamatsu, Elizabeth Schaeffer, Benjamin Shepard, Emily Dietz, Ashley ForchĂŠ

NEW BOARD LEADERSHIP 14 year board veteran steps in new role as president

Robert Shwab Verb Ballets welcomes Robert Shwab as our new board president for the 2020-21 season. He has served on the board of directors for the past 14 years and has helped to guide Verb Ballets through a name change, economic crisis, building a new facility, and much more. He was inspired by the strength and resolve of Verb dancers and staff in the face of the pandemic challenges and stepped up to help lead as president. Rob has a successful 30-year career as a leadership coach for practice and career advice, and retirement sales training. He came to Cleveland with Ernst & Young business consulting, then as COO of a dot com startup. He has worked with several investment and financial tech firms in consulting and sales roles including Ascensus, Mutual of America, and NEBS. He graduated from SUNY Purchase and further accreditation from the Wharton School. Now retired he is arbitrator for FINRA, a market strategy consultant for private equity firms, an adviser to a free speech organization, and a business writer. He is taking on new adventures in retirement with producing a screenplay with a modernist take on Madame Butterfly in collaboration with a film producer classmate from SUNY Purchase.

Currently, he is in North Carolina searching out mountain bike trails. He will head back to Cleveland with his wife, TuYa, for cold weather hikes and to enjoy their four

My priority is to support the dedication and energy of our dancers and staff who have been relentlessly in re-inventing the company.

grandchildren. verbiculture | November 2020

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Photo: Jackie Sajewski 2020 Dancers: Lieneke Matte, Julie Russel, Kelly Korfhage

D R .

M A R G A R E T

C A R L S O N

Stories of giving from supporters that make a Verb Ballets season possible.

Every gift no matter the amount helps us to achieve our mission.

S T O R I E S

O F

G I V I N G

CREATING LEGACY TO ENSURE A BRIGHT FUTURE Verb Ballets was honored to receive a gift from Kenneth Milder, longtime supporter of the company, to establish the first endowment fund for the organization. The Verb Ballets Endowment Fund was set up through the Cleveland Foundation. Different from an annual fund that supports yearly operations, the endowment fund grows in perpetuity as an investment and allows a non-profit to take a portion of the interest earned each year. In short, it helps to strengthen an organization financially by diversifying its income to ride the tides of economic challenges.

As fate would have it, I did not stay in the performing arts, although I had apprenticed in technical theatre at The Santa Fe Opera. Perhaps I didn’t share the courage to pursue such a challenging career path in the arts.

Nonetheless, I have been blessed with a wonderful 38-year career at the New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory. Now as a retiree from a prestigious national laboratory, it has afforded me the opportunity to give back to my beloved performing arts.

Why would you encourage people to contribute to the endowment?

I believe art and humanities education is an essential component of society’s progress, especially in this highly competitive world.

The arts help push the frontiers of human knowledge and achievement. In this era of tight budgets, where funding for arts and humanities is first on the chopping block of school and college education, our support is more critical than ever.

My hope is that you, too, recognize the importance of having arts and humanities in our lives and share in creating a legacy of support through this endowment. Will you join me?

What inspired you to create the

I witnessed first-hand the

endowment fund?

challenges faced by those who bring

On the surface a dancer’s life

us their talent and beauty through

appears glamorous. I know this

their art.

because two of my dearest childhood friends, including Maggi,

What has inspired your sense of

made it their career as dancers. I

philanthropy?

have seen their reality, in the hard

As a child, theatre was my refuge; a

work, long hours, dedication to

safe place away from my own home-

make it for very little pay.

life challenges. It was also in theatre

Developing their talent to a level of

that I created life-long friendships

acceptance by a ballet company

that shaped my personal

typically requires struggle.

philanthropic goals.

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S T O R I E S

O F

G I V I N G

ENSURING ARTS ACCESSIBILITY Cleveland Heights residents and Verb Ballets' board members, James D. Graham and David M. Dusek annually give the gift of underwriting the production costs to allow Verb Ballets to present a free performance at Cain Park for the community. James D. Graham is the Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer & Secretary of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. David is retired from Lubrizol and led Verb Ballets as the President of the Board for the last four years. They both serve on several non-profit boards including the Playhouse Square Foundation, Hiram College, the American Red Cross and are active in fundraising for numerous institutions in the Cleveland area. Their relentless passion and support of dancers as artists is inspiring.

Cain Park 2019 Photo: Bill Naiman Dancers: Omar Humphrey, Michael Escovedo, Lexy Lattimore, Kate Webb, Christina Lindhout, Sabrina Lindhout, NathanaĂŤl Santiago

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S T O R I E S

O F

G I V I N G

LONGTIME SUPPORT "Over the years, we have known and remained friends with many officers, board members, dancers and even production staff. This involvement is important and enriching for us. We love the way that Verb connects with

Verb has always been a repertory company. We believe the company is a local source for a variety of dance.

the community, through classes, outreach and performances at a variety of venues including the studio.

The location of the new home deepens our connection with the Shaker Heights community. We're proud to support Verb!"

Marvin and Charlene Nevans have followed the company since its founding as the Repertory Dance Project. As longtime supporters they are proud to support Verb Ballets through annual giving.

-Marvin & Charlene Nevans

Dancers: Erin Conway Lewis, Mark Tomasic 2004

BEYOND STATE LINES "I am so impressed by how graceful, strong, and healthy (so important in the dance world) the dancers are. Verb has a passion for teaching, in believing dance is for everyone.

How wonderful to be in a class of adults who want to study this beautiful art form! Many of the teachers dance in the company which creates a bond between students and artists. Watching a performance where you know some of the dancers makes it personal, more beautiful and fun to watch. I live a long way from Cleveland and am grateful for the opportunity to see performances virtually! " Anndria Ciabattoni first saw the company at Lakeside Chautauqua on a special trip with her mother. She also participates in our online community Dance for Everyone classes and even comes to the studio when in town for business. She supports Verb Ballets by making a monthly donation. She also engages her employee giving program to make her support go further!

Verb does it all very well, even in these crazy times.

-Anndria Ciabattoni

Photo: Susan Bestul 2017 Dancers: Kate Webb, Stephaen Hood

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2 0 1 9 - 2 0

S E A S O N

B Y

T H E

N U M B E R S

New Collaborations

6,829 Outreach particpants

3 528

Community dance classes

13

1,680

4

Tickets sold

Commissions

Year partnership with Laura Alonso

4

Counties

4,998 Community dance students

5

shows with live music

2

Tours to Cuba

T H A N K 11

Y O U

F O R

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Y O U R

S U P P O R T

T O

M A K E

A L L

T H I S

P O S S I B L E

Photo: Jackie Sejewski Dancer: Lieneke Matte

SEASON OF GIVING Please consider a tax deductible contribution to the Annual Fund for the 2020-21 season. Pivoting towards new opportunities will take additional support to conquer the technical challenges we face.

Your contribution will help us move into this new year and a new reality with confidence. Together we can make an impact through dance.

To make a donation online by credit card visit verbballets.org/donate

To make a donation by check please mail to Verb Ballets 3558 Lee Rd. Shaker Heights, OH 44120.

For details on how to set up monthly pledges please contact Nakiasha Moore-Dunson at 216397-3757 ext 2.

For details on how to contribute gifts of stock or securities contact Dr. Margaret Carlson at 216-3973757 ext 3.

For details on how to contribute to the endowment fund contact Dr. Margaret Carlson at 216-3973757 ext 3.

To make gift in honor or as a present contact Nakiasha Moore-Dunson at 216-397-3757 ext 2.

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Photo: Jackie Sajewski

FEATURE

Broken Bridges (2020) Dancers: Lieneke Matte, Kate Webb

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verbiculture | November 2020

Photo: Jackie Sajewski

STRAIN INFLICTED & HONORING LOSS Former Verb Ballets dancer and choreographer,Michael Escovedo talks about honoring his grandmother's memory while staying true to the person she was Broken Bridges (2020) Dancers: Lieneke Matte, Kate Webb, Julie Russel, Kelly Korfhage

We sat down with Michael Escovedo to

mechanism for everything I was

there is dignity in life no matter how

talk about the story behind his ballet,

experiencing. The high tension and

torturous it can be. And the beauty in

Broken Bridges. The work will appear on

contrast within the music helped me

human beings, even if they are

the Building Bridges Together program

tell the story, and helped me process

covered in layers of abuse, illness, and

that was filmed with BlueWater

my emotions. To my surprise a year

misfortune.

Chamber Orchestra.

later Dr. Carlson asked me to

Dr. Carlson originally came to you with a

choreograph, and when she did, I was

This is an immensely personal ballet

more than ready to share.

about your family. How does it feel to

challenge to reimagine or take

see it on stage again?

inspiration from Heinz Poll’s Elegiac Song

The ballet was choreographed in 2017

I actually have mixed emotions about

also set to music by Shostakovich. What

after your grandmother passed away.

making this piece public. Putting

inspired you by his work?

Tell us how she inspired the piece.

myself out there is one thing. I didn’t

When I first saw Heinz Poll’s Elegiac

My grandmother's passing was

realize what the impact would be on

Song, I was drawn to the loneliness of

one of the first close experiences

my family to witness their

the piece. My heart broke watching a

with death that I'd had. At that time I

experiences on a stage. I'm so grateful

woman fight her way through

was also coming to terms with my

to have a supportive family that loves

emotion, loss and exhaustion. While

own mortality, and what my impact

and appreciates the work that I

we were setting Elegiac Song, my

on the world would be. As I grew, I

create. The piece became healing

grandmother’s Alzheimers began to

began seeing qualities in myself that

work for all of us and helped us all

get worse. I started to see my

were very similar to my

grow to understand each other on a

grandmother in this woman, and I

grandmother, and most of these

deeper level. I am so proud of this

started to connect their journeys. At

qualities were not necessarily good.

piece and will always be filled with an

this point, I began listening to

While making Broken Bridges, I

array of emotions every time I see it.

Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony,

wanted to validate both of our

the same music used for Elegiac Songs,

existences. I wanted to show that

and it became a coping verbiculture | November 2020

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Dancers (left to right) : Noe Iwamatsu, Daniel Cho, Kelly Korfhage, Antonio Morillo, Julie Russel, Robert Carter, Dancers (center) Kate Webb, Lieneke Matte

Broken Bridges (2020) Photo: Jackie Sajewski

How did the title of the ballet come to you?

What did you most enjoy about working with Verb Ballets?

One of the main themes of the piece is the loss of

This company is my family. We have all seen each other at

connection. These include familial, personal, and even

our best and our worst, and those experiences bring an

mental connections. My father used my grandmother's first

authenticity to our work that I cannot find anywhere else.

name, Bridgette, and the idea of breaking connections to

There is not another company on this planet that

create the title Broken Bridges.

understands me, my mind, and my intention as well as Verb Ballets does, and there isn’t another company that I would

Given the ballet is being performed for film vs stage what do you

trust with a work like this.

hope people will see in the work?

I hope that our audience can see the amount of detail within

After retiring from Verb Ballets what are you up to now?

the piece. Every single step has meaning to it, and there is so

After leaving Verb, I moved back near my family and took on

much story told through motifs and symbols. I also hope

the job of Conservatory Manager at the Colorado

everyone gets a close look at the main dress. My mother,

Conservatory of Dance. I continue to choreograph and I

Shawna Hinton, designed and created it, and it is beautiful

always have a piece in my back pocket ready for Verb!

and perfectly fits the the theme and emotion of the piece.

Finally, I hope that the audience will be able to connect with the emotion of the piece and the emotion of the dancers.

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Building Bridges Together November 21st at 7:00pm ET Get tickets now!

Photo: Kolman Rosenberg Dancers: Kelly Korfhage, Benjamin Shepard

How many times have you performed Adagio for Two Dancers? I have performed the work four times. Last year at the Heinz Poll Dance Festival, Lakeside Chautauqua, our virtual performance this past October, and for the filming of our upcoming collaboration with the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra.

What is the trickiest part of the choreography for you? I think the trickiest part isn’t necessarily a specific step. It’s the ability to be exact and consistent with every movement. Something as little as stepping an inch in the wrong direction could cause something to not go as planned. This piece needs to be rehearsed multiple times every day to gain consistency.

What are you thinking at the top that sit lift? I’m thinking about keeping my body tight, while simultaneously reminding myself to appear calm, graceful, and goddess-like.

What was the biggest coaching tip you have received when learning the piece? This tip came from both Richard Dickinson and Jane Startzman. To dance big and use the space. There are plenty of moments in the piece where I could play it safe, but it is much more exciting for the audience if I take chances and step or jump far away from my partner before he catches me.

What has been difference performing this in studio for film versus a live audience? When performing this for a live show, we only have to do it once. When we filmed it, we had to do it 2.5 times in a row to get all of the necessary shots. It was a lot more tiring, but the final product will be awesome with all of the “movie magic.”

How would you describe the work Verb does in one word? Diverse What has been your favorite memory thus far this season? Definitely rehearsing and performing Adagio for Two Dancers. It is one of my favorite roles I’ve ever performed and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have a second go at it. There’s always room for improvement which keeps it fun.

How have you been coping as an artist during the pandemic? I feel a new sense of gratitude for every day I am able to step into a studio. I found that having to go with the flow attitude has made it easier for me to deal with the many changes and uncertainties.

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QUESTIONS WITH KELLY KORFHAGE

What is your favorite holiday tradition? My family always celebrates Christmas the Saturday after the real holiday. We call it “Fakemas.”

I look forward to that every year!

What are you are looking forward to next? I am excited for the virtual premiere of FEAST: a ballet on November 27th! It is a work I cochoreograph with fellow dancer Christina Lindhout and the Creative Destruction Collective.

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B E H I N D

T H E

S C E N E S

WHO IS WASTED TALENT MEDIA? Ever wonder who has helped Verb Ballets pivot to film this season? Wasted Talent Media, a multiaward-winning film, broadcast, and digital media production company created in 2009. Winners of several ADDY and AVA awards, Wasted Talent Media creates inspiring content across a broad

Carnival Macabre (2020) Dancers: Daniel Cho, Julie Russel

Photo: Kolman Rosenberg

creative spectrum from documentary film to television and advertising. Wasted Talent Media is also the creator and producer of Arts Quest hosted

by Erin Ludlam and Todd Volkmer and distributed throughout the Midwest. Check out Wasted Talent Media at www.wastedtalentmedia.com and on instagram @WTMvideo.

BETSIE SCHAEFFER Betsie Schaeffer was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan before returning home to New Hampshire at the age of 11. She began her dance career with Northeastern Ballet Theatre. Schaeffer attended Belhaven University where she received awards for outstanding artistic and scholastic achievements. She has attended the Bates Dance Festival, Alabama Dance Festival, the National American College Dance Association Festival at the Kennedy Center and has appeared as a guest performer in local theaters. After graduation, she danced with Ballet Hartford. She moved to Cleveland with her husband, Josh Schaeffer, a dancer with Inlet Dance Theatre in 2018. This is her second season as a trainee with Verb Ballets and she has performed in company repertoire such as Wandering On and Mendelssohn Italian Symphony.

Dancers: Betsie Schaeffer with husband Josh Schaeffer

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verbiculture | November 2020

Photos: Kolman Rosenberg

ROCKIN' NEW TRADITIONS ON STAGE Kate Webb grew up in Richmond, Virginia. She joined Verb Ballets in 2015 after graduating from Butler University. She has choreographed six works for Verb ballets including a premiere for Tuesday Musical’s Fuze series. Audiences will get a sneak peek at the production Revenge of the Rat King coming next season with rock virtuoso Neil Zaza. Her lively spirit comes through with nostalgic magic in new choreography for a Nutcracker-inspired ballet.

We sat down with her to see how she approached this amped up holiday tradition.

What about the Nutcracker music is nostalgic for you?

Pretty much everything about the score is nostalgic for me! I have been dancing Nutcracker since I was 8 years old, it's firmly planted into my psyche. As a young dancer, getting to perform in the production was the pentacle of my year. Tchaikovsky's score is a masterpiece and can take me back to memories from over 15 years ago in just a few notes.

What is your vision for the choreography?

The rockin’ version of the score that Neil Zaza has orchestrated demands that this classical holiday tradition be given a wicked makeover—while it will still include pointe shoes and tutus, leather and head banging will also be on deck.

Were there any unique challenges or opportunities choreographing with for the rock concert?

Most of the challenges stem from the production differences that come between a rock and a ballet concert. The lighting and special effects for a rock show are far more raucous than they are for a typical dance performance and could disorient the dancers during turn sequences. I also have to place the dancers in spacing patterns that are flexible enough to adjust around potentially unforeseen cords and musical equipment that could get in the way.

Neil has given me more or less free creative reign to “rock” the choreography in any direction.

Dancers: Lieneke Matte, Hunter Hoffman, Kate Webb, Benjamin Shepard, Kelly Korfhage, Robert Carter, Antonio Morillo

Don't miss the sneak peek at Neil Zaza's One Silent Night...

December 12th at 8:00pm at the Akron Civic Theatre Get tickets now! verbiculture | November 2020

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TICKETS ON SALE NOW

Photo: Kolman Rosenberg

3558 Lee Rd. Shaker Heights, OH 44120 216-397-3757 l verbballets.org

Building Bridges Together with BlueWater Chamber Orchestra November 21, 2020 7:00pm Virtual Performance Neil Zaza's One Silent Night...

December 12, 2020 8:00pm Akron Civic Theatre Adaigo for Two Dancers (2020) Dancers: Kelly Korfhage, Benjamin Shepard