American Youth Ballet
May 12th, Saturday - At JCCC Carlsen Center
Swan Lake
12 May 2012
American Dance Center (studio rehearsals) and
Performance at Carlsen Center at JCCC in the Polsky Theater
Here a couple of pictures showing Swan Lake in studio rehearsal and later in the theater. These young dancers are some of the best in the area. Ages range from 13 to18 in the American Youth Ballet which is the performance troup from American Dance Center at 118th and Quivira in Overland Park, Kansas.
The studio is owned by Jennifer Tierney and Kristopher Estes-Brown. The young performers are joined by working professional dancers, mixing the veteran's experience into the group. It makes a great learning experience for the young students and kicks up the performances overall. The students who leave here often go into dance majors in college and directly into company work.
The older kids refine their learning by helping the younger kids and everyone is enhanced by the mix of levels, which includes active roles by parents. That thought reminds me of the one-room school house my grandmother taught in (early 1900s) and my dad went to school in (from the farm, taking the mule the mile or two in winter - true).
In studio - rehearsal a week before performance - Meredith Green in jete.In-Studio pictures ( see the stage pictures below)
Jessica Brown (working pro) & Dalton Heinle (umkc), Erik Sobbe (working pro, in chair), Kristopher Estes-Brown (right)
Working on sections of the ballet, after doing run throughs in the studio.
Working professional Erik Sobbe in jete.
Meredith Green
Stephanie Ruley and Erik Sobbe
Working professional, Jessica Brown, third from left, in light top, adding her experience to the students'
The cygnets left-right: Molly Cook, Katy Hagen, Jessica Brown, Sydney Wilson
See more cygnets below in a section
Stephanie Ruley
On Stage in the Theater
Performances were Saturday, 12 May 2011
Program information
Choreography by Kristoper Estes-Brown after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set Design: Ryan Zirngirbl
Lighting Design: Chris Crisci, Kristopher Estes-Brown
Projection: Chris Crisci
Costumes: Deborah Green, Jennifer Tierney, Carol Brookover, Jennifer BorthACT I
Scene 1 Prince Siegfried Erik Sobbe Maidens Sofia Acosta, Taylor Arel (2pm), Molly Cook, Anne-Marie Dahms, Meredith Green (7pm), Dena'h Gregory, Stephanie Krutz, Juliana Kuhn Stephanie Ruley (2pm), Emily Tatham (7pm), Cassie Wang, Danica Williams Waltz Ladies Olivia Althoff, Hannah Baillie, Lisa Kobayashi, Anna Monaldo, Sasha Reid, Paula Walowicz, Bonnie Weinberg Prince's Friends Jesse Cooper, Joseph Flickner, Dalton Heinle Benno Adam Still Spanish Princess Radie Keller Neapolitan Princess Katy Hagen Hungarian Princess Sydney Wilson
(costume generously sponsored by the Moore Family)Pages Theo Muhammed, Ocea Thompson, Asher Wilson, Eric Wright Flower Girls Annie Cook, Elise Johnson, Julia McGregor, Ashlyn Mills, Malerie Moore, Rebecca Nelson, Miriam Rogers, Amanda Young Queen Genevieve Frank Scene 2 Von Rothbart Stephen Word Odette Meredith Green (2pm), Stephanie Ruley (7pm)
(costumes generously sponsored by the Dana Seeley Family)Swan Maidens Sofia Acosta, Taylor Arel (7pm) Anne-Marie Dahms, Dena'h Gregory, Juliana Kuhn, Stephanie Krutz, Emily Tatham (2pm), Cassie Wang
(costumes generously sponsored by the Arel Family)Cygnets Jessica Brown, Molly Cook, Katy Hagen, Sydney Wilson Pas de Trois Taylor Arel (2pm), Meredith Green (7pm), Stephanie Ruley (2pm), Emily Tatham (7pm), Danica Williams Intermission ACT II
Scene 3 Master of Ceremonies Jesse Cooper Queen's Court Olivia Althoff, Hannah Baillie, Lisa Kobayashi, Julia McGregor, Anna Monaldo, Sasha Reid, Bonnie Weinberg Prince Siegfried Erik Sobbe Queen Genevieve Frank Spanish Princess Radie Keller Spanish Guests Anne-Marie Dahms, Danica Williams, Sofia Acosta, Stephanie Krutz, Paula Walowicz Neapolitan Princess Katy Hagen Neapolitan Guests Molly Cook, Dena'h Gregory Hungarian Princess Sydney Wilson Hungarian Guests Annie Cook, Elise Johnson, Malerie Moore, Miriam Rogers Cavaliers Joseph Flickner, Dalton Heinle Von Rothbart Stephen Word Odile Taylor Arel (7pm), Emily Tatham (2pm)
(costumes generously sponsored by Dana Seeley Family)Scene 4 Odette Meredith Green (2pm), Stephanie Ruley (7pm) Swan Maidens Sofia Acosta, Taylor Arel (2pm), Jessica Brown, Molly Cook, Anne-Marie Dahms, Meredith Green (7pm), Dena'h Gregory, Katy Hagen, Juliana Kuhn Stephanie, Krutz Stephanie Ruley (2pm), Yui Tadakoro, Emily Tatham (7pm),Cassie Wang, Danica Williams, Sydney Wilson
Stephanie Ruley and Erik Sobbe
Emily Tatham (Black Swan at 2pm) with Erik Sobbe
Erik Sobbe and Stephanie Ruley
Working pro, Jessica Brown, waiting during dress
Kristopher Estes-Brown exhorts his "troops" before performing
The Cygnets
I had to do a special section because this technically tough section shows the quality of these dancers and because a single shot doesn't do justice to their work. This is a very fast section with a lot of changes, None of these shots are posed (they are all during performance) and I have a lot of them, too many for this page. But take a gander (so to speak) at these swans. Also look at the other ensemble shots. These are hard to shoot because everyone has to be just exactly together. Normally, when you see these in company pictures, they were posed and someone counted. Not so here. What you see is what happened. The better the dancers, the better the photographer looks.
Our four cygnets: Molly Cook, Katy Hagen, Jessica Brown, Sydney Wilson
Same moments, different cast
Stephanie Ruley (Odette at 7 pm) and Erik Sobbe (Prince Siegfried)
Meredith Green (Odette at 2 pm) and Erik Sobbe (Prince Siegfried)
Molly Cook
Erik Sobbe
Katy Hagen