Co-Director Sara Jansen Clayborne’s Final Performance!

A Note from Co-Director Sara Jansen Clayborne:

Photo by Andrea Shirey Photography

Dear Friends, Patrons, and Community Members:

On April 20th, 2013 Charlottesville Ballet will present the Mainstage Two Performance: Tribute at Piedmont Virginia Community College to celebrate the professional company’s fifth performing season.  I want to let you all know that this will be my final performance as a professional dancer. 

I have thought long and hard about this decision and have realized that my role as both Director and Teacher have become my new passion.  I have been blessed to have a professional career for 12+ years and am excited to focus on the expansion of Charlottesville Ballet rather than expanding my career as a dancer and performer.  I will truly miss the stage (…and may return in a few fun character roles), but I am excited and determined to see Charlottesville Ballet grow to new heights!

I hope that you will join me on Saturday, April 20 in celebrating both the 5th Anniversary of Charlottesville Ballet and the culmination of my career as a dancer.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this new journey.  I look forward to this new chapter in my life and thank each of you for your continued support!

With Gratitude,

Sara Jansen Clayborne

Co-Director, Charlottesville Ballet
Director, Charlottesville Ballet Academy

Call for Community Performers | Keith Lee’s “Trilogy”

Calling All Dancers– Perform on Stage with Charlottesville Ballet’s Professional Company!

Charlottesville Ballet is offering community members a chance to participate in our upcoming Mainstage Two Performance: Tribute on April 20 at Piedmont Virginia Community College. The performance celebrates the company’s fifth season with an evening of works by Associate Director Keith Lee.

The grand finale for the April 20 performance is Keith Lee’s gospel-inspired work called Trilogy, which includes ballet, jazz, and modern dance movements. We are looking for community performers from all across Central Virginia to join the professional company on stage for the third and final section of Trilogy in an upbeat and energetic dance.

For more information about Community Collaboration in the Mainstage Two Performance, please contact Co-Director Emily Mott: emott@charlottesvilleballet.org or 434.973.2555.

CBA Closed Thursday 1/17/13

Charlottesville Ballet Academy will be closed today, Thursday 1/17, due the the risk of inclement weather.

Please stay tuned to our Facebook Page and call 434.985.3200 for inclement weather updates– stay safe and warm!

The Hard Hat Fundraising Gala is 10 Days Away!

Construction is coming along beautifully in Charlottesville Ballet’s new home at 1885 Seminole Trail!

Our Board of Directors, Dancers, and Staff have been excitedly preparing for the Hard Hat Fundraising Gala, which will be held in the new space on Saturday, January 26th at 6:00pm.  Special thanks to Lindsay Garrett Design & Photography for creating our beautiful posters and invitations for the event!

The Hard Hat Fundraising Gala will feature catering by The Little Red Hen and drinks by The Whiskey Jar.  Our silent auction features some of Charlottesville finest merchants including:  Angelo, Crutchfield, Penelope, Bristles, Bonefish Grill, Regal Cinemas, Andrea Shirey Photography, Virginia Wineworks, Artful Lodger, Curves, Hedge, Whole Foods Market, Jefferson Vineyards, and more.

Tickets to the event are $40 per person or $75 per couple with all proceeds benefiting Charlottesville Ballet.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.CharlottesvilleBallet.org or by calling the Box Office at 434.227.7592.

We’ve been updating our Facebook page with pictures and information about the progress of the construction, but we also wanted to post some updates here so you can really appreciate the transformation when you see the space at the Hard Hat Fundraising Gala!

Our contractor Mark Wiggins and his team finished installing the base of the sprung flooring system this week.   They’ve spent tedious hours laying state-of-the-art foam blocks every 6 inches across the 50′ x 30′ studio.  These little blocks may look like nothing, but they integral to creating a healthy space for our dancers– they allow the subfloor to give and cushion a dancer’s joints when he or she lands everything from small jumps to flying grande jetes!

Architect Corey Clayborne inspects the new framing

Mark Wiggins’ team laying the foam blocks

Over 4,000 blocks and many hours later…the sprung flooring base is complete!

Thank you again to all of our patrons, local businesses, and sponsors for making this new home possible for Charlottesville Ballet.  If you would like to make a donation, please visit our Contribute Page here.

Donate Now!

We look forward to seeing you at the Hard Hat Fundraising Gala!

CBA Spring Performance Information – “Around the World”

Charlottesville Ballet Academy is gearing up for our inaugural Spring Performance Around the World, featuring students from Charlottesville Ballet Academy and a guest performance by members of Charlottesville Ballet’s professional company.  Please see more information below– and be sure to purchase your tickets at the studio this week!

Around the World
Saturday, June 9th, 2012 @ 3:30pm
The Dickinson Theater at PVCC

CBA Families can find the “Parent Information Letter” here:

CBA Performance – Parent Letter

• Rehearsal times, performance information (tickets, hair, costumes, backstage info, etc.), and other notes for Charlottesville Ballet Academy students.

Around the World Program – Please Help Us Proof!

• Please click on each thumbnail image below for a proof of the CBA Program.  If you see any errors in your child’s name, please email CBA Principal Emily Mott (emott@charlottesvilleballet.org) with the page number and the corrected spelling/wording.

-Click Image for Page 1-

-Click Image for Pages 2-3-

-Click Image for Page 4-

Sneak Preview of The UNEARTHING @ The Ix Building

Dear Blog Readers and C-ville Dance/Arts Supporters,

Co-Director Sara Jansen and I stopped by the Ix Building Complex last week and got a sneak peek of the upcoming site-specific work called the UNEARTHING.  I caught up with Zap McConnell and performers of The UNEARTHING during a rehearsal and I wanted to share this great project with friends of C-ville Ballet.  If you haven’t heard of the project, check it out!

The Unearthing from Marco Durán on Vimeo.

WHAT IS THE UNEARTHING?

The UNEARTHING is an international exchange, art installation, dance theater performance, environmental fundraiser and saloon. The performance is the collaboration of twenty professional dancers, actors, and musicians from Mexico, California, Oregon, and Charlottesville. It is going to be a remarkable event and should stretch everyone’s concepts around what is possible. The UNEARTHING includes massive installations, kinetic sculptures, bicycle generators, local beer, live music, stunning movement, comedic scenes, and seed planting.  

Zap McConnell’s artistic vision is fueled by her belief that “cultivating imagination, making connections with community, and engaging the creative process can allow us to confront and solve the problems that we, as members of the global community, are facing.”

The Unearthing: One Word Promo 1 from Marco Durán on Vimeo.

  THE PERFORMANCE IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

In the performances of the  UNEARTHING, the artists “will create moving, visually-intense images based on our  research and our responses. We will poke fun at our own selves trying to live lightly as our carbon foot print is super large.”

• The performances of the UNEARTHING run the first 2 weeks of February:
• Wed-Sun Feb. 1-5 @ 8 pm  |  Tues-Sun Feb. 7-12 @ 8 pm
  The Ix Complex (Next to Play On! Theater) | 981 Second Street, SE
• Tickets can be purchased online through Live Arts:  https://www.choicesecure03.net/mainapp/eventschedule.aspx?Clientid=LiveArts

• The UNEARTHING Website: http://www.theunearthing.com
• The UNEARTHING on Facebook:   http://www.facebook.com/theunearthing

Please help Charlottesville Ballet support this wonderful collaboration between artists, dancers, activists, environmentalists, and community members here in Charlottesville!

Cheers to Zap McConnell and to all of the people, businesses, and organizations involved in the UNEARTHING project– y Mucha Mierda!

Emily Mott

Co-Director, Charlottesville Ballet

Moira’s Lynchburg Tour Diary #1

Hi everyone!  I’m Moira, one of Charlottesville Ballet’s apprentices.  We’re on the road in Lynchburg this weekend, performing our wonderful children’s ballet, A Fairytale Gathering, at Dance Theatre of Lynchburg–I play Little Red Riding Hood.  It’s been a wild and eventful weekend!

We arrived here in Lynchburg yesterday morning to do a school show at Paul Munro Elementary-it was an enormous audience, and we got an incredible response from the kids!

We then made a detour to Sonic: my very first Sonic experience.  Blake, my tour roommate (and the Big Bad Wolf!) and I are both vegans, so our options were limited, but we made the most of it!

Following our Sonic adventure, we headed over to Dance Theatre of Lynchburg to tech and space the show.  After some goofy fun,

we got down to work and put the show together in the new space.

Last night after rehearsal we enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Robin Alexander bistro downtown, generously donated by an anonymous patron.

Today was pretty epic, with four shows and four tea parties!  It was so wonderful to meet the children and to see how excited they were to meet their favorite fairytale characters.

Tomorrow will be a busy day as well.  We have the morning off, but then we’re learning works by the fabulous Keith Lee tomorrow afternoon.

Until next time,

Moira!

PCA Member Blog: Charlottesville Ballet

C’ville Ballet was recently highlighted on the Piedmont Council for the Arts (PCA) blog. Check out our new member profile:
http://charlottesvillearts.org/blog/pca-member-profile-charlottesville-ballet/

For information about all the awesome things PCA is up to, visit their website at www.charlottesvillearts.org

Lynchburg News & Advance article about “A Fairy Tale Gathering”

Check out the newspaper article about our Children’s Ballet Series ON TOUR! in Lynchburg, VA.

The article was published on October 12, 2010 and written by the lovely Casey Gillis. Enjoy!

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lifestyles/2010/oct/12/tea-party-tutus-ar-559036/

Charlottesville Ballet “Makes Dan Sweat” – from April 2010

Local Newscaster Dan Schutte attempts to add grace and poise to his weekly workout.  Check out the company members showing him a thing or two about ballet!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRSYjngXoEU]

Link to News Story |  Link to News Video

April 9, 2010

The Charlottesville Ballet has a performance coming up later in the month.  Their dancers show grace, poise, and just plain strength.

Co-Director, Sara Jansen, explains why she loves dancing so much: “I love being able to create something with my body; I love dancing to music, working with extremely talented artists that are passionate and extremely hard workers.”

It is definitely hard work. These dancers spend years practicing to make it look easy. According to dancer Caitlin Lennon, dance is a language you have to learn young. “You start learning plies and grande battements when you’re 4. It’s like a whole other language, a whole other vocabulary that you have to have built into you basically from when you’re itty bitty.”

But according to the dancers, what makes ballet so worth while is that strive for perfection.  They say you can never fully attain it so you always motivate yourself to inch closer to that unattainable goal.