May 2007
Auditions to be held for boys' scholarship dance program led by artistic director of PA Ballet II, William DeGregory
Metropolitan Ballet Company will hold auditions for the Boys’ Scholarship Dance Program on Saturday June 2nd, at 9:30am, at the Metropolitan Ballet Academy, 700 Cedar Road, Jenkintown, PA. Up to fifteen children, ages 7-11 & 12-18, will be chosen for a full year of weekly classes with William DeGregory. Mr. DeGregory, formerly a principal dancer with the Pennsylvania Ballet, is currently Artistic Director of Pennsylvania Ballet II, the training company for the Pennsylvania Ballet. Forty-eight boys participated in the program this year.
The Boys’ Scholarship Program, a non-profit outreach program of the Metropolitan Ballet Company, provides tuition-free, boys-only classes for students ages 7-18. The program provides weekly classes in beginning, intermediate and advanced ballet, partnering, and guest instruction in modern, jazz and character. The program is designed to enhance athletic skills, flexibility, and strength and includes performance opportunities. Eligible students are also invited to audition for Pennsylvania Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Classes begin in September 2007 and continue through June 2008. No prior dance experience is required. back to top
March 2007
Metropolitan Ballet Students Win Natonal Summer Study Opportunities
Metropolitan Ballet Academy is proud to announce the accomplishments of 23 students from the Intermediate & Advanced Divisions and the Boys’ Program.
Julia Brandenberger is accepted to Joffrey Ballet, NYC; Ariel Breitman is accepted to Orlando Ballet & American Ballet Theater AL; Phoebe Gavula is accepted to American Ballet Theater NYC and Chautauqua; Melissa Gelfin is accepted to the Kirov Academy; Irene Goudimyak is accepted to Pacific Northwest Ballet and Orlando Ballet; Brianna Leporace is accepted to Juilliard School Summer Program, NYC; Leah McCormick is accepted to Boston Ballet, Kirov Academy, American Ballet Theatre CA, and Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts ; Candice Nemec to Kirov Academy, Orlando Ballet and North Carolina Dance Theater; Jack Obel will attend Kirov Academy in Washington DC; Julia Phifer is accepted to Kirov Academy, American Ballet Theater TX, North Carolina Dance Theater and will attend Central PA Youth Ballet; Molly Rooney is accepted to Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts & Kirov Academy; Scott Stampone is accepted to the Ailey School in NYC; Jonathan Tavares to American Ballet Theater CA and Orlando Ballet; Jessica Warren to Kirov Academy, Boston Ballet, Joffrey NYC and Orlando Ballet; Olivia Wyszkowski to the Juilliard School Summer Program, NYC
Kamryn Baldwin, Rosalie Baseman, Leela Breitman, Tatiana DiBucci, Wyatt Peterson, Iain Smith, Peter Weil, & Patrick Zanetti will all attend the ABT Young Dancer Summer Workshop in NYC. back to top
March 2007
Metropolitan Ballet Company to Dance Finale of Friday Night Performance at National Regional Dance America Festival
MBC dancers were thrilled to learn that they have been selected to close the Friday night performance of the national Regional Dance America (RDA) Festival in Pittsburgh, PA on April 27, 2007.
MBC will be performing Eternal Space choreographed by Kanji Segawa, a dancer with the popular Mark Morris Dance Group and an emerging choreographer in his own right. This is the second work that Vidnovic has commissioned from Segawa for MBC; the Company has previously performed Segawa’s Toward the Light.
Dancing in the work will be Kristen Astorga, Michael Brown, Andrea D’Annunzio, Lisa Fagan, Melissa Gelfin, Irene Goudimyak, Mary Guarnieri, Brianna Leporace, Torrey McAnena, Leah McCormick, Sarah Mettin, Candice Nemec, Nikita Rosencranz, Scott Stampone, Jonathan Tavares, Kora Vidnovic, Allison Warren, Jessica Warren and Olivia Wyszkowski. Eternal Space was commissioned in part through a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
This is only the second national RDA Festival in 50 years, and only the third year that MBC has been a member of RDA. The five-day celebration of dance will involve more than 2000 dancers from 92 companies. back to top
January 2007
Metropolitan Ballet and Settlement Music School to Present Winter Afternoon of Music and Dance
Metropolitan Ballet Company and students from the Jenkintown Branch of the Settlement Music School will present their sixth annual winter afternoon collaborative performance on Saturday, January 27, at 3:00pm, in the Josephine Muller Auditorium at Abington Friends School, 575 Washington Lane, in Jenkintown.
The program will include original works for dancers and musicians choreographed by MBC Artistic Director, Lisa Collins Vidnovic, and an exhilarating world premiere by New York dancer and choreographer, Kanji Segawa, currently with the Mark Morris Dance Company.
Eighteen young musicians, including soloists, a piano duo, and a piano trio will be showcased with the thirty-three member classical dance company. Musical selections will include pieces by Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, and Nyman. back to top
January 2007
Metrop olitan Dancers Participate in 2007 Youth America Grand Prix
On January 21, 2007, junior dancers Phoebe Gavula, Melissa Gelfin, Mary Guarnieri, Leah McCormick, Julia Phifer, Michael Brown, Matt Douglas, Sasha Niederritter, Jack Obel & BJ Stuetz, and senior dancers Andrea D’Annunzio, Brianna Leporace, Torrey McAnena & Candice Nemec represented MBA in the Youth America Grand Prix classical ballet competition. All danced beautifully at the lovely Lange Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College. Leah McCormick placed in the top twelve students for the Junior Classical Division, and Brianna Leporace place in the top twelve students for the Senior Contemporary Division. Congratulations to you all! back to top
December 2006
Metropolitan Ballet Academy Students to Perform in Pennsylvania Ballet 's The Nutcracker
Metropolitan Ballet Academy of Jenkintown, PA is proud to announce that fifty-one of its students are performing in the Pennsylvania Ballet’s The Nutcracker this season. For each of the past seven years, students from MBA’s boys’ program have been invited to participate. For the past two years, all Metropolitan Ballet Academy students ages 8 and above have been invited to audition.
Lisa Collins Vidnovic, Founder and Director of MBA and former dancer and ballet mistress at the PA Ballet, is exceptionally proud of her students as they step onto the Academy stage.
“As a dancer in the Philadelphia area, participating in our city’s professional ballet production of The Nutcracker is one of the premier opportunities a young performer could hope for. I am very proud of each of the dancers, and appreciate the support of all of their parents. This is an honor to each of you, to me, and to our school.” back to top
November 2006
Broadway Break for Local Boys
Twelve boys are still flying high this week after New York City casting agent Nora Brennan phoned Metropolitan Ballet Academy director, Lisa Collins Vidnovic, in search of talented boys with a passion for dance and invited them to audition for the Broadway version of the movie Billy Elliot.
The audition, an invitational call, was held Sunday, November 12, 2006, at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, in New York City. Eleven boys, ages 10-13, from Metropolitan’s highly regarded Boys’ Scholarship Program and one young dancer from the School of the Voloshky Ukrainian Dance Ensemble accompanied Ms. Collins and several parent chaperones on the big city adventure. Two boys made the final cut and await Spring call-back auditions. More than 130 boys from the East Coast competed in the weekend long round of auditions. back to top
September 2006
Metropolitan Ballet Presents Premiere of Children's Classic, The Rainbow Fish
On October 21st and 22nd Metropolitan Ballet Company will present The Family Concert Series. Especially designed to introduce dance to young audiences, the program will feature the company premiere of The Rainbow Fish, based on the popular children’s book of the same name by Marcus Pfister. The production is choreographed by Jennifer Sommers, includes narration, and is set to music by Eric Satie. Also on the program will be the Lichine’s comic ballet Graduation Ball and a modern dance premiere by New York choreographer
Katarzyna Skarpetowska. back to top
September 2006
MBC Boys' Scholarship Program Makes the Front Page of the Philadelphia Inquirer
Link to article in the Phila inquirer—OR PDF OF ARTICLE?
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