Audiences might remember a few young dancers from the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet who made a special appearance during this season’s opera performances of Macbeth and Eugene Onegin. Those dancers — and several more from CRYB — are returning to the Institution, this time performing their own repertoire.
DFT Communications, Partners in Technology, will underwrite Bravo! Bravo!: A Family Friendly Opera Revue and special Q-and-A at 6 p.m. today in Smith Wilkes Hall, as well as several Community Appreciation Nights offered on select evenings as part of the free Family Entertainment Series.
The Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet has performed at the Institution for the past 14 years, according to Artistic Director Monika Alch. While its ballerinas may have come and gone during that time, the company’s performances at Chautauqua have remained a constant.
Part of the excitement of hosting the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet is that after the performance, all of the kids in the audience try their hardest to relevé and pirouette. Holding tight onto a parent’s hand for support — each hoping, even if just for one night, to be the next prima ballerina.
Closing this season’s Family Entertainment Series, the Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet from Jamestown, N.Y., will perform at 7 p.m. tonight in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall. This marks the ballet company’s eighth performance at Chautauqua Institution.
“I just think it’s a beautiful art form — dance, ballet,” said Monika Alch, CRYB artistic director. “I think that everybody can enjoy it if they understand ballet, or [if] they don’t.”
Over the course of the season, Chautauqua Institution will host special Community Appreciation Nights on select Tuesday evenings as part of the Family Entertainment Series. These nights of family fun are made possible through the sponsorship of DFT Communications, Partners in Technology, a local telecommunications company that not only specializes in providing phone and Internet service to Chautauqua County, but also takes great pride in family and community values.
The Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet brings youth back to classical dance. Their classical dancers range from children to pre-professional, and the school reminds audiences of the values and beauty of classical dance.
“It’s important for our mission to keep classical dance vibrant and to expose children to classical dance,” said Elizabeth Bush, CRYB’s executive director. “It’s nice to show younger children classical dance performed by children and teenagers.”
CRYB takes the stage at 7 p.m. tonight in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall as part of the Family Entertainment Series.
This season, the Family Entertainment Series Community Appreciation Tuesday Nights are sponsored by a company that feels giving back to its community should be just as emphasized as business integrity.
DFT Communications, a local telecommunication organization, is sponsoring all Tuesday night Family Entertainment in Smith Wilkes and Elizabeth S. Lenna halls this summer.
“This is our first year that we’re doing this on the Institution grounds,” said Dan Siracuse, marketing and public relations manager.
Ellen Ditonto, DFT’s director of sales, had originally spoken with Megan Sorenson, assistant director of the Chautauqua Fund, Siracuse said. He and Ditonto then brought the proposal to the president and COO of the company.
Children as young as age 10 will be in Elizabeth S. Lenna Hall at 7 p.m. tonight dancing in classical and contemporary ballet pieces for audience members of all ages.
The Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet returns to Chautauqua for the final performance in this season’s Family Entertainment Series.
The Chautauquan Daily 