November 12, 1998

TC Youth Ballet performs Giselle

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
     
      Classic beauty, timeless elegance.
      The Traverse City Youth Ballet Company performed the romantic ballet Giselle Friday and Saturday at the Milliken Auditorium. The 32-member cast gave four spellbinding performances of the classic full-length ballet, showcasing the troupe's many gifted dancers.
      "We wanted something different, less well known, that had not been done before in town," said Korin Drilling, ballet mistress for the company. "It is a classic piece to dance, like the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. It is good for anyone who goes on to dance professionally to have danced it."
      For their first performance Friday afternoon, the company brought over all students from Traverse Heights Elementary School, 110 children from Norris Elementary School and about 20 children from TBA. The company has had a special relationship with nearby Traverse Heights Elementary School for the past two years, going there a few times each year there to give 'informances' to students.
      "Our main goal is to educate about ballet," said Ede Meyer, company manager for the Traverse City Youth Ballet Company. "We just felt that because Traverse Heights students saw some ballet in their gym, we would bring them over to see a real performance in a theater, with the lighting, costumes and props."
      The two-year old company is based at the Dance Center and draws many of its dancers from students there. The company also held open auditions in August for both the company and for a part in Giselle, drawing dancers from around the region. The cast of Giselle included dancers from as far away as Ludington, Grand Haven and Petoskey, who commuted weekly for rehearsals.
      Staff at the Dance Center formed the company to give these young, talented and dedicated dancers a chance to perform as principal dancers, not just extras in ballets at the Interlochen Academy for the Arts. The company performs one full-length ballet a year and last year they danced Cinderella.
      Although in the planning stages for a year, the company pulled together Giselle in just two months, including learning the whole ballet, creating sets, props and costumes. They engaged artistic director Jefferson Baum of New York City to direct the ballet, giving the dancers a taste of the professional dance world.
      "The whole idea is to give them an idea of what it is like to be in a professional company," said Drilling, who has been dancing for 30 years and teaching for 16. "These kids are poised, have presence on stage and look so professional on stage. Most of them take classes every day, they are very dedicated."
      The Traverse City Youth Ballet Company lured novice dancer Joel Dear into his first ballet performance in Giselle. A competitive figure skater with the Twin Bays Skating Club for five years, Dear took some ballet classes at Centre I.C.E. to improve his ice dancing. When teachers at the Youth Ballet Company noted his dancing skills, they asked him to join them for the year, as another male dancer was needed.
      "I am still learning the moves and names," said Dear, an 11th grader at Traverse City West Senior High. "Ballet is fun and difficult. When you watch it, they make it look so easy but it is a lot of work."