Ballet Palm Beach

Tag: Ballet

  • Ballet Palm Beach leaps into season with ‘WE BELIEVE Season Of Dance’ gala

    Ballet Palm Beach leaps into season with ‘WE BELIEVE Season Of Dance’ gala

    Written by Krystian von Speidel, Notables Editor. Originally published in the Palm Beach Post Notables section.

    Ballet Palm Beach recently held the “WE BELIEVE Season of Dance” gala at The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach. The memorable evening featured cocktails under the stars, an exciting silent and live auction, a delightful dinner, dancing to the Switzer Sound, and a sublime performance by Ballet Palm Beach members.

    Company dancers Libby Faber, Nicholas Holtz, Lily Loveland, Jay Markov, Aaron Melendrez and Madeleine Miller thrilled gala attendees with a specially choreographed piece to Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” played by The Switzer Sound and sung by Chris Santiago.

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    Chaired by longtime board member Erin McGould and her husband Sean, the annual fundraising gala supports Ballet Palm Beach’s incredible WE BELIEVE Season of Dance. Ballet Palm Beach’s WE BELIEVE campaign focuses on sharing what the ballet company truly values and how it impacts the community. Funds raised will offset expenses of performances and free community outreach programs that reach thousands of underserved families every year.

    “Dance truly is for everyone,” says Erin McGould. “I was honored to chair this year’s gala to support not only professional ballet performances, but also Ballet Palm Beach Academy students and its free community outreach programs.” Anka Palitz served as honorary chair of this year’s gala. Palitz has been a generous and tireless supporter of dancers for decades, both during and after their dance careers. In January 2020 she created the Ballet Palm Beach Anka Fund for Dancers. The fund directly supports salaries for the professional dancers of Ballet Palm Beach.

    For more information about the professional company or its school, Ballet Palm Beach Academy, or to support its outreach efforts, call 561-630-8235 or visit balletpalmbeach.org.

  • The Tutu Project: Bringing Joy to our Quarantined Community

    Amidst the pandemic outbreak, Ballet Palm Beach, among many other local businesses and organizations, decided to close its doors for the safety of its dancers, teachers, and academy students. Though quarantine was not the most ideal situation for its youngest ballerinas, the Ballet Palm Beach Academy powered through the setbacks, offering its students free, virtual ballet classes via Zoom with their beloved BPB teachers. “We [had] been offering tuition-free, virtual classes for our students, but I wanted to do something more,” said Colleen Smith, the Artistic Director of Ballet Palm Beach and School Director of the Academy.

    So, what more could be done to bring the Ballet Palm Beach family together? With International Dance Day right around the corner, company dancers and academy teachers developed a creative way to bring smiles to the faces of their beloved academy students. Thus, the Tutu Project was born. Academy faculty, clad in BPB
    T-shirts and tutus, drove from Boca Raton to Stuart delivering tutus to over 125 students while offering words of love and support to the families. In celebration of International Dance Day, students were encouraged to get creative, with many decorating and dancing in their tutus to share with fellow classmates.

    Chloe and Bella Tejada

    Though it was brief, the reunion of academy teachers and students proved to be a touching moment that the BPB faculty won’t soon forget. Miss Julie, a ballet teacher at Ballet Palm Beach Academy for the past 16 years, explains, “In our recent Tutu project, Mr. Marshall was the pilot and navigator, and I had the lovely role of presenting each student with their tutu, much like a ‘tutu telegram’. Mr. Marshall and I drove from Jupiter to Royal Palm to Boca Raton. It was a two-day ‘Santa Clause- like’ experience! To see each student’s face light up at the receipt of their gift was beautiful. I was glad to be a part of the venture!”

    The Ballet Palm Beach family has remained united through thick and thin, and the Tutu Project is just one of the many examples of the bond that lives within this community of dancers. Smith explains, “Our Tutu Project was a wonderful way to stay connected to our students during the isolation period due to Coronavirus. I was so thrilled to see the excitement from our dancers and families as they received our gift and then created their tutu masterpieces! Our Tutu Project was a blessing not only for our Ballet Palm Beach family but also for me. These have been unusual times to be sure, but the family that is Ballet Palm Beach has once again shown that our school has more to offer than just dance! The Ballet Palm Beach Company and Academy are about using dance to build community.”

    Pictured:
    1-BPB Academy Students Bella and Chloe Tejada
    2-BPB Academy Student Julia Bramham

  • Soiree Event Raises Over $100,000 for Ballet Palm Beach

    Soiree Event Raises Over $100,000 for Ballet Palm Beach

    On Friday January 31st, 2020, Ballet Palm Beach introduced the Anka Fund for Dancers at its annual fundraiser, Dance Revealed II–Swept Away Soiree, held at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.

    The cocktail event, sponsored in part by Fernando Wong Outdoor Living Design, Robin Woodard, Flowermart, and Big Time Restaurant Group, featured a performance by the ballet company, presented by Founder and Artistic Director, Colleen Smith. Auctioneer, Neil Saffer, led the live auction. In attendance was ballet legend, Steve Caras, who lauded Anka Palitz and her creation of the Anka Fund for Dancers. The fund will directly support salaries for the professional dancers of Ballet Palm Beach.

    The evening raised over $100,000.

    Photos by Capehart