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Troupe raises barre for budding dancers

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: April 15, 2009

BRANDON - Her dream was to give young dancers an opportunity to perform in front of an audience while giving the community a greater appreciation of ballet.

Fifteen years later, Alice Holden Bock said her dream has been realized in a way she never imagined when she first formed the Brandon Ballet in 1993.

"We have grown so much and are in the process of putting together a plan to take us beyond where we are now," said Bock, a former dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet and Bay Ballet Theater.

"We now have two paid dancers, and our ultimate mission is to have a professional ballet company in Brandon. As the arts are growing in this area, we want to be a very big part of that."

The Brandon Ballet had a handful of dancers at its start. Now, the company has 32 dancers ages 9 to 17 ranging in experience from apprentices to pre-professionals.

They come from throughout the Tampa Bay area and are selected at open auditions. From September through April, the dancers take classes with professionals at the Brandon Ballet, including guest teachers.

The ballet company will mark its anniversary with a two-act version of the 19th-century Russian ballet "Raymonda" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Spoto High School, 8538 Eagle Palm Drive, Riverview, and 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Polk Theatre, 139 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland.

In the first act, a celebration of Princess Raymonda's birthday is depicted by flowing waltzes and a pas de deux with Raymonda's fiance, Jean de Brienne. The second act focuses on Raymonda and Jean's wedding and showcases a variety of dance styles including Hungarian, Spanish and Asian dances.

Each year, the ballet - which operates at of The Dance Center at 161 E. Bloomingdale Ave., Brandon - produces a spring show and a winter production of "The Nutcracker," with the help of dancers from professional companies.

Over the years, the Brandon Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" has become a Brandon holiday tradition.

"It is very difficult to put together a production like these," Bock said. "It takes both discipline and hard work on the dancers' part."

Bock credits the ballet's board of directors and other volunteers for much of the company's success.

"We have a large board, and some of the members don't even have a child in ballet," she said. "They're just interested in supporting the dance arts."

Bock also is proud of being able to recruit Claire Andrews to serve as the associate artistic director for the ballet. Andrews holds a master's of fine arts in dance, taught advanced classes and choreographed works for the Kentucky Ballet Theater.

"We not only want our dancers to learn dance technique, but we want to enhance other areas of dance as well," Bock said.

Tickets for both performances of "Raymonda" are $20 for adults, $15 for children, students with I.D. and senior citizens age 55 and older.

Groups of 20 or more get a 10 percent discount. Dance schools bringing 10 dancers or more will receive two free tickets.

SEE THE SHOW

WHAT: A two-act version of the classic 19th-century Russian ballet, "Raymonda"

TWO PERFORMANCES:

7:30 p.m. Saturday at Spoto High School, 8538 Eagle Palm Drive, Riverview

5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Polk Theatre, 139 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland.

INFORMATION: Visit www.brandon

ballet.org, e-mail dance@brandonballet

.org or call (813) 684-4282.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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