GALVESTON — The Galveston Ballet will start up new classes Monday following a season in energetic exile. The regional pre-professional ballet company and academy is just now back home in its reconstructed studio at 23rd and Market streets. Pushed out of those quarters by Hurricane Ike’s surge waters a year ago, the ballet company didn’t allow the stumble to stop the show.
“Our philosophy is when you fall down, you get up, you smile; you stay focused and you keep dancing,” Julia Furlong, board of directors president, said. “That’s what we’re doing.
“When the storm hit, you know we kind of got up and dusted ourselves off and said, ‘OK, we’re going to keep going.’”
Trinity Episcopal Church and School offered its upstairs cafeteria area to the dancers. The hurricane had damaged the first floor of the school facility, but the second floor, with wooden floors, was perfect for ballet classes.
Dancers climbed stairs by the light of their cell phones to reach the new practice area and started work on a revamped ballet season.
Classes resumed in November, just two months after the storm.
The post-Ike schedule included:
• The Dance in Schools program bringing performances of the Nutcracker during the holiday season to local schools;
• Performance at the opening of the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights;
• Performances for tourists at Dickens on The Strand;
• Performance for the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment convention in Galveston; and
• The spring ballet, moved to Ball High Theater.
In short, the show went on.
“Without our studio, after Ike had come through, that was one of our busiest years ever, as far as being out there, helping the community rebuild Galveston,” Janel Amsallem, a veteran instructor at Galveston Ballet, said.
“We were also keeping the school and the company going for our students, so that they would have that normalcy to come back to. Our goal was to stay alive for our students.”
Amsallem was 5 years old when she first started classes at Galveston Ballet. That was more than 20 years ago. Now, she teaches classes and helps choreograph upcoming shows and events.
Working with her is well-known choreographer and teacher Anna Ward. Ward brings a wide range of experience, including years performing in New York City and around the world.
Ward now is creating original ballets, as well as teaching a romantic, classical style of dance that dates back to the 1940s and ’50s.
“I like to see the kids, their level of commitment and how they improve as they get older,” she said. “They work hard and get physical exercise and mental stimulation, and they love it.”
Ward is known to recruit from the ranks of health club trainers and hotel workers when she needs a male dancer.
“Would you like to stand on stage and lift a lot of really light ballerinas?” she asked one weight lifter. He agreed, and then asked to sign on for future ballets.
Ward is also on the lookout for more prospects to fill classes.
“They love it once they get there,” she said.
“I just want them to come and see what it’s all about. I want them to stick their head in the door and get hooked.”
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At A Glance
• Galveston Ballet is a pre-professional company focused on instruction and performance of classical and contemporary works. Founded by Lynn Nigliazzo, the ballet first performed publicly in 1986.
• A full range of instruction in classical ballet is offered for ages 3 through adult.
• Performing company members study technique 10 hours per week.
• Needs-based and work-study scholarships are available.
• The ballet is a nonprofit corporation funded by donations, ticket sales and proceeds from fundraising events. Raffle tickets are on sale now for $10 for a chance to win a four-day Carnival Cruise gift certificate (two have been donated by Moody National Bank). The raffle will take place Dec. 11. Jewelry made by the students is also on sale at the studio.
• Register for classes through September at http://raymondguy.com or by calling 409-763-8620 or 877-771-8118. Classes start Monday.
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Ballet Budget
The 2009-10 budget totals $99,800 and includes:
• $32,650 wages and benefits;
• $35,550 facilities and operating costs; and
• $31,600 performance costs, including venue rental, backdrops, sets, costumes, guest artists and musicians, as well as the print advertising (estimated at $7,000). Costume rentals are $45 per costume. Dancers provide their own pointe shoes.
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Season At A Glance
SEPT. 25: Dance in Schools program, funded by grants from Target, the Kempner Fund and Yaga’s Children’s Fund. Lectures, demonstrations and hands-on activities introduce students to classical and contemporary ballet;
NOV. 12: As part of the Dance in Schools program, a free matinee performance of “Peter and the Wolf” will be presented for public and home-schooled students, with an ensemble orchestra, at Galveston’s The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., in Galveston. At the conclusion, students are invited to write an essay on why they would like to participate in a ballet company. Ten essays are chosen, and the writers are awarded a one-year scholarship to study with the Galveston Ballet;
NOV. 13: Public performance of “Peter and the Wolf,” at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for children. Dancers also will perform Anna Ward’s original ballet, “Trampling on Versailles,” which includes scooters and cell phones as props;
DEC. 5: Dickens on The Strand performances;
MARCH 26: Annual Silent Auction fundraiser at Garten Verein, 2704 Ave. O., in Galveston;
APRIL 10: Grand Kids Festival;
APRIL 17: ArtWalk — open rehearsal at the studio;
MAY 29-30: Performances of “Coppelia” at The Grand 1894 Opera House, 2020 Postoffice St., in Galveston;
JUNE 11-19: A group from Galveston Ballet will travel to sister city Stavanger, Norway, as part of an exchange program.
