Nutcracker Auditions Coming Up Soon! :)

Nutcracker fun! Auditions are now scheduled for Sunday Sept. 13th, and will be held at Gonzaga Theatre and Dance Studio Building at 1108 North Pearl. Please arrive half hour prior to audition to register and warm up. Times and height requirements are as follows: 1:00 - 1:45 Girls 13 and up, pointe shoes required, height 4'1-" - 5'7" 1:45 - 3:45 Boys and Girls, ages 10 and up, height 4'10" - 5'7" 3:45 - 5:15 Girls ages 8-11, ages 7-11, height 3'6" - 4'10" 5:15 - 6:30 Girls ages 7-11, height 3'6" - 4'10" Please know that times are approximate, and often, children that are not chosen at one audition are asked to stay for another. Also, roles for the above auditions can be speculated upon, but are not announced by State Street Ballet in advance. If you audition and are chosen, you are expected to follow through with all rehearsals and performances. Attendance at every rehearsal is required, so if you know that you will be out of town and will not be able to attend all rehearsals, please do not audition. If you have questions, please see Studio Director Janine Fraser.

Nutcracker Auditions coming up this month...:)

If you are interested in auditioning, ask your instructor for an audition packet.  Various levels are needed for party children, mice, soldiers, and angels, ages 6 - upper intermediate pointe.  If you are a parent that would like to help out at auditions, please contact Studio Director Janine Fraser to find out what time you will be needed.
Auditions will be held on September 29th at the Fox Theatre in downtown Spokane.  The Nutcracker performances, presenting State Street Ballet, will be held Dec.  5-8.  Group discount tickets will be available through our studio during the month of November.

Nutcracker auditions are set...:)

Check out our facebook page by clicking the link on the right for updates on the 2011 Spokane Nutcracker auditions! This year the Nutcracker will be presented by the Spokane Symphony and State St. Ballet of Santa Barbara, CA. Our page has the times, dates, heights, ages, and study pre-requisite for all children who wish to audition.

If you would like more info regarding specific roles that are being offered, please see Studio Director Janine Fraser between classes next week, or check the studio bullitan board...:)

Below: Studio Director Janine Fraser and instructor Kaitlin Cowell join a few dancers for a photo, just before the Spokane Nutcracker Ballet begins...:)

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. Think only of the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the fiath that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

Very wise words by Christian D. Larson, we hope that we may all strive to live by these words during the coming year...:) Happy New Year!

Above; Malinda, Madeline, Miss Janine, Samantha, Shannon, Miss Kaiti and Heidi gather for a photo at the Nutcracker held in downtown Spokane...We had a wonderful time watching our dancers perform with Memphis Ballet Theatre onstage, and we were so happy to have 130+ parents and students join us in attending...:) Thank you to all who took part!
As 2010 comes to a close, we thank you for sharing this fulfilling year with us, it has been full of adventure and fun. We look forward to some terrific progress with our dancers in 2011...Happy New Year to all of our dance friends and familes!

Fall classes are in full swing!

We are so happy to see our students that we have missed while on break, and are having fun meeting so many new dancers...

We hope you are all enjoying your new classes!

If you would like a copy of our fall schedule, please e-mail us at inlandnwballet@aol.com and we will be happy to send you an updated copy.
We have some fun events coming up, including Nutcracker auditions with Ballet Memphis, (tentatively scheduled for Oct. 15), our annual sleepover for grades 3 and up,and much more!
We have also added a new Ballet 1 class on Thurs. at 7:15, please call the studio at

509-467-0765 if interested...Happy dancing!

Hooray! Nutcracker on TV...On Tues. 12-1 at 10:30 pm on PBS (Spokane and Cd'A)...A behind-the-scenes glimpse at Anthony Williams' remake of Tchaikovsky's classic "Nutcracker" ballet as a multicultural production featuring traditional ballet, hip-hop, tap, swing and flamenco...Also, on Wed. 12-2 at 10:30 pm...The history of Tchaikovsky..."Nutcracker" ballet....A couple of great programs for our Inland Northwest Ballet dancers! :) Miss Janine says these are a "must watch"...:)

Though not announced yet, PBS usually shows America Ballet Theatre's production of the Nutcracker" starring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland...Details regarding this showing will be posted here when available! :)

Hooray! Nutcracker Auditions with a new company!

For many years we have had Alberta Ballet visit Spokane to present the Nutcracker Ballet. However, this year, we have a new company, Memphis Ballet, bringing us this holiday classic, and we are thrilled! Memphis Ballet is a nationally aclaimed company known for their kindness and professionalism in working with the local instructors and dancers, and for their unique choreography.

Cut and paste this link for a video of the company dancing...http://www.balletmemphis.org/box_office/box_office_detail.php?content=Video&navone=Video

Memphis Ballet will be holding Nutcracker Auditions on Friday, September 25th this year. Memphis Ballet has different requirements than the Alberta Ballet, and will be offering roles to slightly younger and smaller children this year, as well as pointe roles for upper level students in Spokane.

We are excited about this opportunity for our Inland Northwest Ballet students to work with a new company, and see what they have to offer! For more info on the auditions, either speak with School Director Janine Fraser, or e-mail her at inlandnwballet@aol.com. She will be happy to give you details on audition times, as well as height and age requirements. Happy Dancing!

Take in the Nutcracker Ballet on television this week...

The Waltz of the Flowers in San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker...

We know that many of you in the Spokane area took the opportunity to see Alberta Ballet's production of the Nutcracker earlier this month, and enjoyed it very much. Now, just days before Christmas 2008, PBS will be presenting two versions of the Nutcracker Ballet on TV, and Studio Director Janine Fraser wants our Inland Northwest Ballet dancers to know about them...Record the ballets (there are two different versions) so your child can watch whenever he or she wants, or sit as a family and watch them together, either way, don't miss them...:)

Here are the viewing times for both the San Francisco Ballet and the Royal Ballet productions...

San Francisco Ballet's `Nutcracker'...Monday, Dec. 22nd at 4:00 am pst (yes, that is a.m...best to record!), on PBS, our local channel 7.
Kristi Yamaguchi , who grew up in the bay area, introduces the San Francisco Ballet production of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" that is set in 1915 San Francisco during the Panama Pacific International Exhibition. Clara is portrayed by the beautiful Maria Kochetkova. The Nutcracker Prince is danced by Davit Karapetyan. See links below.

Click here to learn more about Maria...
http://www.sfballet.org/about/company/dancers/view.asp?id=12340121
or here to learn more about Davit...
http://www.sfballet.org/about/company/dancers/view.asp?id=12340011


The Royal Ballet of London...Thursday, Dec. 25th (Christmas day!) at 2:00 pm, on PBS, our local channel 7, KSPS...Dancing to music of Pyotr Ilich Tchaikovsky, the Royal Ballet performs the holiday tale about Clara (danced by Alina Cojocaru) who falls in love with a toy. Anthony Dowell also stars as the toymaker Drosselmeyer.

Alberta Ballet Nutcracker in Spokane...

As promised, here are a few photos from our afternoon at the ballet...Scroll down to see our original post about Alberta Ballet's new Nutcracker and how well we enjoyed attending this year! Also, some backstage/rehearsal photos coming soon!

Miss Janine and Inland Northwest Ballet dancers enjoying the Nutcracker...

Jemima and Shannon congratulate Malinda and Ciara on a terrific performance...

Miss Janine and dancers gather by the
Spokane Opera House Christmas Tree
before the Nutcracker Ballet begins...

I love my cousins! Miss Kaiti Bri's students pose for a photo during intermission...:)

Spokane Nutcracker fun...

This weekend, we attended the Nutcracker Ballet, our city's wonderful holiday tradition in downtown Spokane, watching Alberta Ballet, along with several local dancers, perform Edmund Stripe's updated version of the Nutcracker.

We had a wonderful afternoon, with almost 150 of us from Inland Northwest Ballet seated together, watching our students dance, and enjoying the fabulous new sets and enchanting new costumes. In speaking with our dancers after the matinee, we found they are having a terrific weekend performing with the company members from Alberta Ballet. Dancing with and seeing how the backstage in a professional company works is both thrilling and educational for all of them!

Miss Janine's review: Between dancing in, and attending the Nutcracker Ballet, I have probably seen approximately 100 Nutcracker performances. I have found that I tend to prefer tradition when it comes to this ballet. I have seen companies try to be "different", and I have sometimes disliked the results, when "different" tampers too much with tradition.
With Edmund Stripes' new version, I was very pleased. Never before have I seen a company enjoy such success in combining tradition with uniqueness. I felt that the important aspects were kept traditional, while many details in the slightly new storyline were unique to this Nutcracker, keeping us interested, and sometimes amused.

Click below to learn more about Alberta Ballet, the professional company, the dancers, and the choreographer.

http://www.albertaballet.com/news/blog-buzz

As always, we enjoyed the music of the Spokane Symphony immensely...:) Click below to learn more about the Symphony and upcoming performances...

http://www.spokanesymphony.org/series,8,nutcracker

Photos of our dancers and our group photo in the lobby of the Opera House will be posted soon...:)

Nutcracker Auditions!

Congratulations to all of our Inland Northwest Ballet dancers who auditioned for the Spokane Nutcracker this past weekend. We know that auditions are tough, and are so proud of you! If you did not make it this year, keep up with your ballet studies and try again next year! If you made it, enjoy this fun experience with Alberta Ballet.
If you will be 9 or older, are studying a minimum of two days a week this year, and interested in auditioning next year, please see School Director Janine Fraser to discover what Nutcracker involves. It is a commitment for both parent and child (all rehearsals are mandatory, understudies are there to takeover your part if you miss one rehearsal), hard work, but it is both fun and rewarding!
Above: Malinda and Ciara all smiles after being selected to dance in the Nutcracker this year!