Upper level photo session...

For those enrolled in Ballet level 7, remember our photographer will be coming to Spokane on Mon., May 4th at 7:15 pm, for our Inland Northwest Ballet photo session. You will be receiving a letter on Thurs. May 30th with the details, make certain you are prepared with costume, shoes, tights, and make up. If you have any questions, please see Miss Janine ASAP!

Theatrical Make-Up Class this Saturday...taught by May Hafkamp!

This Sat. from 10:00 - 11:30 , our level 6 and 7 will enjoy a stage make up class, taught by theatrical make up artist May Hafkamp. Plan to arrive at your normal class time of 9:30, during which Miss Janine will give you a short barre to wake you up...:).

While May will be bringing her theatrical make up, (it is very different from normal street wear make up) please bring a few products from home, if you have them. Essential products are some form of base/foundation, blush for contouring, eye liner, shadow, and mascara. There will be some make up at the studio you may borrow, but for sanitary reasons, it is best to bring and use what you have from home (especially when using mascara and other eye products).

While for our little ones, stage make up is optional, for our upper level ballet classes, stage make up is an essential part of dance performance…normal street make up is simply not professional, as you will look completely washed out, and your mouth and eyes disappear. We want to present bright vibrant faces to our audience!

Also, please note…If you are not going straight home after class, you may wish to bring make up remover (baby oil works well) and a washcloth, as stage make up may looks a little intense on the soccer field…:)

We are so excited to have May Hafkamp share her expertise and experience with us at Inland Northwest Ballet!

Costumes are arriving!

Costumes are beginning to arrive at Inland Northwest Ballet, and they will be tried on and sent home soon!

Please note that they can only be tried on and sent them home if the balance is paid in full (the deadline was Feb. 15th) so please double check to make certain you have completed payment.

What a fun time of year, we can't wait to see the girls looking ready to perform!

Please note: If you did not order a costume, you may wish to find out what day your class will be trying on costumes, and possibly skip that day, so your child will not feel left out. You can arrange a make up class for the missed class if you wish…:)

Unity and discipline through dance...:)

At Inland Northwest Ballet, we always knew that when our Spokane dancers work together, they develop unity and enjoy fellowship, as well as create discipline, both within themselves and the group. However, we never knew it could work in a Filipino Men's Prison! Watch how 1500 prisoners, some incarcerated for some very heavy crimes, work together to create this "Thriller" video, and other dance/video productions. If you want to see more videos created by the inmates, including one explaining how and why this video came about, or other dance video productions, such as the 1970's disco hit "The Hustle", or even Michael Jackson's original "Thriller",follow these directions. Click on the arrow at the lower right hand side of the box, then click on the small box above. This will give you many similar videos to choose from.
It is very commendable and creative that the Cebu Prison created this idea, and even more so, that they saw it through.

A note from Miss Janine...

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will
forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Anonymous

A note from Miss Janine...At Inland Northwest Ballet, we hope that our little ones grow up remembering that in dance class, they felt strong, smart, pretty, and that they have the ability to achieve anything they pursue...Have a great weekend dancers and friends!

Encore Costumes closed as of March 10...

Our first order of costumes arrived yesterday, we are getting so excited!
As stated in our earlier post/literature, Encore Costumes is now closed, so we hope you have completed your final balance payment, so that you may get your costume on time. If you did not order a costume, of course it is too late now (the deadline was over three months ago) so please ask us for our costume try on date, and our picture date, because you will probably wish to not attend class on that day, so your child will not feel left out when the other children get their costumes. What a fun time of year!

A dynamic performance...

Above: Miss Janine and Cynthia share a laugh with the girls at the Fox Theatre
Below: Ailey II, the company, in "Revelations", the girl's favorite piece




Today, we took our upper level dancers downtown to the beautiful Martin Woldson Theatre to see "Ailey II", the touring company for Alvin Ailey's Dance Theatre. We try to expose our dancers to as many different styles of dance as possible, and Ailey's performance in Spokane allowed them to see some wonderful choreography, performed by a group of very powerful and explosive dancers. What a treat!

Costume transactions complete!

Costume transactions are complete...hooray! Now we can move on to more fun areas of performance, such as beginning to learn choreography...:)

Now that the deadline has passed for completing your costume transactions, Encore Costumes will be closed for the season. If you have any questions, please check out the "Latest News" on our Spokane studio web site (click the link on the right).

Alvin Ailey this weekend, in downtown Spokane!

We, along with our upper level dancers, are taking advantage of the wonderful opportunity this weekend, to see "Ailey II", the touring company of New York City's Alvin Ailey's Incredible Dance Theatre. Among the modern pieces selected for Sunday's performance will be "Revelations", an Ailey signature piece that is bound to fascinate any dance enthusiast.

Tickets are available by calling Ticketswest at 325-SEAT, or going to www.ticketswest.com.

For those whom have never seen Ailey, his style is ballet based, integrated with modern dance, and uniquely innovative body movement. It is a style that can be enjoyed by those who enjoy classical dance, and because of Ailey's creativity, by many who don't. We hope that you join us this weekend for this enciting Spokane performance!

Costume balances due!

Remember that your costume balances are due to Encore Costumes (PO Box 28023, Spokane, WA 99228)by Feb. 15th. Any dancer not completing full payment is in jeopardy of losing his or her costume...yikes! Don't let this happen. Refer to your Inland Northwest Ballet costume balance letter for the exact balance and payment address.
If you did not order a costume, of course no balance is due (and for most costumes it is too late in the year to order now, as we are over two months past the deadline) You may want to keep in mind though. that during class in April, costumes will be passed out during class. You want to ask ahead of time and skip this class, so your child will not feel left out. You may also want to withdraw before June, so your child will not feel left out during costume photo day and performance prep. If you have any questions, please ask Susie or Cheryl.

New classes for little ones!

So many of you have asked, so we are offering two classes beginning in March of 2009, assuming we have a sufficient number of students for each class.

The first one is our Tues. 11:00 a.m. class. This class is a Creative Dance tap and ballet class for beginning 3-5 year olds. This class will be taught by Miss Kaiti Bri.

The second is our Friday 3:00 class. This class is also a Creative Dance tap and ballet class for beginning 3-5 year olds. This class will most likely be taught by Miss Janine.

Because our last two Friday 3:00 sessions have filled with students on the waiting list, there is also a possibility of a Friday 2:15 class, most likely with the same structure and age group.


The Tues. class would begin on March 2nd, the Friday session would begin on March 13th. We have not yet determined whether they would be 6 week sessions, or 8 week sessions. The tuition for a six week session would be $60, and the cost for an eight week session would be $80. All tuition must be paid at the time of registration, and please note that short session tuition is non-refundable, since we are holding your place in class.

If you are interested in either of these sessions, please let us know by Feb. 15th. We can hold your place in class for two days by phone or e-mail, before paperwork and tuition must be paid.

You may e-mail Studio Director Janine Fraser at inlandnwballet@aol.com, or call the studio at 467-0765...thank you!

Listen to the mustn’, child, listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

Shel Silverstein

Have a terrific week Inland Northwest Ballet dancers, parents, and friends!

...and you thought you've seen Swan Lake before...

Note from Inland Northwest Ballet Studio Director Janine Fraser...I have seen many productions of Swan Lake in my career, but never quite like the video that Malinda found...dancers and non-dancers alike will be amazed! Just cut and paste the link below...

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=feca9a3ee15c7de848d4

At first you will just think you have found an ordinary Swan Lake Ballet, but keep watching, you will see what you thought was not possible! Something for us to work on in the upper levels perhaps...:) Enjoy!


Note: If you have trouble with the link (this one was being fussy), or just google "Godtube", search "Swan Lake" and you will find "Swan Lake, amazing dance, part II").