Have you ever wondered what Ballet is? or what is involved in learning to dance ballet?
Our annual Class Demonstration shows what the North Star Ballet School is all about –
a classic approach to fitness, discipline and creativity for all ages. The Class Demonstration is both a snapshot of what each class is learning and a celebration of our accomplishments as individuals and as a school.
The Class Demonstration is free and open to the public.
Where: Salisbury Theater on the UAF campus in the Fine Arts Complex (parking is free)
When: Tuesday, May 14 at 7pm (reception to follow in the Great HAll)
Spring (despite the lingering snow) is inevitable and with spring comes the eleventh Visitor Industry Walk for Charity. Please join us for an evening’s stroll and eat around downtown Fairbanks while raising funds for the North Star Ballet.
Raise money for local charities as you feast on fabulous food on this fun 4k graze through downtown Fairbanks. You choose the local charity that will receive 100% of your registration fees. The Visitor Industry organizes the walk and all money raised through entry fees is donated to local non-profits. Over the last ten walks $249,471 has been raised for local charities.
Development and Production of The Firebird was made possible by contributions from these generous sponsors:
Sportsmedicine Fairbanks
Bill Stroeker Charitable Foundation
ICHARR (Interior Hotel, Restaurant & Retailers Association)
Fairbanks Cancer Care Physcians
Northern Hospital Associates
In addition to The Firebird the program also features a revival of Der Rosenkavalier Waltzes (1994) with choreography by Norman Shelburne. Set to the luxuriant music of Richard Strauss, the ballet evokes the romance of a lavish ballroom and the youthful flirtations of a summer evening.
Red Arc/ Blue Veil is set to the music of Fairbanks composer, John Luther Adams. Adams describes his music, scored for mallet percussion, piano and processed sounds as a work exploring the geometry of time and color. In his choreography, Norman Shelburne considers the visual implications of the music with ten dancers.
And finally the North Star Ballet Junior Company takes the stage in a revival of Suite with Hats to the fun-filled music of Dmitri Shostakovich. Everyday hats, historic hats and mysterious hats provide inspiration for this suite of charming dances which finishes with a parade of outrageous hats designed by Penny Wakefield, Fairbanks fiber artist.
Tickets are available at the Box Office for the Salisbury Theater at UAF one hour before the show, at the Bently Mall Safeway, and at Enchanted Forest Toys.
The drops, props, costumes, hats, more hats, and even more hats and the dancers have moved to Salisbury Theater in the Fine Arts Complex at UAF. This is tech week. The dancers are transferring the choreography to the stage, final fittings are being made for costumes, and the lighting and drops are being added. Opening night is this Friday, April 19 at 8pm. Come and join the excitement of the premier of a new ballet, The Firebird.
The Firebird features choreography by Norman Shelburne, Artistic Director; scenery and costumes designed by Celeste Sullivan, whose designs for the North Star Ballet include The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Alice in Wonderland; and lighting by Kade Mendelowitz, Professor of Theater, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Wendy Langton will create the role of the Firebird with Ian Zeisel as Ivan, Jarrin Overholt as Kostchei and Emma Zeisel as the Princess Tsarevna.
Shows are Friday, April 19 at 8pm; Saturday, April 20 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday April 21, at 2pm. Tickets are available here and also at: Enchanted Forest Toys, the Bently Mall Safeway, and at the door.
The costumes are beginning to appear at the studio and they are stunning. The Volunteers led by Ms Sue have done an amazing job of building them. The last fittings are being made this weekend and the handwork is being finished up. Come to the Premier of North Star Ballet’s Firebird April 19, 20, or 21 to see how the renderings below were turned into finished products!
The Firebird, a creature from Russian folklore, is a magical, glowing bird, the manifestation of goodness, hope ,and wondrous things. In the ballet, Prince Ivan, the Tsar ’s son, wanders into an enchanted forest surrounding the palace of the evil Kostchei. There he encounters and captures the Firebird.
Read more about the story, music, and history of this fantasy ballet in our Spring Newsletter.
We will perform this ballet one weekend only: April 19, 20, and 21 in The Salisbury Theater on the UAF campus. Go here for tickets.
