thenorthstarballet.org

The North Star Ballet will be closed if the temperature is 50 degrees below zero or colder as verified by calling 844.  Parents should use discretion in determining when other weather conditions such as ice fog influence safe travel.  In this case students may schedule a make-up class.  Classes cancelled because of bad weather will be rescheduled.

The Fairbanks Arts Association will exhibit selected costumes from the North Star Ballet in the Bear Gallery at Pioneer Park from January 6-31, 2012. 
Join us for the First Friday reception on January 6th from 5-7 pm.
Gallery hours are noon to 6 pm Tuesday-Saturday.  Free and open to the public.

Thirty-seven costumes from North Star Ballet’s major productions, including The Nutcracker, Coppelia, Snow White, Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland will be on display with information about design, materials, construction and context.  These beautiful costumes, most of which were made by local volunteers, are works of art in themselves.  This is a rare opportunity to appreciate them up close. 

The exhibit will include photography by Heather Kasvinsky.
For more information call 456-6485. 

The spring semester begins Monday, January 9, 2012.
Call Kristina at 451-8800 to register.

Deanna Karlheim

The North Star Ballet’s annual production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker celebrates its 25^th Anniversary with performances on December 2, 3 and 4 at Hering Auditorium.

 Deanna Karlheim and Hannes Van Wassenhove will dance the leading roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier.

Hannes Van Wassenhove

Deanna Karlheim, a native of Clarksville, Maryland, studied with Valentina Kozlova in New York City.  She was the third place winner in ballet at the International Dance Organization World Competition in 2009.  She is currently a junior at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and a trainee with Ballet West in Salt Lake City.  Hannes Van Wassenhove received his early training in his home town of Peoria, Illinois.  He studied at the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was awarded a trainee position with Ballet West in Salt Lake City at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2010.

Senior members of the North Star Ballet Company will dance principal roles.  Amy Cross and Makenna Johansen will dance the role of Snow Fairy.  Virginia Gallagher and Makenna Johansen will dance the Dew Drop Fairy.  Ian Zeisel will dance the Snow Cavalier.  They will be joined by Steven Goforth of the Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City, who will also dance as the Snow Cavalier.

Choreography for The Nutcracker is by Norman Shelburne, the Company’s Artistic Director.  Set in an American home of the late Victorian Period the production features period décor and costumes by Celeste Sullivan of Lexington, Kentucky.  Kade Mendelowitz, Technical Director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Theater Department, will create the lighting design enhancing the rich colors and textures of the production with magical radiance.

The 16 dancers of the North Star Ballet Company and Apprentice Company and 21 members of the North Star Ballet Junior Company are joined by more than 40 area children in creating the ballet.

The Nutcracker was first performed at the Maryinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, December 10, 1892, with choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa.  The ballet was first seen in the United States in a production staged by Willam Christensen for the San Francisco Ballet in 1944.  A production by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet, televised on CBS in 1958, brought the ballet to national attention.  The Nutcracker’s themes celebrate the changing of the season, the fears and wonders of childhood and the joys of family and home.  Its whimsical story line, colorful dances and seasonal appeal have endeared the ballet to American audiences and it is today the most widely performed ballet in the repertory.

A special opportunity to visit the Land of the Sweets will follow the matinee performance on Saturday, December 3.  Children can meet the cast of The Nutcracker in costume on stage. A Silent Auction and the Nutcracker Boutique are outstanding features in the lobby at all performances.  Audience members can bid on a wide variety of valuable items including an original painting, “Ballet Dancers,” by Fairbanks Artist Dan Kennedy, antiques, jewelry, personal services, gift certificates, and overnight stays.  The Boutique offers a unique collection of handmade and novelty items for sale including Sudkamp Design Cashmere Neckmeres and Leg Warmers.  All proceeds go to support the North Star Ballet.

Performances are December 2 at 8:00 pm, December 3 at 2:00 and 8:00 pm and December 4 at 2:00 pm.  Tickets may be purchased at Safeway at Bentley Mall, Enchanted Forest Toys and the North Star Ballet or at the door beginning one half hour before curtain time.  Credit card purchases and reserved seating accepted only at the North Star Ballet at 451-8800.  North Star Ballet can accommodate phone orders.  General Admission tickets are $10 for children and $20 for adults. Reserved Seating tickets are $26.  There are discounts for senior citizens, college students and active military.

ORDER TICKETS ONLINE

This year’s Nutcracker is Sponsored by:

Interior Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant, and Retailer’s Association, Inc (ICHARR)                    Tanana Valley TV   “Eye on the Interior Channel 13,” “Fox 7,” and FM96.9                           KTVF   “News Center 11”                                                                                                                     New Northwest Broadcasters (Ted FM 103.9)                                                                              Fairbanks Cancer Care Physicians

And supported by:                                                                                                                        The Alaska State Council on the Arts                                                                                  Fairbanks Arts Association                                                                                                               City of Fairbanks Bed-Tax Funds

The 25^th Anniversary performances of the North Star Ballet’s The Nutcracker are dedicated to the memory of John L.Turner who created the role of Drosselmeyer at the premiere of the full-length production on December 4, 1987. 

Turner was a Professor of Education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  He came to Alaska to join the faculty in 1966 and early in his career was actively engaged in educational programs and delivery of courses in rural areas of Alaska.  Turner was also a master fencer and taught fencing at UAF and from his own fencing school the Salle D’Armes Le Tournoir.  Turner was an ardent supporter of the North Star Ballet and served on its Board of Directors and as an advisor to the North Star Ballet School.

Turner’s portrayal of Drosselmeyer was one of the highlights of the 1987 production.  He brought considerable theatrical experience to the role having appeared in a number of productions for the Fairbanks Light Opera Theater including a highly acclaimed performance as the Model, Modern Major-General in the 1972 production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.  According to Norman Shelburne, North Star Ballet Artistic Director, “John understood Drosselmeyer – an eccentric, compassionate, wizard – from the first rehearsal.  His musicality, physical agility and his sense of humor were tremendous assets.  He loved the mystery of the character and his ability to infuse even the smallest gesture with meaning was the magic we were after.”

Turner’s untimely death came on the eve of the staging rehearsal of the 1988 production in which he was to re-create his role as Drosselmeyer.

The North Star Dance Foundation is pleased to announce our new Executive Director, Anne Ruggles, who will join us on August 22, 2011.  The former Executive Director of the Alaska Bird Observatory will bring extensive experience in organization management, administration and development.  She has earned degrees in biology from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Alaska Fairbanks and law from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The North Star Ballet and Norman Shelburne received the 2011 Interior Alaska Mayor’s Award for Youth Arts at a presentation ceremony at the Alaska Centennial Center for the Arts Theater, Thursday, May 19.  The event was sponsored by the Fairbanks Arts Association.  The award recognized the significant and ongoing contribution of the North Star Dance Foundation, the North Star Ballet School and the North Star Ballet to education and development of youth in the community for more than 30 years