The Fairfax Ballet’s annual jazz, tap and modern dance revue, Dance Snapshots, will be held Saturday, June 17, at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Herndon High School Theatre, 700 Bennett Street in Herndon. Tickets are $18 for adults, $14 for children, students and senior citizens.
The company is resident at the Russell School of Ballet of Chantilly.
THE SHOW will feature the works of area choreographers Sarah Bayne, Meisha Bosma, Tracy Bowers, Cindy Hsu, Andrea Jones, Amy Rossi and Christine Stone. The pieces will feature graduating seniors and students at every level of study at the school.
According to Artistic Director Ilona Russell, although the school’s main focus and curriculum is training students in classical ballet techniques, the jazz, tap and modern dance program also is an important aspect of the dancers’ training.
“This training is essential to well round our dancers’ development for future dance involvement,” says Russell.
Choreographer Andrea Jones, who began her dance studies at Russell when she was in fourth grade, now teaches at the school and has choreographed a piece for the revue. In “Shake,” the company introduces a hip-hop number into their concerts for the first time.
Choreographer Meisha Bosma is an upcoming choreographer on the Washington, D.C., dance scene. Bosma, who has received several awards, has choreographed two pieces for the performance, “Momentum” and “Hallalejah.” One of the company’s most popular jazz teachers, Amy Rossi, has other talents in addition to teaching and choreographing. She made the music tape for the production.
The Russell School of Ballet is under the direction of Ilona and Thomas Russell, former soloists with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet of New York and the National Ballet of Washington, D.C. The school offers a full program of instruction in classical ballet, pointe and variations, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical, stretch, character and hip-hop for children, teens and adults, pre-school through professional levels. Registration is ongoing throughout the year.
THE SCHOOL’S Intensive Summer Program, June 26-July 27, will offer several dance-related workshops, in addition to the regular technique classes listed above, to enhance the development of dancers of all ages. Dancers trained at the Russell School of Ballet have gone on to dance professionally in the New York City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and many other professional companies as well as receiving scholarships from major college dance departments.
Tickets are on sale now. Purchase tickets at the school office, located at 14119-O Sullyfield Circle, Chantilly, between the hours of 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. Or purchase tickets at the door on the day of the performance. Call the school at 703-803-1055, or visit: www.fairfaxballet.com.