Cast with more than thirty student dancers, ages six to seventeen, from the Sonoma Conservatory of Dance, The Snow Maiden surprises and delights audiences each and every year with its high levels of dance technique, dramatic performance, lively music, and graceful artistry -- not to mention the beautiful costuming and choreography by Brooke Byrne of Khadra International Dance Theatre, San Francisco.
This year, we're taking the greatest pleasure to introduce to you some of the new and returning members of the season's cast. First to grace this virtual page is Ms. Nella, cast as "Babushka" of Act I and "Mama Winter" of Act II!
Ms. Nella first came to SCD as the grandmother of a new Joy of Movement student. Finding SCD also offers classes for adults, she decided to "rediscover dance" for herself and enrolled in both our Adult Ballet and Capacitar classes. Ms. Nella soon fell head over heels in love with her ballet class:
"Well, one step in the door opened up a whole new wonderful experience: not only have I found a new joy in dance, it keeps growing! The teaching is of such high quality and is done in such a way that it is so encouraging. I absolutely love it; I never dreamed that I would be able to jump at all and here I am doing the unimaginable.
"There is something that I want to emphasize about ballet which makes it so special for me: it is a way to bring in beauty and grace, because it is truly Art. With the music and the choreography, I feel uplifted and not browbeaten as I often do after a fitness class."
And, according to Ms. Nella, our Capacitar classes which emphasize healing and empowerment, consistently leave her feeling quite calm and peaceful -- a great way to start or revive her day!
Not long after becoming a student at SCD, Ms. Nella became the instructor of our Wednesday afternoon Joy of Movement class and will soon be the instructor of our Threshold ballet class. When asked to join the cast of The Snow Maiden, she felt these roles right up her alleyway of life -- Ms. Nella is the mother of seven children, all of whom are half-Russian!
And she's loving every minute of it:
"It is absolutely wonderful to work with the young dancers who are so professional and full of life. It is amazing to be part of creating a scene where everyone is contributing their own role.
"All in all I have to say that my experience at the school has opened up many delightful experiences and new joy in my life. It is a real community, friendly and cooperative, seriously committed to bring the wonder of dance into people's lives."
We feel fortunate to have Ms. Nella as part of SCD family & staff, as well as part of The Snow Maiden cast, and we know she'll do an absolutely fabulous job in her roles as "Babushka" and "Mama Winter."
May her warm enthusiasm for dance and performance melt your hearts this winter as much as they have melted ours at SCD!
May her warm enthusiasm for dance and performance melt your hearts this winter as much as they have melted ours at SCD!
Mark your calendars now for The Snow Maiden -- Saturday, December 8, and Sunday, December 9; curtains open at 1:00 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre, 476 1st Street East, Sonoma. Tickets go on sale October 1st, online at BrownPaperTickets.com. Reserved seating only, $12 - 22.
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