Wednesday, April 17, 2002
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Wednesday, April 17, 2002 |
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GYB attends SERBA conference this week By SARA
HALL
The dancers of the Georgia Youth Ballet, a Fayetteville based pre-professional ballet company, come together on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights to prepare for their next event. The Georgia Youth Ballet heads to Knoxville, Tenn. April 18 to participate and perform in the annual four-day conference of the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA). SERBA is a regional ballet movement, which began in 1956, that offers its member companies an opportunity to perform for each other and work with experienced dance instructors. "I would have to say every good pre-professional ballet company in the Southeast is a member of SERBA," said Magdalena Maury, the director of the Georgia Youth Ballet. Every year over 800 dancers from different pre-professional ballet companies attend the SERBA conventions. "Attending SERBA affords our students an opportunity to compare their dancing to other students of similar age and background," Maury said. At this year's conference, the Georgia Youth Ballet will perform two different pieces. On Thursday night of the conference, the company will present a choreographed work by JR Davis. Davis's dance features girls wearing all white dancing in complete darkness. The white costumes make the dancers glow in the dark. Men will also dance in the piece, but they will wear all black blending them into the dark lights. The men will lift the girls into the air creating a flying illusion. "The inspiration for my choreography came from a dream," Davis said. "I wanted to make the girls look like they are flying." JR graduated from Sandy Creek High School in 1998, and now is a senior at West Georgia University. On Friday night of the conference, the company will present a choreographed work by Karen Schatten-Lock. Schatten-Lockís piece is choreographed to Christmas music. "The dance is fun and happy," Maury said. "It is very technically difficult; the dancers never stop jumping." Karen Schatten-Lock is currently the assistant director for Lion King on Broadway. Both choreographed pieces will close the Thursday and Friday night shows. "I think closing both shows is an honor," Maury said. "Closing is reserved for better companies or exciting pieces." The students of the Georgia Youth Ballet enjoy dancing in the two choreographed works they are taking to SERBA. "I enjoy dancing in JR's piece because it is different from anything I have every done, and I know it will create a good audience response," said Jordan Worrall, a member of the Georgia Youth Ballet and a sophomore at McIntosh. Laura Bangert, another member of the Georgia Youth Ballet and a senior at Starrís Mill, said, "I enjoy dancing in Schatten-Lock's piece because dancing to Christmas music in Spring is really different." The Georgia Youth Ballet is currently dancing 10 or more hours a week to prepare for SERBA which they will participate in from April 18-21. "The SERBA conference is exciting because it gives our company an opportunity to be around other people that really appreciate ballet," Bangert said. |
