The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
‘IMPACT’ to leave mark at Warner
TORRINGTON – When the lights come up this weekend on IMPACT 2018, the Nutmeg Ballet’s annual showcase of talent, you will see more than talented aspiring dancers. You will also see fine classical and modern choreography and hear captivating live jazz at the Warner Theatre’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre.
Victoria Mazzarelli, artistic director at Nutmeg Ballet, said, “Our talented students will be performing not only classical ballets, but new contemporary creations as well. This mixed repertoire is valuable in the training of young dancers today.”
She said she will also include young dancers from the Torrington School of Ballet (TSOB), which trains dancers up to about age 14 at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts. They are “the next generation of Nutmeg students,” she said.
IMPACT 2018 will include excerpts from Acts 2 and 3 of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s beloved “Swan Lake,” staged by Eleanor D’Antuono, Alexei Tchernichov and Denise
Warner Limoli.
D’Antuono is a resident coach and classical repertoire coordinator, a member of Nutmeg’s faculty since 1986. When she was just 14, she joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, which later became The Joffrey Ballet and then the American Ballet Theatre. She was prima ballerina there for more than 25 years. She was the first American ballerina invited to appear as a guest artist at Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. At Nutmeg, she is responsible for group and private coaching in the classical
ballet repertoire for the year-round residency program.
Senior ballet master Tchernichov trained at the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow and graduated from the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in St. Petersburg. He was principal dancer with The Kuybeshev State Ballet. He shares his classical ballet background with Nutmeg Ballet students in technique class and repertoire rehearsal.
Limoli has been with Nutmeg Ballet since it began – first as a dancer, then a teacher, then staging repertoire and coaching the dancers. She is an associate professor of ballet at Skidmore
College in Saratoga Spring, N.Y., and is on the board of directors of the National Museum of Dance. She teaches summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre.
IMPACT 2018 will also feature excerpts from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” with original choreography by resident coach and classical repertoire coordinator Kirk Peterson, currently associate artistic director of Canada’s Alberta Ballet. Peterson was principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. He has choreographed more than 55 ballets.
Kate St. Amand, modern dance choreographer, will present an original work that audience members are
sure to enjoy. St. Amand trained at the Nutmeg Ballet (’98) and received her B.F.A. from SUNY Purchase, where she was inspired by works by Shen Wei, Lin Hwai-Min and Mark Morris. She is co-founder of SYREN Modern Dance of New York City.
Finally, the homegrown jazz ensemble JINQS, led by Charles Patterson, will present arrangements of works by Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane, with original choreography by Mazzarelli.
Patterson, a pianist and composer/arranger, graduated from University of Hartford and is a student at Noteworthy Music in Torrington. His jazz ensemble
JINQS features Drew Chadwick on guitar, Jeff Boratko on sax, Gavin Smart on drums and Andrew Muench on bass.
Mazzarelli was trained personally by Nutmeg Ballet’s founder, Sharon E. Dante, and Dante’s original faculty. In 1984, Mazzarelli was awarded the only gold medal in the New York International Ballet Competition at the age of 17. She was principal dancer at the Basel Ballet in Switzerland and later at the Frankfurt Ballet. In 1996, she joined the Zurich Ballet in Switzerland. She joined the Nutmeg faculty in 2003 as associate artistic director and was appointed artistic director in
2011.
“Nutmeg’s major annual spring production gives our students a giant step forward toward their professional careers,” said Joan Kunsch, associate director and national tour director at Nutmeg. “The student dancers are challenged to adapt to the different styles of both resident and guest choreographers.”
IMPACT 2018 opens Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. A matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday. For information on tickets, call the Warner Theatre at 860-489-7180 or visit www.warnertheatre.org.