Photo: Draper Center Youth Ensemble, credit Tim Wilkes

Youth Ensemble of 15 area teens leaves October 16th

Peru! Studio Sneak Peek is Saturday, Oct. 13, 7-8 PM

 

Rochester, NY (October 3, 2018) – Fifteen teenage ballet dancers from Rochester’s acclaimed Draper Center for Dance Education, the official training school for Rochester City Ballet, are preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime. They’ll be heading to Trujillo, Peru – the country’s “Capital of Culture” – as the only U.S. dancers to perform at the prestigious International Ballet Festival of Trujillo (festival internacional de ballet de Trujillo), October 18 – 20.

“This opportunity is unique because it mixes the chance to perform in an international setting with a rich cultural experience,” says the school’s Artistic Director Jamey Leverett, who formed the Draper Center Youth Ensemble in 2016 to give pre-professional dancers opportunities to grow as artists through diverse, world-class performances. “Our young dancers will be immersed in the Peruvian culture as they share the stage with professional dancers from a wide variety of South American countries.”

In addition to performing for sold-out crowds at the famed Teatro Municipal de Trujillo twice during the three-day festival, the teens will take part in master classes and enjoy many local historical and cultural attractions, including a visit to nearby Inca ruins.

“Everyone is so supportive, and it’s great to dance in a totally different culture at such a beautiful theatre,” says 18-year-old Breena Keefe from Pittsford, who was one of only five Draper students who participated in the Draper Center Youth Ensemble’s first trip to Trujillo two years ago. This time, she’ll be joined by:

  • Caterina Baker (14) Honeoye Falls
  • Olivia Bevilacqua (15) Hilton
  • Riley Bevilacqua (17) Hilton
  • Hannah Boyer (17) Webster
  • Marissa Chen (14) Pittsford
  • Giuliana Fauth (13) Brighton
  • Abra Geiger (14) Spencerport
  • Abigail Jacobs (15) Honeoye Falls
  • Anna Joy (14) Fairport
  • Savanna Ross (14) Brockport
  • Sarah Schiffhauer (15) Penfield
  • Clara Thiele (13) Pittsford
  • Morgan Throumoulos (14) Webster
  • Jocelyn Wynn (14) Rochester

The International Ballet Festival of Trujillo, founded in 1977 by the Ballet Company of Trujillo, brings together professional ballet companies from Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and more. As with the Youth Ensemble’s first visit, Trujillo native and Draper Center Instructor Fidel Orrillo Puga made the connection between the two organizations.

“Due to its first participation in 2016, in which the Draper Center Youth Ensemble demonstrated great technical and artistic quality and magnificent choreography, it is an honor to receive them again,” writes a spokesperson for the Festival.

“It’s a win-win situation for both the festival and our students,” explains Puga. “Professional companies from all over the world get to see first-hand that our dancers are among the best-trained in the U.S, and our students get a taste of professional dance on an international level. Additionally, Jamey will teach a Master Class for the professional dancers, and fellow Draper Center instructor Beth Bartholomew and I have been asked to teach Master Classes for students from Trujillo and the surrounding communities.”

Rochester will also get to see first-hand what the Draper Center Youth Ensemble will present at the festival at Peru! Studio Sneak Peek on Saturday, October 13 from 7-8 PM at the Draper Center (1326 University Avenue,14607). A suggested donation of $10 includes a glass of wine or a bottled water.

“The Draper Center is so proud to represent our country and this city on the world stage, and we hope that Rochester is proud of us as well,” adds Leverett.

Draper Center for Dance Education, the official training school for Rochester City Ballet, teaches approximately 150 students year-round. The Center provides a disciplined level of technique-focused classical ballet training, along with pointe, variations, modern, jazz, and creative movement for all ages. With impeccable dance technique as its focal point, the school also teaches formation of character and stresses standards of excellence in all areas of life.

Founded by the late Timothy M. Draper in 1986 to give the Rochester community a professional dance school where students would receive a strong foundation in classical ballet while studying other forms of artistic dance, the Draper Center continues to evolve. Jamey Leverett took over as artistic director in 2004 and, with Executive Director Katherine Ertsgaard, the school’s classical ballet-centric curriculum and teaching style has won awards and recognition as one of the top dance training schools in the United States.

Draper Center alumni currently perform or have performed with: New York City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Met, Nashville Ballet, Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Alonzo King’s Lines, Cedar Lake Dance, Hubbard Street, Cirque du Soleil, Kungliga Opera, Finnish National Ballet, and Rochester City Ballet.

Media please note: High-resolution photos of the Draper Center Youth Ensemble are available at bit.ly/2zMvFhG. Interviews as well as photo/footage opportunities may be arranged.

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