Gwinnett Ballet Theatre (GBT) will present its 27th edition of The Nutcracker for eleven public performances held December 6th – 21st, 2008. Eight of these performances will be danced to the accompaniment of the live, professional Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Orchestra conducted by Predrag Gosta.

GBT’s traditional interpretation of this favorite holiday classic will include beautifully performed classical dancing, a live magician, and colorful sets and costumes. GBT utilizes the talents of its pre-professional company plus a cast of 80 young students from its non-profit school. The GBT Orchestra conductor, Predrag Gosta, is also the Artistic Director of Atlanta’s highly esteemed New Trinity Baroque Ensemble.

But it isn’t just the students, professional and pre-professional dancers who get in on the action! For the past three years, GBT has invited some of Gwinnett’s most visible business and social personalities to appear onstage as one of our “Celebrity Mother Gingers.”

Mother Ginger is a character in the second act, a very tall “woman” with a huge skirt. Underneath the skirt area dozen small dancers called “Polichinelles” who dash out from underneath the costume and entertain the audience with dance and gymnastic feats.

In reality, the Mother Ginger volunteer enjoys these three minutes of fame at a small “price.” A great deal of stage makeup, a big wig, false eyelashes and a false bust are all a part of the package. Mother Ginger stands on a platform and is literally wheeled onstage by stage hands who also keep the apparatus steady. GBT is happy to say that they have never “lost” a Mother Ginger yet.

This year’s Celebrity Mother Gingers are still being recruited, but so far the list is impressive: Paige Havens of Spitfire Media Group, Cheryl Gee of Gwinnett Center, Demetrius Jordan of United Way, and Jeffrey Scott Bailey of Suwanee Performing Arts have all agreed to appear. And just to top it off, 680 The Fan on-air personality John Kincaid has also just signed on to appear as Mother Ginger. A complete list of “CMG’s” will be forthcoming.

Performances will be given at the beautiful Gwinnett Performing Arts Center located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, Georgia. Dates and times are as follows:

Saturday, December 6th at 2:30 and 7:30
Sunday, December 7th at 2:30
The above will be performed to recorded music.

Friday, December 12th at 7:30
Saturday, December 13th at 2:30 and 7:30
Sunday, December 14th at 2:30
Friday, December 19th at 7:30
Saturday, December 20th at 2:30 and 7:30
Sunday, December 21st at 2:30
These performances are accompanied by the
Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Orchestra

Tickets for December 6th and 7th are $20 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, and $10 for groups of 10 or more. Tickets for December 12th-21st are $27 for adults, $22 for students and seniors, and $18 for groups of ten or more.
Tickets can be obtained by calling Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400 or by visiting any Ticketmaster location or the Gwinnett Center Box Office.

For more information contact GBT at 770-978-0018 or visit www.gwinnettballet.org.

Gwinnett businessman Matt Retter has been elected as Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s new Board Chairman effective July, 2008. Mr. Retter follows Stan Hall in this position. Mr. Hall held the Chairmanship for four years before moving from the GBT Board to become Chairman of the Board of the Hudgens Center for the Arts.

Mr. Retter owns his own real estate appraisal business in Lawrenceville, Billingsley, Retter and Associates, Inc., and is involved in consulting and developing real estate. He has been a resident of Gwinnett for the past 34 years and graduated from Berkmar High School. He is a graduate of Georgia State University with a Degree in Business Administration and received the MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute. He has been active in the South Gwinnett Rotary and has served as a Gwinnett County Planning Commissioner. He has held the offices of President and also Trustee of the Bethesda United Methodist Church Men’s Club.

“I hope to raise awareness within the Greater Gwinnett County business, civic and arts communities about the accomplishments and potential of Gwinnett Ballet Theatre,” he says.

GBT Artistic Director Lisa Sheppard Robson is also very enthusiastic about Mr. Retter’s taking the helm of the Board. She states, “I feel so fortunate that Matt has taken such interest in contributing his strengths to the Board. Performing arts organizations meet with challenges in our non-profit status and the cost of production versus funding. This is an area where Matt is always particularly focused and has met with success in the past. I am looking forward to his administration and following his direction to great new heights.”

Mr. Retter and his wife Meredith have three daughters, Mallory, Meagan and Molly. Mallory dances in the GBT pre-professional company. Matt, Meredith and Mallory traveled to Austria this summer where GBT dancers, including Mallory, participated in the Young Tanzsommer Festival. Mr. Retter says of the experience, “It was an opportunity of a lifetime and our dancers proved Gwinnett Ballet’s level of excellence as one of the top non-professional performing companies.”

Gwinnett Ballet Theatre has been “nurturing young dancers since 1977.” Located with studios in Snellville’s Fountain Square, the school and company are both non-profit, 501C3 entities. GBT will be producing its 27^th annual production of The Nutcracker this year from December 6-21^st at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center.

For more information about Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, call 770-978-0188 or visit www.gwinnettballet.org.

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Four dancers from Gwinnett Ballet Theatre gained international performing experience when they participated in the Young! Tanzsommer Dance Festival in Tanzsommer, Austria this past June. One of four pre-professional dance companies from the USA, GBT was represented by Mallory Retter, Allison Bridgers, Lauren Ring and Maggie Ellington with the splendid addition of Atlanta Ballet soloist David Blumenfeld who performed with the young ballerinas.

Beginning June 14, the Festival’s first tour, titled “Solaris,” saw GBT dancers performing four ballets: “Something,” “Mind FX,” “Impromptu,” and “Five Points.” The venues in which they performed were exquisite locales such as the Austrian ski villages of St. Johann and Lienz. They performed in the famous Dogana Theatre in Innsbruck, which was built in 1630, to an audience of 3,000 people.

GBT Artistic Director Lisa Sheppard Robson says, “The public at all venues stated that this was the highest quality performance and talent overall from the Tanzsommer Tour to date.” The festival is ten years old this year.

Ms. Robson continues, “The highlight would be the performance at Elizabetina, a school for physically challenged children. The children watched every step with such excitement and enthusiasm! The dancers mingled with them after the show and signed autographs. The children were precious and star struck with delight.”

The dancers didn’t want for the tour to come to an end. Lauren Ring, a Brookwood High School graduate who will be going to Point Park University this fall on scholarship, said of the experience, “This is the best time I’ve ever had in my life!”

Parents went along as well. Cathy Ellington accompanied Maggie, and GBT new Board Chairman Matt Retter and his wife Meredith accompanied their daughter Mallory.

Mr. Retter was also impressed with the event. “The dancers experienced performing in front of hundreds of Europeans and in various historical venues with other young performers from across the United States. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, and our dancers proved Gwinnett Ballet’s level of excellence as one of the top pre-professional performing companies.”

The addition of David Blumenfeld was another big plus for the Gwinnett dancers. David is not only a highly acclaimed soloist for the Atlanta Ballet, but he is also one of their company teachers and on GBT’s faculty.

“David treated the girls as if he was their big brother,” adds Ms. Robson. “He added so much to their enjoyment of the venues and performances.”

She adds in summary, “I was so proud of our dancers. They took advantage of every minute, sightseeing, shopping, getting to know the other dancers. And just when I thought they were exhausted, they would perform with a vengeance! They were so professional and performed with perfection and artistry.”

To learn more about the Young! Tonzsommer Festival, go to http://www.youngtanzsommer.com/index.htm. For more about Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, visit www.gwinnettballet.org.

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It’s that time of year again, when Gwinnett area dancers pack their pointe shoes and stuff their leotards and tights into a suitcase. “Summer intensives” are being offered at major dance companies all over the country. Gwinnett is well represented as our talented youth embark on a summer full of learning and growing in their chosen art form.

In fact, Gwinnett has so many students attending so many prestigious national dance companies this summer that one Art Beat column isn’t enough to list them all. A second Art Beat will follow in a couple of weeks to complete the listings.

For now, we shine the spotlight on Gwinnett Ballet Theatre which has twenty young dancers attending summer intensives. Four GBT dancers auditioned for, and won, special summer scholarships when the company attended the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association’s annual event in High Point, NC this past May. As fellow dancers whistled and applauded at the final evening’s gigantic party, the following GBT dancers were recognized:

Garet Erwin received a scholarship to the Milwaukee Ballet. Sabrina Sandoval was awarded a scholarship to the Atlanta Ballet and also to the Glenda Brown Choreography Project. Allison Bridgers was given a scholarship to the Glenda Brown Choreography Project as well. Nicole Ranieri received a scholarship to the Orlando Ballet.

Auditions for scholarships and acceptance in summer intensives have been ongoing since the beginning of 2008. Held at various studios throughout the Metro Atlanta area, these auditions give major professional company teachers and choreographers a chance to see young dancers grow from year to year. It is a great advantage for the young dancers to show these professionals how they are developing, and many young dancers graduate from high school directly into a company where they have been attending summer intensives for a number of years. Through this audition process, more GBT girls were accepted into summer programs.

Good friends can often attend a summer intensive together! This is the case for Maggie Ellington and Jennifer Hite as they head south to the Orlando Ballet for the summer. Erin Sipsy and Jessica Kaczor will be going to Joffrey Ballet Midwest in Flint, Michigan. Clara Guyton will attend the Joffrey Ballet in New York City. Sisters Nancy and Kiley Casciano will attend North Carolina Dance Theatre as will Alison Bell.

Abigrace Diprima will be spending her summer at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Anna Mott will be attending the Kirov Academy in Washington, DC. Trinicia Bodden and Bianca Melidor will venture to New York City to study at Alvin Ailey.

The Joffrey Ballet also has a Southern Campus in Milledgeville, Georgia, where more GBT dancers will be found this summer: Claire Bockhop, Mackenzie Messick, Lauren Pappafotis and Jordan Silas.

Best wishes to these young ladies! They will surely return in August to begin the new season with strengthened skills and lots of stories about their summer adventures!

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For someone who doesn’t actually perform ballet, Stan Hall has made an enormous “grande jete” from his Board Chairmanship at Gwinnett Ballet Theatre to become the Board Chairman at the Hudgens Center. He will launch his new chairmanship when he presides over the board meeting on July 17^th.

This is a significant development in the Gwinnett Arts community. Stan, who is Director of the Victim Witness Program in the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, is familiar to citizens as the host of his own Gwinnett Cable TV show “Behind the Badge.” He also writes a widely distributed column titled “Voice 4 Victims.” And, as a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, he might seem an unlikely person to champion the arts.

However, the arts have been a major part of his life for almost twenty years. “It was during a visit to Paris, when I toured the Louvre, that I made an important discovery,” he explains. “I had been a casual fan of the arts before, but the impact of seeing great art on a face to face level was a turning point. It made me realize how much more of an impact art has when it is experienced personally instead of shown in a book or seen on TV. The experience made me eager to champion personal arts experiences for the community at large.”

Combine this realization with a wife and daughter who were involved in the arts, especially ballet, and Stan soon emerged as an advocate, serving on the Gwinnett Arts Initiative of Partnership Gwinnett.

The new post at the Hudgens Center follows four and a half years as the Board Chairman for Gwinnett Ballet Theatre. During his tenure, GBT more than doubled its student base, expanded its studios into 13,000 square feet, evolved an annual budget of over half a million dollars and, most importantly, brought in a live professional orchestra for the majority of its Nutcracker performances. Community leaders began to sit up and take notice!

Stan says, “When Caryn McGarity and Judy Waters approached me about the Hudgens Board Chairmanship, they said, ‘We’ve seen how the Ballet has grown since you’ve been chairman. Now we want you to come over here and do that for us!”

The new Chairman has specific goals for the once-struggling Hudgens Center. “We definitely need to re-establish the Hudgens Center in the community. We don’t want it to be a ‘best kept secret’ anymore. Plus, we want to reconnect with the other arts organizations in the area. The Hudgens Center has so many wonderful spaces and opportunities for other groups to showcase their art, whether it is performing or visual. ”

One area Stan believes is very important is in the need for quality visual arts exhibitions. “Gwinnett has so many fine visual artists, and we need to give them a venue to exhibit. However, there is also a great need to bring in nationally recognized artists and major exhibitions. No one in this area has better facilities than the Hudgens Center. We need to reach out regionally, to Hall, Barrow, Walton, and Jackson counties as well as Gwinnett. This facility can be the type of resource that the High Museum is to Atlanta.”

Stan welcomes your comments and suggestions. You can contact him at stanhall@artsgwinnett.org. To learn more about the Hudgens Center, visit www.artsgwinnett.org

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Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Orchestra conductor Predrag Gosta has been appointed to the role of Assistant Conductor for the National Philharmonic in the Washington DC. area. Mr. Gosta, who is also Artistic Director of Atlanta’s highly acclaimed New Trinity Baroque Ensemble, promises that he is not leaving his musical posts in Atlanta and Gwinnett. He is simply adding a major role to his professional duties, contributing to a leading orchestra in our nation’s capitol.

In addition to serving as the understudy for all National Philharmonic concerts at the Music Center at Strathmore, Maryland,  Mr. Gosta will also serve as Artistic Director of the Philharmonic Singers and oversee the Philharmonic’s education program.

Mr. Gosta came to the Gwinnett Ballet Theatre as a result of his involvement with the Gwinnett Philharmonic. Staff and patrons of the Gwinnett Philharmonic introduced him to Lisa Sheppard Robson, GBT’s Artistic Director, and it took very little time for the ballet’s orchestra to become a reality. At that point in time, GBT was the only ballet company in the Metro Atlanta area with a professional orchestra. The GBT Orchestra premiered in March of 2006 accompanying dancers to Mendelssohn’s beautiful “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The orchestra has returned for GBT’s annual production of “The Nutcracker” for 2006 and 2007. It will return for 2008.

GBT Artistic Director Lisa Sheppard Robson says, “From the day we met Pedja, I knew he was an artist of international scope. His musical talent as well as his ability to work with people easily and creatively make him a tremendous asset to any organization. I am not surprised he has won this post in Washington DC. It is gratifying to me that he made sure our Nutcracker dates were a part of his new contract, and that he will return to Gwinnett to conduct for us.”

Predrag Gosta comes with a fabulous artistic pedigree. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, he is a graduate of the Trinity School of Music in London, England with both undergraduate and Post Graduate Certificates. However, his musical talent made itself known when he was just a child. At age six he began studying violin, gradually expanding his studies to piano, voice, and theory.

His roots in the Atlanta area are also deep. He has three Master of Music degrees from Georgia State University. He also guest conducts other ensembles and orchestras, including the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in Russia, which he conducted this past October.

Not content to only perform, he has also been published in music journals in USA and overseas, and he taught at Oxford College of Emory University and Georgia State University. He is currently the president of the international early music society, Early Music Network, and serves on the Board of the Atlanta Early Music Alliance.

Although working partly in another state, Gwinnett can be proud to know that this internationally recognized artist has chosen to keep his Gwinnett affiliation intact.

For more information about New Trinity Baroque and Mr. Gosta, visit www.newtrinitybaroque.org

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Gwinnett Ballet Theatre’s annual fundraiser, “Backstage Pass,” will be rockin’ Lawrenceville on Saturday, February 2^nd as the Historic Courthouse is filled with revelers in support of the Ballet’s 2007-2008 Season.

For the past three years, this party has been celebrated as a way for patrons and the community to raise money and awareness for Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, Gwinnett’s oldest performing non-profit organization founded in 1977.

This year, the party will ring out from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. with a variety of special raffle prizes and other fun items. “Backstage Pass” Chairman Katy Bockhop (Mrs. Bryan Bockhop,) has been planning the event for months. She says, “We are thrilled to hold our third annual ‘Backstage Pass’ this year in the Historic Lawrenceville Courthouse. Each couple attending will receive a bottle of custom-labeled wine made especially for GBT. It promises to be an exciting night!” The wine bottles in question are festooned with a colorful label depicting two of GBT’s principal dancers in full “swing.”

Ms. Bockhop has led the way in putting together a number of exciting prize packages. As the event is being held in Lawrenceville, there is the “Lawrenceville Prize Package” which consists of Aurora Theatre tickets, area dining options, and a signed print from artist Bobby Sikes.

Another very unique prize is the “Your Very Own Instant Wine Cellar.” This prize is composed of numerous bottles of wine all donated by GBT supporters who have given a bottle of their favorite “sippage” to build this impressive collection.

A Golf Weekend at the High Hampton Resort in North Carolina will be a popular focal point for raffle ticket-buyers. This treat consists of a weekend of first-class golf at the historic mountain resort, including accommodations, and  fabulous meals.

Another super get-away is a Weekend in Hiawassee, Georgia. The winner of this package will enjoy a luxury condominium for two nights, dinner and other amenities from the area.

“A Night of Drama, Dining and More” promises to be one of the highlights of the Raffle. This package offers the winner flex pass tickets to the New American Shakespeare Tavern plus an overnight stay and brunch at the Georgian Terrace Hotel in downtown Atlanta.

Family Fun at Gwinnett Center consists of Gladiator Tickets, dinner at the Loafing Leprechaun, and overnight accommodations at the Holiday Inn.

A Gwinnett Ballet Theatre package will be of particular interest to GBT parents: it offers a year’s free tuition, performance dvd’s and merchandise from the adorable in-studio shop, GBTique.

Catering for the event is by Masterpiece Events. Music will be supplied by Georgia State University’s Gordon Vernick Trio.

To purchase tickets, call 404-831-1048. It’s not too late! For more information about Gwinnett Ballet Theatre, visit the Web Site at www.gwinnettballet.org.

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Don’t be late for a very important date with Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and a cast of over 80 dancers who will bring the classic tale of “Alice in Wonderland” to life this weekend at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center. Gwinnett Ballet Theatre presents “Alice” plus four contemporary works from their repertory on Saturday, March 8^th at 2:30 and 7:30, and Sunday at 2:30.

“Alice in Wonderland” is a visual treat from many points of view. The sets and costumes are wildly colorful. The music is a combination of familiar melodies from Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and Adam, among other composers. Michael Hollier’s whimsical choreography brings “Alice” vividly to life.

Gwinnett Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Lisa Sheppard Robson is excited about the production. She says, “I am thrilled to be bringing ‘Alice in Wonderland’ back to the stage. It has been seven years since GBT performed ‘Alice,’ and many of our senior dancers who performed the smaller roles as little girls will now be performing major roles.  In turn, our younger dancers can enjoy being in another large-scale production after ‘Nutcracker.’ ‘Alice’ is such a colorful and animated production, full of humor and fantasy. Michael Hollier cleverly constructed this fanciful, satirized journey through Wonderland. The ballet is filled with brilliant color, drama and adventure!”

Ms. Robson continues, “We will have 87 cast members take the stage as the familiar and well-loved personalities of the ‘Alice’ story, but we also feature characters such as the Tigerlily, the Iris, Corabelles, the Rose, the Teapot and Teacups, Sugar Cubes, Hummingbirds, Butterflies, the Dragonfly, garden and enchanted Fairies, and more.”

The story follows Alice on a whirlwind tour through the forest as she follows the White Rabbit and his pocket watch. He is late for a very important date! Desperate to find him, she seeks help from the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, just to name a few. Alice’s adventure culminates at the Queen of Heart’s Castle, where Alice tries hard to please her Highness or be banished from court. She succeeds and is bestowed with the gift of the pocket watch, much to the White Rabbit’s chagrin!

The first half of the performance will be a showcase of choreography from GBT’s repertory. Four ballets are featured, each choreographed by one of GBT’s successful alumni or students. “Tocarre” is a piece created by GBT graduate Robert Dekkers, now a member of Ballet Arizona. With music by John Adams, this ballet features fast footwork, eclectic choreography, and is overall a very explosive and energetic work. A second ballet by Dekkers is “Tempers,” set to music by Vivaldi as performed by Bobby McFerrin. This work in three movements features a lovely pas de deux and many interesting twists. Alumni Sara Chamberlin has created “Pointe: Counterpointe” to the music of Herbie Hancock. “Vicissitudes” is the creation of students Lauren Ring and Mallory Retter.

Tickets are $17 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets, call Ticketmaster at 404-249-6400 or visit any TicketMaster location or the Gwinnett Center Box Office located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.

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