The Spring Student Ballet & Music Recitals were held at the Bay Head School of Ballet & Violin on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1. Students performed selections from the classical ballet and music repertoire to a delighted audience in the intimate and elegant setting of the School.
The Ballet Recital featured scenes from the ballet A Midsummer Nights Dream, with music by Felix Mendelssohn and choreography by George Balanchine. It was first presented by the New York City Ballet at the City Center, New York, on January 17, 1962. William Shakespeares play A Midsummer Nights Dream is perfectly suited to become a ballet. It is a dramatic series of dream images in which a real and unreal world are woven together. The story of the ballet concerns the adventures and misadventures of a group of mortals and immortals in their resolutions of the confusions and problems of loving and being loved. The crossed loves, meaningless quarrels, forest chases and magic spells woven by the infamous Puck are real yet unreal. The action takes place on a midsummer night, a night known since ancient times as one of magic, in a far-away kingdom. An invisible fairy domain rules the forest and casts spells on the innocents: two sets of lovers fall victim to a comedy of errors and some lowly village bumpkins are captured by magic powers beyond their reckoning. George Balanchine has said that his ballet was inspired by the music. Felix Mendelssohn wrote his Overture to A Midsummer Nights Dream in 1826 at the age of seventeen. It is a masterpiece of enchantment that perfectly captures the fantasy of Shakespeares play. Performing were Sophia Bencivenga and Meghan McCafferty of Brick and Holly Canales, Kathleen McLaughlin and Mary West of Point Pleasant as the Green Fairies; Julia Carver, Alexis Keller and Lucia Steinmetz of Point Pleasant and Maddy Williams of Wall as the Bumblebees; Lily Brouder of Point Pleasant, Victoria Clement of Point Pleasant Beach and Veronica Pontrantolfi of Brick as the Clowns; and Katie Bottrell of Point Pleasant Beach, Bronte Ford and Kimberlee Sibilia of Point Pleasant and Veronica La Du and Rose Maisner of Bay Head as the Butterflies.
The Music Recital featured compositions for violin and piano by classical composers Carl Wilhelm Henning, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioacchino Rossini and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Performing on violin were Nikita Nicolaides of Lavallette, Hailey Hathaway of Brielle and Hillary Muller of Point Pleasant Beach. Performing on piano were Rose Maisner of Bay Head and Katie McCafferty and Ashley Santos of Brick.
The Bay Head School of Ballet & Violin is directed by Bonnie A. Behrman and is dedicated to the study, appreciation and enjoyment of classical ballet and music. All performances are free to the public. For the schedule of upcoming performances, please visit www.bayheadschoolofballetandviolin.com.
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