Join us on February 2nd to Audition for a part in Cinderella. Ages 8+

Imagine Ballet Theatre is excited to announce a brand new full length ballet being choreographed by Raymond Van Mason, with live music from the Chamber Orchestra Ogden.

Join us April 26th and 27th for the Premier of Raymond Van Mason’s Cinderella.

With many parts, both technical and character, there is a spot for everyone!

Auditions will be help at the IBT studios on February 2nd. 2431 Washington Blvd.

Registration 4:00, Audition 4:30 – 6:00.

Please bring the $25.00 audition fee (cash or check preferred), a dance resume, and a first arabesque picture. Please note that dancers under 18 need a parent or guardian to sign the papers.

Girls dress code is a black leotard with pink tights, pointe shoes if they have them. Hair in a high bun, no part.

Boys dress code is a white shirt and black pants/tights, hair nice and out of the face.

Rehearsals take place Fridays from 4:30 – 8:30 and Saturdays from 10:00 – 4:00. The schedule is updated every Tuesday for the following weekend. Not all parts will be there every rehearsal time.

We are also looking for adults to join us for the ball scene, and if anyone is interested in ballroom dancing in Cinderella, please email ibtmason@comcast.net for more information.

Exciting Announcement: Introducing Master Classes at the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival!

Dear dance enthusiasts,

We’re thrilled to unveil a spectacular addition to this year’s Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival – Master Classes! As part of our commitment to nurturing talent and providing unparalleled opportunities for growth, we’re bringing you an exclusive chance to learn from the best in the field.

Master Class Instructors: Get ready to be inspired by the incredible artistry of two choreographers who are participating in the festival but have also left an indelible mark on the world of dance. Alongside them, one of our distinguished judges will share their expertise and insights, creating a unique learning experience.

The Master Classes will be March 2nd. The festival runs from March 1st through March 2nd. March 1st will be the festival performance for the judges, as well as our audience “People’s Choice” voting. The festival performance on March 2nd is another chance to perform the choreographers wonderful works, with the award ceremony following the performance immediately on stage.

👏 Why Attend Master Classes?

• Learn from the Pros: Benefit from the expertise of choreographers who have wowed audiences with their creativity.
• Hands-On Experience: Dive deep into the intricacies of choreography with practical, hands-on sessions.
• Insider Tips: Gain valuable insights and tips on perfecting your craft from our seasoned judge.
• Ticket to the Show: Each Master Class registration comes with a ticket to the performance on March 2nd. An unbeatable bonus!

Grand Prize – Sponsored Show at Peery’s Egyptian Theater: The stakes have never been higher! The first-place winner of the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival will not only receive well-deserved recognition but also the incredible opportunity to showcase their winning piece at the historic Peery’s Egyptian Theater the following October. This is your chance to take a class from a possible festival winner!

Mark your calendars for the festival, where you can witness breathtaking choreography, participate in enriching Master Classes, and cheer for the talented dancers who will compete for the coveted prize.

Don’t miss out on this golden opportunity to elevate your dance skills and be a part of an unforgettable celebration of choreography. Stay tuned for more details, and get ready to dance your heart out at the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival!

Call Imagine Ballet Theatre at 801-393-5000 to register for the classes!

First Master Class: Ballet with Jenny Mair March 2nd 10:00 – 11:30

Second Master Class: Jazz with Janell Burgess March 2nd 12:00 – 1:30

Third and Final Master Class: Contemporary with Natalie Jean Desch

WE ARE  TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2024 BOURNONVILLE WORKSHOP WITH THE MASTERS

*Includes Participation in Performance of Bournonville repertory, staged by Dinna Bjorn

* Workshop will take place Monday-Saturday, June 3rd-8th.  Daily schedule will consist of class, Bournonville rep, mime, and lectures on August Bournonville (history, methodology, and interesting anecdotes). During the week, Ms. Bjorn and the others will also be teaching and staging Bournonville repertory. This will be performed by workshop participants, in full costume, on the final evening (Saturday, the 10th), at the historic Peery’s Egyptian Theater.

** Read about 2015 Bournonville Workshop with the Masters in this featured article by Kathy Adams, for Dance Studio Life Magazine: “Ballet, Danish Style”.

                                                                            Registration Form

Dinna Bjorn began her dancing career in 1964 with the Royal Danish Ballet and had her soloist debut in 1966. She went on to perform a wide range of major roles in Denmark and abroad as a guest artist. From 1985-88 Ms. Bjorn taught at the Royal Danish Ballet School. She has choreographed many works for the Royal Danish Ballet as well for Dinna Bjorn Dancers. In 1996, she was appointed Artistic Advisor to the Royal Danish Ballet. In addition to these directorships, she was the Artistic Director of Dinna Bjorn Dancers, a company she formed with Frank Andersen, consisting of soloists from the Royal Danish Ballet, which toured extensively throughout the world. She has also created five Hans Christian Andersen ballets for Tivoli’s Pantomime Theatre for which Queen Margrethe designed the décor and costumes. In 1990, she was appointed artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet, and in 2001, she became ballet mistress for the Finnish National Ballet.

Ms. Bjorn has been teaching and coaching the works and technique of Bournonville since 1975 and has participated in Bournonville research and reconstructions internationally. Her best-known reconstructions are the pas de trois from Soldier and Peasant (1981), the dance of the Three Graces in The Muse of the Homeland (1983) and the pas de deux from The Toreador (1989). Ms. Bjorn is much in demand as a guest teacher and lecturer and has given master classes and lectures at universities and theatres in Scandinavia, England, France, Italia, Germany, USA, Canada, China, and Hong Kong. She is the author of several articles on the technique and legacy of August Bournonville. Augmenting her numerous accomplishments, Dinna Bjørn has received the Danish Order of the Dannebrog, the Finnish Order of The White Rose, and the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit.

Eric Viudes began his ballet training in Biarritz, France. At age 14, he won the first prize at the Concours de la Scène Francaise in Paris, directed by Serge Lifar, and achieved jury recognition in character dance. Thereafter he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris where he completed his ballet education. He also studied with Maitre Yves Brieux. Upon graduation he joined the Ballet du Rhin and in 1984 was engaged at the Norwegian National Ballet in Oslo, where he was promoted to Principal Dancer after two years. His leading roles include “Vaslav Nijinsky” in Ulf Gadd´s Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the 1985 premiere in Oslo and in the Norwegian television production of the ballet in 1996. Other leading roles include the young bridegroom in Jerome Robbins´ Les Noces, the husband in Glen Tetley´s La Ronde, “Gurn”in Bournonville’s La Sylphide, “EdvardGrieg” which Sølvi Edvardsen created for him in Grieg àJour and the Red Pas de Deux in Jiri Kylian´s Forgotten Land.

In 2003, he received the French Diploma for teaching classical ballet. He has served as guest teacher with many ballet companies including for the Aspirant classes at The Royal Danish Ballet (2003-2008). He was a member of the faculty for the Bournonville summer seminars in Tokyo, Japan and in France for Bournonville à Biarritz where he has served as Artistic Consultant since 2009.

Born in Denmark, Henning Albrechtsen was engaged as dancer at Royal Danish Ballet in 1985. Since 1997, he has been on the faculty at the Royal Danish Ballet School. In his career as a professional dancer he has danced a variety of soloist and principal roles in classical and neo-classical repertoire ranging from Bournonville to Balanchine.

From 2000 to 2007, he was the Deputy Artistic Director of Royal Danish Ballet. In 2007, he enrolled in the Teachers Training Program for former professional dancers at the National Ballet School of Canada where he completed the one-year educational program and in 2008 was invited back to the Royal Danish Ballet School as a full-time member of the faculty. Henning Albrechtsen has taught at various schools throughout the world including, among others, the National Ballet School of Cuba and the National Ballet School of Canada. In addition, he has taught the Bournonville technique in Australia, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, and Spain.

Karina Elver was born in 1962 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She began to dance cha-cha at the age of 3, and at 9 years old she was accepted as a ballet student at The Royal Danish Ballet School. In 1978 she was accepted as an apprentice at The Royal Danish Ballet and after 2 years she became a ballet dancer at The Royal Danish Ballet. During her time at The Royal Danish Ballet, she had many solo parts in several famous ballets by August Bournonville, Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Clara in Nutcracker and many more.

Ms. Cuni Mancini trained at the Royal Danish School of Ballet and became an Apprentice with the company in 1991. In 1993, she joined the Corps de Ballet and was promoted to Soloist in 2001. Her roles in Bournonville ballets include “Teresina” in Napoli, “Eliza” & “Victorine” in The Conservatory, “Senorita” in La Ventana. Principal roles include “Clara” & “Princess” in various versions of Nutcracker, “Helena” in Midsummer Nights Dream and “Kitri” in Alicia Alonso´s version of Don Quixote. Her soloist roles include “The Pupil” in Flemming Flindt’s The Lesson, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Russian Girl in Serenade, Pas de Deux from Flower Festival in Genzano, “Effy” in La Sylphide,and various roles in Dances at a Gathering, Napoli, Folktale, Sleeping Beauty, Twyla Tharp´s The Fugue, and Balanchine’s Symphony in 3 Movements.

Diana Cuni has been teaching the Bournonville technique at the Royal Danish Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet School since 2013. She also taught at the first annual Royal Danish Ballet Summer School in 2014, and has been teaching Bournonville master classes and staging Willhelm Tell and Napoli at the Perm State Choreographic College in Russia. In addition, she has taught at the Bournonville seminars in Biarritz, France, the Inoue Ballet in Tokyo, and master classes in Paris.
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The 2023 Bournonville Worksop with the Masters will take place at Peery’s Egyptian Theater and the Imagine Ballet Theatre Studios, both located in downtown Ogden. This workshop will be the only one of its kind to take place in the United States.

Tuition

$750.00 per student. Because of the uniqueness of this workshop, with its accompanying performance opportunity, acceptance will be limited to the first 30 applicants. A limited number of full and partial scholarships will be offered, on merit basis and as available. To be considered for scholarship, please submit a video excerpt, preferably of class work, on pointe if applicable.

Audit Options for Teachers:  A.  $200 for full week.  B.  $50/day. C.  $20/class.
**All registration materials should be e-mailed to ibtmason@comcast.net or sent to P.O. Box 7, Bountiful, UT 84011.

This event is being sponsored by:
Imagine Ballet Theatre, The American Ballet Competition, Institute for Dance Education Arts, Utah Division of Arts and Museums,
ArtWorks, The Ralph Nye Charitable Foundation, and the Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation.

Immediately following Bournonville Workshop with the Masters, Imagine Ballet Theatre offers a unique summer intensive experience. A discount is offered for students who enroll in both of these fantastic opportunities. Please see https://imagineballet.org/summer-intensive/ for more information on guest faculty for IBT’s Summer Intensive.

Imagine Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive is designed for students and company members of IBT to stay close to home, be with their families and still receive top notch ballet training.

Summer Intensive 2024 dates will be June 17th through July 12th, including July 4th.

Audience members will get the pleasure of seeing works of art that were staged by guest teachers, as well as pieces that will be built upon all four weeks, as well as choreography by the students.

We have 3-4 guest teachers every year. They come for one week and stage a piece of work that is either classical or new choreography.

The dancers not only have to come to class and learn different pieces, but they also are educated in the ballet history and choreography areas as well.

Each dancer has to write a report based on randomly chosen dancers by the director. Each dancer is also required to write a poem to express their thoughts about dance.

Along with reports and poems, the dancers will be assigned a choreography project. This can either be in groups or individual choreography, assigned by the director with different constraints such as a music constraint, a style constraint, or a topic constraint.

For younger dancers for which this might be too much, we offer a Ballet, Art and Modern program that will run one week during the summer from 10:00 – 1:00. Dates are to be announced.

The price for all the full summer intensive 4 weeks is $1500.00, with a $500.00 deposit due on May 1st.

Our Guest Teachers

Gina Artese

Gina has been a professional ballet dancer since she was 17 years old. She has danced professionally with Kansas City Ballet, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Christopher Wheeldon’s The Morphoses Company and Twyla Tharp.  In 2014 she performed in Charleston, South Carolina’s  Spoleto Festival where she performed in Kirk Sprinkles’ musical theater production The Charleston.  Gina also guest starred as a dancer on The Kennedy Center Honors which aired on CBS and also danced Don Quixote with The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Edinburgh Festival of Scotland in 2006. 

Jessica Gabler

Jessica graduated Cum Laude with her bachelor’s degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from Weber State University in 2014. She has over 26 years of experience in dance and has been teaching for eleven years. She has trained in many different dance styles but specializes in modern. Jessica has recently had the opportunity to start teaching the PALS class here at Imagine Ballet Theatre and absolutely loves it! She enjoys piecing dances together and cultivating an environment that welcomes creativity. Jessica is passionate about the art of dance and hopes you will join her in class!

Christina Stockdale

Christina Stockdale started dancing at age 5, she received her training from The Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Academy of International Ballet in Philadelphia where she trained under many renowned teachers including: Anastasia Babayeva, Natasha Bar, Jeffrey Gribler, Denis Gronostayskiy, Christopher Fleming, Benjamin Millepied, Bojan and Stephanie Spassoff, Violette Verdy and Maria Yousekevitch. After graduating high school Ms. Stockdale was offered a position as a company dancer in Manassas Ballet Theatre in Virginia.After two years with the company Ms. Stockdale decided to move across the country to Seattle to dance for Ballet Bellevue. While living in the Pacific Northwest she guested with many companies including Northwest Ballet, Katy Hagelin Dance Project and Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann Presents.In 2011, Ms. Stockdale was offered a job with Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas so she packed up and moved to Vegas! After dancing with NBT she then decided to explore other dancing opportunities.Currently Ms. Stockdale is Dance Captain at the longest running show on the Las Vegas Strip: Tournament of Kings where she dances ten performances per week. She continues to guest perform with companies all over the country including: Ballet Bellevue in Seattle, the Dance in the Desert Festival in Las Vegas, Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann Presents in Seattle as well as Imagine Ballet Theatre, and has been able to dance with Cirque du Soleil, perform in the Paul Mitchell The Gathering show, the Redken Symposium and many other great opportunities in Las Vegas.Some of Ms. Stockdale’s featured roles include: Mina in Dracula, Myrtha in Giselle, The Butterfly in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lilac Fairy and Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and various roles in Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Paquita and Balanchine’s Serenade, and contemporary works by James Canfield, Stacy Lowenberg, Kabby Mitchell III, Jennifer Porter, Angela Sterling, Ronn Tice and many others.

Janell Burgess

Janell’s passion for the arts began at a very young age with her commitment to the study of dance guiding her to professional training with focused studies in the Ballet Pacifica School, DeFore Foundation of the Arts, and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Giordano Dance Chicago, and Limon School. She is the recipient of the Tremaine Scholarship, Giordano Merit Scholarship, and the American Legion Award for her advocacy and commitment to arts education in the Southern California schools districts. She has been a professional choreographer and performing artist for over 20 years, teaching, choreographing, and performing worldwide. Janell has worked with top artists and companies including the KC & The Sunshine Band, The Jackson Family, Paul Oakenfold, Gene Simmons, Holly Madison, Universal Studios, Ceasar’s Entertainment, Disneyland, Fercos Brothers Circus, Brockus Project Dance, LA Contemporary Dance Company, and Louise Reichlin & Dancers, and has served as resident choreographer for the Sands Hotel in Macau, China. Her film & television credits include: The Travel Channel, The View, PBS, AXS TV, and 4 years on West Africa’s longest-running dance reality television show, “Maltina Dance All” which focused on bringing families together thru through dance. She is also an accomplished theatrical actress, puppeteer, and aerial artist, of for which she won was awarded the Paragon International Doubles Championship in 2014 for her performance & choreography.  

As an educator, Janell’s teaching career, spanning over the last 3 decades, has included holding faculty positions at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Center, ABT Gillespie School, StarQuest Dance International, Jimmie DeFore Foundation for the Arts, LA Choreographers & Dancers, Newport Mesa Unified School District, and the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has also served as an Educator for ArtsTeach thru through the Segerstrom Performing Arts Center, and as a guest speaker at Orange Coast College and UCLA. As a certified Zena Rommett Floor Barre Instructor, Certified Yoga Instructor, Certified Food’nSport Fitness Instructor, and Holistic Healthcare Practitioner, Janell brings a strong focus to body alignment, physical health, and mental wellness to the classes she teaches and the dancers she educates. Her choreography has been featured on by the Disney Channel, Atlantic City Hotels, Southern California Dance Invitational, LA Dance Invitational, Orange County Dance Festival, Inland Empire Dance Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival and most recently the Southern California Dance & Choreography Invitational where she won an award for Best Choreography for her work “Treat”. Through the pandemic, Ms. Burgess choreographed and produced the short dance film “Chameleon”,  which premiered live at Global Pushfest San Francisco in 2020 and continued to tour the film festival circuit winning multiple awards for Best Choreography and Best Original Score. She also produced 3 online and in-person full dance concerts which featured Jazz Spectrum Dance Company and Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre.  Ms. Burgess Janell currently serves on the board of Jazz Spectrum Dance Company, holds the position of Artistic Director, and is the Owner of Spectrum Dance Center in Lake Forest, California which houses a professional studies program for college students, youth conservatory, and adult dance program. Janell continues to tour with the legendary KC & The Sunshine Band where she serves as dance captain and maintenance choreographer. Her mission is to help develop artists and projects that will inspire healing, bridge cultures, create unity, and ignite a passion for life!

Shani Robison

Shani Robison earned her B.A. in Dance in 1995 and her M.A. in Dance with a Performance and Choreography emphasis in 1999 from Brigham Young University. Shani is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Chrysalis Ballet and teaches and choreographs for professional dance companies and schools throughout Utah. Shani was a tenured full-time professor of ballet in the BYU Department of Dance for 19 years where she directed the BYU ballet program for 9 years, directed both ballet companies for a total of 15 years, and taught all levels of ballet technique, pointe, and variations; additionally instructing academic courses such as Dance History and Introduction to Dance. Shani is certified in Stott Pilates Reformer and Mat for all levels, American Ballet Theatre’s National Curriculum Pre-Primary through Levels 5, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet Teacher Training, and Progressing Ballet Technique. 

Shani is currently professional faculty at Central Utah Ballet and Lifehouse Academy of the Arts. Additionally, Shani has been professional faculty and/or taught intensives/master classes at these and other dance schools throughout Utah such as Imagine Ballet Theatre, Utah Dance Institute, Ballet West Academy, Odyssey Dance Utah, The Dance Club, Center Stage, The Pointe Academy, and the Rocky Mountain School of Classical Ballet. Outside of Utah she has taught master classes at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, Creative Arts Center in Helena, Montana; Regional Dance America, Pacific Region Festivals; American College Dance Festivals, Northwest Region; Ballet Idaho; College of Southern Idaho; and at the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Throughout her career, Shani has choreographed 4 original ballet productions and restaged 2 iconic full-length classical ballets as well as restaged excerpts and sections from at least 5 other classical ballets. Shani has also choreographed 30 contemporary ballet works, 13 classical/neoclassical ballet works, 4 opera productions, and 2 musical theatre productions. For her contemporary ballet choreography Shani has received international, national, and regional recognition, with her works selected and performed at the Florence Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, American College Dance Association Festival (ACDA), and the Utah Metropolitan’s Professional Division of the Choreographic Design Project. In 2023, Shani’s newest work “Fractured” was recognized as a finalist in the Online International Online Dance Competition and won the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival. As the award for winning that festival, Shani is creating new choreography that will be featured at a fully produced concert of her work in October 2023 at the Peery Egyptian Theater in Ogden, Utah. Works are currently being set on the following companies: Chrysalis Ballet, Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, Imagine Ballet Theater, and the senior company at Central Utah Ballet.

In addition to creative works, Shani has presented ballet pedagogical and historical research internationally and nationally at conferences in Austria, Greece, Toronto, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, Texas, Florida, and Utah.  She is a professional member and former President and Treasurer of CORPS de Ballet, International, and was a professional member of both the National Dance Education Organization and Utah Dance Education Organization.