Local artist Mac Stevenson will be displaying his artwork at the Imagine Ballet Theatre studios as part of Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll on July 1st. Doors will open at 6:00 pm for guests to view the gallery, and closes at 9:00 pm.

Mac displays work regularly at Gallery 25 in Ogden, as well as at Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona. His artwork can be found in private collections in 32 states, Mexico, Canada, Germany, and England.

In 2009, Mac received the Mayor’s Award for his outstanding contribution to the visual arts in the city of Ogden, Utah. In 2002, he was also honored by the University of Utah as one of the “Top 100 Artists” in Utah. He was chosen by Utah Sate University as the 1997 Art Teacher of the Year.

He received his Bachelors Degree from Weber State University and his Masters of Fine Art from Brigham Young University.  After a 30 year career in art education, he is now a full time artist painting in oil on linen or canvas.

Selections of Mac’s artwork can be seen on his website, http://macstevenson.com.

We’re in the middle of the second week of Music, Art, and Dance here at the studios. The dancers have been having a fantastic time learning more about their three subjects each day.

One highlight has been fairies: art class has a magical theme this year! The girls have each created a miniature fairy during art that will be used in future projects.

The first week in our Music, Art, and Dance program has come to a close! This program runs throughout June, culminating at the end of IBT’s Summer Intensive Program performance. Our class of little ballerinas, ages five to ten, have had a wonderful time learning this week.

Music, Art, and Dance focuses on each of the three disciplines for an hour each. We start the day with dance class.  For the first week, we have been focusing on the principles of basic ballet technique. Each young dancer is working hard to maintain alignment, focus on turnout, and remember ballet positions.  Learning to dance is like an extremely complicated version of learning to ride a bike – with so many things to think about, sometimes even remembering right from left can be tricky!

Next is music class. This week, we’ve been learning about all different aspects of music. Rhythm,  pitch, elements of an orchestra, and the way an instrument can sound. The students are learning the difference between woodwinds and brass, the beat of phrasing, and everything about musicality. As the girls attend both dance and music class, they are beginning to incorporate the elements of both disciplines together. This is especially helpful bringing the lessons from music class into their ballet lessons.

Finally, we end with an art lesson. Our focus this year has been whimsy and magic. Art instructor Deanna Richardson has the girls creating their own dance bags, making miniature fairies, and planting the beginning of their own fairy garden. This is a moment of sheer creativity for the kids – they are given instruction, art supplies, and materials, and from there it is up to them. The results of their creativity are amazing! The imaginations of each girl continues to grow and surprise us.

We’ve had  a great first week and can’t wait to continue this month!

Catherine in “Beside Me”  placed second in both Classical and Contemporary in Pre-competitive.

Choreography Raymond Van Mason

Ashleigh in Pas de trois from Swan Lake.