The art of Geri Magdiel and Stephen Hedgepeth will be featured in the Studio at Imagine Ballet Theatre for the Ogden Art Stroll on Friday October 7, 2011 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.

Geri Magdiel

Geri Magdiel is a self taught artist who grew up in Ogden, Utah.  Shortly after high school, I moved to Seattle, Washington to attend the U. of W.  I lived there for 28 years, raining my family.  Making lifetime friendships and attending different schools throughout the years, including the School of Visual Concepts and an internship at a post production video company.  It was at this point that I realized my calling was not in the technical arena but more in illustration and fine art.  I also discovered that I was not going to get used to the weather the northwest offered and I moved back to Ogden into the same house I grew up in.  I consider myself a self taught artist.  As a child, I spent most of my time drawing and my favorite subject matter was and is still people.  Most of my paintings in the early years were pastel.  To me, it was the closest medium to drawing, (which was a comfort zone).  I have always had an attraction to oil paintings so I decided that was where I belonged.  It is a constant learning process.  I never get bored with painting and I paint anything that is not moving, including furniture and murals.  Throughout the years, I have exhibited in many galleries and art shows throughout Washington, Idaho, Utah, and California and have been fortunate to win several awards.  My favorite artists are the impressionists, such as Monet, and more contemporary figurative impressionists, Pino, Don Hatfield, and Steve Hanks.

Stephen Hedgepeth

Imagine Ballet Theatre Presents A Night on the Town

Ogden, Utah, September 23, 2011: Imagine Ballet Theatre (IBT), an Ogden-based ballet company, will present A Night on the Town on October 15^th at the Peery’s Egyptian Theater in Ogden. In conjunction with the performance, patrons may also attend the evening’s fundraiser held at the Ben Lomond Hotel preceding the show. Generous sponsors for this year’s performance and fundraiser include Jet Blue Airlines, the Ben Lomond Suites, Ogden 25^th Street Association, Ogden City Arts, RAMP, and Haute Style Affaires. For A Night on the Town, Imagine Ballet Theatre will present several of their own works, as well as the works of other artists, world-renown choreographers, and performers from around the nation. Special guest choreographers include former Broadway star Gary Flannery, Utah Valley University faculty Angela Banchero-Kelleher and Amy Markgraf Jacobson, choreographer and costume designer Oswaldo Muniz, and IBT dancer Rachel Duffin. IBT Artistic Director Raymond Van Mason also presents pieces for the performance. Guest performances from Los Angeles Ballet dancers Allynne Noelle Stoller and Jonathan Sharp will also be on the program.

Imagine Ballet Theatre’s performances in A Night on the Town include some works choreographed by Raymond Van Mason: the world premiere of “Passing” and “Ashura,” the latter of which will be performed with the Ogden Buddhist Taiko Drum Company also on stage with the dancers. IBT dancer Rachel Duffin also makes her composer debut with her piece “Delusion All.

IBT Artistic Director Raymond Van Mason wanted to bring together local and national dance for this fall performance. Allynne Noelle Stoller and Jonathan Sharp of Los Angeles Ballet will perform a Utah premiere of the piece “Pathos” choreographed by Clinton Rothwell. Stoller is a former dancer with Inland Pacific Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada. Jonathan Sharp trained at National Academy of the Arts and School of American Ballet. He danced professionally with Boston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, and others. For A Night on the Town, Stoller and Sharp will also be performing the “Black Swan Pas de Deux” from Act III of Swan Lake.

Faculty from Utah Valley University are also presenting newly choreographed works for A Night on the Town. Angela Banchero-Kelleher, MFA, is an Assistant Professor of Modern Dance whose professional career spanned 20 years, 15 of which were with Utah’s Repertory Dance Theater. Banchero-Kelleher has also enjoyed teaching at Weber State University, Westminster College, The University of Utah, and Ohio University. She will present “Lacuna” with dancers from UVU, a piece supported by a Community of Engaged Learning grant, the UVU Dean’s Office, and UVU School of the Arts.

Broadway veteran Gary Flannery brings a new work to A Night on the Town with his jazz expertise in “Gershwin Meets Fosse” using IBT dancers. A veteran dancer of the professional stage himself, Gary Flannery was featured on Broadway in “Pippin” and “Dancin” with Bob Fosse, took both shows on their first tours, and was a featured principal dancer in the unforgettable movie “All That Jazz!” He toured the world with Shirley MacLaine, performing as her partner and co-choreographer in addition to performing in her three television specials. He has also worked in Hollywood with stars such as Mary Tyler Moore, Carol Burnett, and Ann-Margret. A Balanchine and Juilliard scholarship winner, Flannery has danced with the Harkness Ballet, the Fred Benjamin Dancers in New York City, Les Grandes Ballet in Montreal, as well as in dozens of musicals and concert dance performances seen nationally and internationally. Distinguished dancers with whom Flannery has studied include not only Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon but also Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins, Bertram Ross, Fred Benjamin, David Howard, and many others. His impressive teaching career of over thirty years has included stints at Steps Studio in New York City, University of Central Florida’s Conservatory Theatre, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Northwestern University in Evanston, and Northern Illinois University in Dekalb among others.

Another outside choreographic influence to the program comes from New York City resident Oswaldo Muniz. Muniz trained at the School of American Ballet on full scholarship and went on to dance professionally as a Principal under Edward Villella in the Eglevsky Ballet, Ballet Oklahoma and Edward Villella and Dancers, Richmond Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and the Garden State Ballet. Muniz is also known for his incredible costumes, which have been featured in the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Imagine Ballet Theatre, worn by Olympic gold medal winner Sarah Huges, and in print such as Vogue Magazine and Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine. For A Night on the Town, Muniz presents the world premiere of his ballet “Twinkle” on dancers from Imagine Ballet Theatre, as well as his own designed and executed costumes.

Audience members planning to attend the A Night on the Town program on October 15^th may purchase tickets at the Peery’s Egyptian Theater box office, 2415 Washington Blvd in Ogden, online at http://www.peerysegyptiantheater.org/ticket.asp or http://www.smithstix.com, or by phone at (801) 689-8700. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, 2:00 to 6:00 pm.

“A Night on the Town Gala”  Will be held this year on Oct 15th, 2011.  The Event will take place at the Ben Lomond Suites and then move on to a performance at the Peery’s Egyptian Theater followed by dessert at the Imagine Ballet Theatre Studios.  We hope that you will join us for this very exciting evening.  The performance will include new work’s by choreographers Oswaldo Muniz,  Gary Flannery, Angie Banchero Kelleher, Clinton Rothwell and Raymond Van Mason Imagine Ballet Artistic Director.  The evening will Have Guest Artists from Los Angeles Ballet, Ogden’s Buddhist Taiko Drum Company and Dancers from Utah Valley University.  The following businesses have donated items and or in kind things to help Imagine Ballet Theatre with rehearsal costs, costuming, guest performers and finally to perform in the beautiful Peery’s Egyptian Theater.

Ben Lomond Suites

Jet Blue Airlines

Kolh’s Department Stores

Macy’s Department Stores

Haute Style Affairs

Kiddie Kandids

iFly, Flowrider and iRock

Wiseguys

Farr & Company

Bed Bath and Beyond

Union Fermentation Station

Color Me Mine

Mindful Medical & Spa

Slavy

Art House Cinema 502

Snowflake Longarm Quilting

The Pie Pizzeria

BC Frames and Gallery

Puttin’ on the Glitz!

The artwork of Michelle Montierth

The artwork of Megan Montierth

The Oaks in Ogden Canyon

Basket for the Bath (Aoki Family)

Necklace and Earrings ( Aoki Family)

Jimmy’s Flowers

I am Ogden Book

J & J Garden Center

Allynne Noelle Guest Artist from Los Angeles Ballet and former Soloist with Miami City Ballet.

Clara prefers dancing to live music!

We’ve got a kickstarter project ready for funding! We hope you will help us get our shoes on the stage and orchestra in the pit for this year’s production of “The Nutcracker.” Live music is a vital component of our productions, but sometimes the cost outweighs our funds. With your help, we can make it happen this year! Please consider donating even a small amount to our cause. And remember, since it’s kickstarter, we won’t get anything unless the entire project is funded. Spread the word!

Here at the IBT studios we have a strong emphasis for art in all forms. One unique aspect of our studios is the opportunity we have to display art. Starting in 2011 in our new studios, we joined the Ogden City Arts First Friday Art Stroll. As part of the Art Stroll, we have had the chance to have original artwork displayed by very talented local artists. Each month, a different artist or artists bring pieces to display in our lobby-turned-gallery, studios, and hallways. Dancers, parents, and visitors are treated each month to a different showcase of art: paintings, illustrations, photography, and many other forms of framed work have made their home at IBT this year.

Last night being the first Friday in September, we welcomed Meagan and Michelle Montierth to the studio. Michelle brings intricate and detailed watercolors of flowers and plants interspersed with poetic text backgrounds and borders. Her daughter, Meagan, shows her photography skills with pictures of antiqued and rustic architecture and the colorful scene that was IBT’s spring performance of “The Secret Garden.” The studio was full of patrons of the arts as guests viewed the gallery, as well as the IBT rehearsal going on in Studio 1 as we prepare for the October 15th performance.

To further our art programs, as part of the Summer 2011 Music, Art, and Dance class for 5-10 year olds, students at Imagine Ballet Theatre had the unique opportunity to “branch out” into other areas of the arts. Our Music, Art, and Dance students loved it! Their classes were themed around everything faeries and the classic story of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” As the dancers learned more about other aspects of art, we saw them realize how vital these other art forms are in relation to dance. As they created their own art, we also saw their emerging gifts and talents show themselves in another medium.

We were so excited about their excitement for art class that we are starting an art class for the 5-10 year old age group. Saturday mornings our “little ones” can participate in both a dance class (Pre-Ballet or Movement & Music) and then continue on to an art class especially for them. Enrollment is still open, so bring your little dancer, painter, and inspiring artist in for a unique and cultural experience at the studio!