Hosanna Dance Newsletter
New Year Edition 2023 ∙ 119 N Deadwood St ∙ Ft Pierre ∙ Artistic Director, Sunny Hannum
It’s time to get back in shape and get those dances ready for Sleeping Beauty. What we thought was going to be a one week Christmas break, turned out to be a three week break for some dance classes. ❄️ ⛄️ ❄️
The Cecchetti preparation classes and Thursday night classes all took a hit from the storms. If your children were in any of those classes, they can make up by taking Ballet II on Monday night.
Sunny would like to extend the Wednesday night Cecchetti Grade II exam preparation class to see if those kids can be ready for April or June exams. That should make up for their missed class time.
Mr. Josh, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Sunny and Becca, attended the fall workshops at Dance Gallery in Sioux Falls October 7-9. There were a lot of good classes with Peggy Wright, Cecchetti examiner. We attended Dance Network of South Dakota classes in Aberdeen October 21-23. One of the instructors was ballet and pointe teacher Mary Carpenter. Ms. Sarah and Becca were fan-girling. Classes were also taught in contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop. Ms. Sunny enjoyed Josh Nixon’s tap classes.
Many of the dances for the lower level classes have been choreographed, but with students missing classes throughout both holidays, there is still much practice needed. We have also picked up a few new students later in the year than usual who will need to learn the dances.
The Lilac/wisdom Fairy and Aurora variations and pas de deux are well along thanks to Mr. Josh and Ms. Sarah and the two advanced dancers they get to work with. We were fortunate to find three young men to do the parts of the Suitors.
Ms. Sunny has taught the Canary/song fairy, Violente/temperament fairy, and the Candide/crystal fountain fairy variations and is working on the Miettes/breadcrumb Fairy.
Save the date:
Make sure you have these dates saved for participation in the spring performance.
Rehearsals for all classes on Tuesdays from 5:30-8:00 pm on February 28, March 7, and March 14 at the studio.
Dress Rehearsal for all classes on Friday, Mar 17, 5:30-8:00 at Riggs Theatre. Class photos will be on Friday at the theatre, starting around 3:45 (schedule to come).
Performances on Saturday, March 18, at 3:00 & 7:00 pm and Sunday, March 19, at 3:00 pm at Riggs Theatre.
Rehearsals for all classes on Tuesdays from 5:30-8:00 pm on February 28, March 7, and March 14 at the studio.
Dress Rehearsal for all classes on Friday, Mar 17, 5:30-8:00 at Riggs Theatre. Class photos will be on Friday at the theatre, starting around 3:45 (schedule to come).
Performances on Saturday, March 18, at 3:00 & 7:00 pm and Sunday, March 19, at 3:00 pm at Riggs Theatre.
Cast List
Princess Aurora - Becca Brusven
Prince Désiré - Josiah Corrales
Lilac Fairy - Joleh McCullough
Carabosse - Sarah Easter
Candide fairy - Rayna Tibbs
Breadcrumb fairy - Taylor Newell
Canary fairy - Kyli Vermundson
Temperament fairy - Rae McVey
Lilac princess - Ballet I
Angel fairies - Ballet II
Carabosse’s minions - Beg Modern
King and Queen - David Guild and Jen Kanz
Master of Cermonies - Tyler Want
Couriers - Esra Dorsey and Ryder Johnson
Queen’s Attendents - Britta Brusven and TBD
Four Suitors - Tyler, Josiah, Noah, and Mr. Josh
Court dancers - Ballet III/IV
Butterflies - PreBallet
Forest Villagers - Ballet III/IV
Trumpet vines - Ballet II
Puss n Boots and the White Cat - Walter McVey and Kourtney Hughes
Cinderella and her Prince - Kyli Vermundson and Tyler Want
Finale - Int/Adv Modern
We Encourage All Our Students to Prepare for Cecchetti Examinations
This is such an excellent way for students to become technically proficient and thoroughly learn the terminology of ballet. There is something about preparing for an exam that makes students work harder and helps them develop as dancers. And bonus, you get a certificate as a memory of all the hard work, study, and effort.
If you or your student(s) are interested in getting started with Cecchetti student examinations let us know.
⇒ Ballet III and up are eligible to start working on Grade 1. Examinations take a lot of preparation, study, and commitment. (Normally 1-2 years is spent studying per grade. More as you progress through the grades.) Examinations - read more about what to expect here
Our studio is affiliated with the Cecchetti Council of America. We added the Cecchetti syllabus to our classes in 2013. All teachers are professionally examined by the CCA to hold certificates in the Cecchetti Method grades.
Hosanna Dance instructors attend all the Cecchetti intensives and workshops at Dance Gallery in Sioux Falls and attend the International Cecchetti Teacher's Summit at least every other year.