Nutcracker time!

Hosanna Dance's Nutcracker Adaptation The Greatest Gift of All is on Friday, December 8, 2023 at 7:00 pm and Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm at The Riggs Theatre in Pierre Admission is free will donation at the door

DANCERS & PARENTS

🎄Tuesdays in Nov/Dec - for everyone

Nutcracker Run-throughs for all student classes and extras

No costumes

In-studio at Hosanna Dance

5:30-8:00 pm

🎄Thursday, December 7, 2023 - for everyone
Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal for all student classes

Treat as a performance - bring costumes, etc (see below)

at Riggs Theatre

5:30-8:00 pm

🎄Christmas Show - Friday & Saturday, December 8 & 9, 2023
Nutcracker

-Friday 7:00 pm performance

-Saturday 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm performances

at Riggs Theatre
*Run-throughs will be for everyone in all recital classes, every Tue at 5:30pm, the month leading up to the show. Dress Rehearsal is the day before the show. Please plan accordingly. Thank you. 🙂

~ THEATRE PERFORMANCES ~

Dress Rehearsals at Riggs Theatre are 5:30-8:00 pm

Be at the theater by 5pm. Find your dressing room and get organized.
Be on stage in your class clothes - leotard, tights, shoes, and secure ballet bun - by 5:30 for notes and warm-up. Costumes will be put on after warm-up.

And REMEMBER treat dress rehearsal as a performance. Wear the correct costumes, tights, undergarments, shoes, hair, etc. This is where you make sure everything works, looks good, and you can sort out any mid-performance costume issues. Keep costumes off the floor!! Read PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES.

Performances at Riggs Theatre at 2 p.m. afternoon matinee & 7 p.m. evening performance

Dancers: Be at the theater at noon for the first performance. Be back at the theater at 5:00 for the second performance.

Be at the theater at 12:00 pm to get organized in dressing rooms, do hair, makeup, etc.
Be on stage by 12:30 pm for notes and warm-up and any extra practice that you may need
Costumes on at 1:30 pm. Curtain at 2:00 pm.

Break 3:30-5:00 pm

Be back at the theater at 5:00. Make sure everything you need is reorganized and in its place. Keep the dressing rooms picked up. If you haven't done so this would be a good time to put recital gifts for classmates out on the tables.
Makeup/hair redo or touch-ups at 5:00 pm.
Be on stage in class clothes at 5:30 pm for notes and warm-up.
Costumes on at 6:30 pm. Curtain at 7:00 pm.

After: Check the gift tables out front, pick up all your costumes/accessories/shoes, pick up after yourself. Return borrowed items. Pack up!

Read about Performances
PDF 🩰

GROUP PHOTOS for everyone
&
if ordering them, individual shots

🎄Photos for Nutcracker this year! (we want everyone there for group photos)

Show up before your first picture time and get costumed up so you are ready and lined up with your class at the time listed below.

Each class will only get pictures during their time slot. —- Group photo and if purchasing that option also take an individual shot.

When you arrive, get dressed (in your first costume if you have more than one) and wait in the small studio until your class is called as a group.

Ballet 5 -- 3:00 pm - flower, snow, Spanish trio

Doll solos, Pas de deux, Clara, Clara & Papa - 3:15

Ballet 4 -- 3:30 pm
ballets first then boots

Modern (Beg and Int/Adv) -- 3:50 pm
finale first then flies

Also w/Clara

Also, with Angels/guys

Ballet 2 -- 4:10 pm
party first then Irish

PrePointe/Beginning Pointe (Chinese) -- 4:30 pm

Russian (Boys) -- 4:45 pm

Ballet 1 -- 4:50 pm

Acro (Arabian) -- 5:10 pm

PreBallet -- 5:20 pm
Dolls dress first then pajamas

Dress Rehearsal and Performances are at Riggs Theatre. All other run-throughs or activities are at the studio.

HD Newsletter - Fall 2023 Edition

Hosanna Dance Newsletter

Fall Edition 2023 ∙ 119 N Deadwood St ∙ Ft Pierre ∙ Artistic Director, Sunny Hannum

To Live is to Dance!

We are looking forward to catching up with all of our dance family. Nine of our Ballet V dancers are already taking classes and working on one of the large corps dances for Nutcracker. Three of our younger dancers moved up to this class and are doing well.

Ms. Sunny, Ms. Sarah, and Mr. Josh have attended two weeklong Cecchetti workshops this summer, one in June in Sioux Falls and one in July in Holland, MI.
The Cecchetti technique enables dancers like Becca Brusven to get into pre-professional levels with companies like Ballet Magnificat. Beccas spent an entire month in Jackson, MS, studying at their summer intensive. Due to being placed at the highest level, pre-professional, she learned and performed an entire Ballet Magnificat ballet. Congratulations, Becca!

At the Dance Gallery Summer Cecchetti Intensive in June, Shawnie Zeeb was chosen for a classical ballet variation solo and Kourtney Hughes and Walter McVey were selected for a duet in their group's dance. All three of these students have started working on Cecchetti Grade III after passing Grade II exams this spring.
Hannah Vasalie and Hadassah took their Cecchetti Grade I exam in June and will soon be working on expanding their ballet knowledge and technique as they begin Grade II class in the fall. Becca passed her Advanced Grade VII exam; similar to a masters in ballet. Only one syllabus left to work - Diploma, the doctorate of ballet and a two inch book.

We teach the Cecchetti ballet method in our ballet classes in addition to nonsyllabus classes. Students who wish to take ballet exams have to attend a separate class in order to prepare and focus on executing the technique, developing their quality of movement, learning the terminology and theory, and eventually memorizing set syllabus exercises.

Hosanna Dance sets itself up for excellent ballet instruction by attending continuing education, workshops, and teacher training events. We also offer great modern dance instruction where students can learn Horton technique, Graham-based movement, and other modern techniques. And of course ballet and pointe nerd teacher, Ms Sarah, is always looking at the best ways and proper methods to develop and improve dancers technique.

Save the Dates

Nutcracker Run-throughs - Tuesday in November, 5:30-8:00 pm, in-studio for all classes

Thanksgiving Break - November 22-26

Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal - Thursday, December 7, 5:00-8:00 pm, Riggs Theatre for all classes

Nutcracker Performances - Friday, December 8, 7 pm
Saturday, December 9, 2 pm and 7 pm

Christmas Break for PreBallet-Ballet V -- December 22 - Jan 1
Christmas Break for Modern, Acro, Adult classes -- December

Nutcracker - The Gift of Christmas

Cast List

Sugar Plum Fairy/Holy Spirit - Becca Brusven

Michael the Archangel/God - TBD
Beelzebub - TBD

Clara - Kourtney Hughes

Papa, Mama, Grandma, Grandpa- the Easters

Maid - Mindy Dorsey

Fritz - Ezra Dorsey

Party dances - Ballet I

Party dances - Ballet II

Party Couples - TBD

Doll solos - Shawnie Zeeb, Kylie Vermundson
Little Dolls- PreBallet

Rats/Flies - Beginning and Advanced Modern

Expectant Mary- Sarah Easter

Wisemen - Jason Vermundson, John McVey, Noah Calvert

Mary & Joseph - TBD

Snow/Angels - Ballet V

Waltz of the Flowers/Redeemed - Ballet V

Russian - Ballet V boys

Chinese - PrePointe/ Beg Pointe

American - Ballet III/IV

German - Beg-Int Pointe

Spanish - Beg-Int Pointe

Arabian- Int Acro Dance

Jewish- Ballet II

Finale - Beginner and Advanced Modern

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:... and a time to dance -- Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

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.

2023-2024 Dance Year

➤ Ballet 5 classes start August 1, 2023.

➤ All other classes start after Labor Day (9/4).

Next Performance

The Nutcracker

December 2023

HD Newsletter - 2023 New Year Edition

Hosanna Dance Newsletter

New Year Edition 2023 ∙ 119 N Deadwood St ∙ Ft Pierre ∙ Artistic Director, Sunny Hannum

Happy 2023!

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.

Performance Guidelines and Class Photo Schedule

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