Thumbelina - a Vermont-grown story ballet
Donation protected
We are asking for your support for a community dance project located in Springfield, Vermont that aims to provide a unique performance and community-building opportunity for young adults and families in Windsor County. As the COVID pandemic began dancers left our studios and began meeting via Zoom, dancing in our bedrooms and living rooms. As the weather allowed, we masked up and met to move outside, taking advantage of Vermont’s ample space to play, connect, and make art together. As we were asked to stay in place, we celebrated our sense of place, finding meaning and connection in new ways.
Just week’s before our world shut down, choreographer Ashley Hensel-Browning had the opportunity to see Vermont composer Evan Premo’s premiere of Thumbelina, an original musical setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a tiny girl who goes on a big adventure performed by his ensemble Scrag Mountain Music. The concert immediately brought a vision of a new story ballet for families. Ashley will be working with a small team of designers and dancers to create a new contemporary ballet set to Evan’s beautiful score that will be performed for outdoor audiences in late June 2021. Our small cast will include high school students, recent high school and college graduates, and adult dancers. The production will be designed for families, with multiple small showings that allow for us to follow current COVID guidelines and will include a meaningful experience exploring contemporary classical music and dance through a beautiful story about connection during personal challenges. It will be a production to remember as well as inspire new dreamers and movers in their art-making adventures.
This production moves beyond a performance, however, as we will also be holding a series of family dance classes that emphasize a deeper engagement with the performing arts as well as healthy ways to move and connect with each other during this trying time. This project has strong community support. We have a network of both adult and student volunteers who are working to bring the performances to life with costumes, sets, and a safe outdoor performing and teaching space.
The arts have proven to life-giving during COVID and our hope is to help build the bridge of connection necessary to rebuild as we emerge from this pandemic. Thank you for considering supporting our ambitious project. Your support would mean the world to us.
You can learn more about Evan's beautiful score here -
http://www.scragmountainmusic.org/thumbelina.html
Just week’s before our world shut down, choreographer Ashley Hensel-Browning had the opportunity to see Vermont composer Evan Premo’s premiere of Thumbelina, an original musical setting of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a tiny girl who goes on a big adventure performed by his ensemble Scrag Mountain Music. The concert immediately brought a vision of a new story ballet for families. Ashley will be working with a small team of designers and dancers to create a new contemporary ballet set to Evan’s beautiful score that will be performed for outdoor audiences in late June 2021. Our small cast will include high school students, recent high school and college graduates, and adult dancers. The production will be designed for families, with multiple small showings that allow for us to follow current COVID guidelines and will include a meaningful experience exploring contemporary classical music and dance through a beautiful story about connection during personal challenges. It will be a production to remember as well as inspire new dreamers and movers in their art-making adventures.
This production moves beyond a performance, however, as we will also be holding a series of family dance classes that emphasize a deeper engagement with the performing arts as well as healthy ways to move and connect with each other during this trying time. This project has strong community support. We have a network of both adult and student volunteers who are working to bring the performances to life with costumes, sets, and a safe outdoor performing and teaching space.
The arts have proven to life-giving during COVID and our hope is to help build the bridge of connection necessary to rebuild as we emerge from this pandemic. Thank you for considering supporting our ambitious project. Your support would mean the world to us.
You can learn more about Evan's beautiful score here -
http://www.scragmountainmusic.org/thumbelina.html
Organizer
Ashley Hensel-Browning
Organizer
Perkinsville, VT