Ballet Society Debut Musical Theatre Production of ‘The Music Man’ Receives 2017 Pikes Peak Arts Cou
On Tuesday, October 17th, Colorado Ballet Society received an award from the Pikes Peak Arts Council for their Musical Theatre debut performance of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man in the Youth Dance Production category at the annual PPAC Awards Gala held at the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College in downtown Colorado Springs.
“We are honored to be recognized among so many other outstanding artists and arts organizations across the Front Range,” says Ballet Society founder and director, Patricia Hoffman. “The arts are such a vibrant part of our community and the talent in this city is excellent. Bethanny took leadership of our first musical theatre production by the horns and directed a great show which lived up to our professional expectations and delighted the audience.”
2017 is Colorado Ballet Society’s 20th year anniversary and the organization remains dedicated to bringing a balance of health, dance and excellence to the Front Range. Each year students win scholarships, awards, and company placements throughout the world. Previous students of director Patricia Hoffman, have gone on to train and perform with a long list of prestigious dance institutions including: The Royal Ballet School of London; the Princess Grace Academy of Dance in Monte Carlo; American Ballet Theatre in NYC; English National Ballet of London; Canada’s National Ballet School and more.
Ballet Society is well known throughout the region for producing top quality performances, including their annual Nutcracker production each December at the Pikes Peak Center. This traditional offering is accompanied by a live orchestra, the voices of the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale and 150 dance performers including professional guest artists. The Music Man is the organization’s first venture into a full-length Broadway style musical and was warmly received with rave reviews from the community.
“It is so exciting to have been asked to help develop a top-quality musical theatre company production for Ballet Society,” shares Bethanny Jorenby. “The most difficult part of the experience was receiving a phone call twenty minutes before our first auditions informing me that my thirty-one-year-old police officer brother had just been taken off life support. I decided to follow through with the audition before heading out for the funeral services. Miss Patty was so supportive of me throughout the entire process beginning with that difficult weekend and all the way through to the performances. The healing process takes time, but the joy of being part of this Music Man production helped keep me on track. The whole cast and crew gave me their best efforts, and the result really was spectacular. I’m looking forward to future musical theatre productions with Ballet Society and I think the community will be delighted with what we have in store.”
Ballet Society is a previous winner of the 2007 PPAC Award for Excellence in the Arts for their collaborative work in The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore, a production of the Colorado Youth Ballet (Ballet Society’s premier performing company), the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, which is planned for a reprisal in 2018.
Image 1: Bethanny Jorenby, Music Man director and Patricia Hoffman, Colorado Ballet Society founder and director with 2017 Pikes Peak Arts Council Award for Youth Dance Production, for Meredith Willson’s The Music Man
Image 2: The Music Man, dance ensemble of Colorado Ballet Society’s Theatre Company’s premier productionPhoto by: Ted Mehl of A Better Image Photography
Image 3: Scott Marble and Angela Wood (former Ballet Society student and Colorado Youth Ballet member, currently under contract with English National Ballet), in The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore, 2007