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1) Provide the highest level of pre-professional training in ballet, modern, jazz and tap to those members of our community interested in pursuing careers in dance, and those whose interest in the study of the discipline of dance is for their personal creative enrichment and growth; 2) Entertain, educate and expose our audience to the art of dance through excellence in performance of a diverse repertoire, from classical to contemporary, in season performances, school tours and regional tours; 3) To make dance accessible to all who are interested in our community, as performers or audience members, through scholarships, free lecture-demonstrations, and reduced rates to the economically disadvantaged for all BWR public performances; 4) To encourage local choreographers and performers by providing a venue for new works that will challenge both our performing company and our audience; 5) To work in cooperation with other local arts organizations through joint projects and performances to enhance the understanding and appreciation of all art forms in our community, and to strengthen our cultural image.
______________________________________________________________________________ Virginia Hartman Artistic Director
A gifted ballet teacher, creative artist, and choreographer, Ms. Hartman is known for her ability to inspire students while combining technical expertise and artistry in the teaching of classical and contemporary ballet for the last 16 years. As a professional ballerina in The Atlanta Ballet, Ms. Hartman would seize the opportunity to share her passion for ballet with dancers in her hometown of Youngstown. Upon retiring from the stage, she returned to the area and continued teaching master classes and coaching pre-professional dancers. In September 2006 she joined BWR's faculty and through May of 2011, Ms.Hartman was the Ballet Mistress for the Student Company, Children's Ballet Director and instructor at Ballet Western Reserve. She has choreographed and staged for BWR's past productions of Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and two productions of The Nutcracker. In 2009 she performed the Arabian variation in BWR's production of The Nutcracker. Her work has also been performed in The Enchanted Evening at the Gardens, and The Building Art 1 and 2 performances. Ms.Hartman has choreographed and performed for The Sojourner House annual vigil in 2010 and 2011, and is currently teaching the creative dance program at the YMCA Davis Branch in Boardman. Appointed Artistic Director of BWR in August of 2011, Ms.Hartman was responsible for bringing new modern dance instructor, Jamie Murphy, to the faculty of Ballet Western Reserve. In November of 2011 Ms.Hartman led Ms.Murphy in the BWR collaboration of Appalachian Spring with The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. As Artistic Director, Ms.Hartman will stage her first signature production of The Nutcracker in December of 2011 at Powers Auditorium. In b ringing her own creativity to this classic full length ballet, Ms.Hartman is collaborating with the professional dancers of Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Boardman and other local performing artists to take her production beyond ballet. Originally from Boardman, Ohio Ms. Hartman received her early training at Ballet Western Reserve under the direction of Anita Lin. She also studied modern dance under Kathy Short Gracenin, and trained in the styles of jazz and tap with local instructors. At the age of 14, Ms. Hartman was accepted into many leading ballet schools including The Boston Ballet, The Hartford Ballet, The Harid Conservatory, and even a personal invitation from Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, all with talent based scholarships. Choosing The Richmond School of Ballet, Ms.Hartman spent her summers throughout high school training under some of the most respected teachers in ballet such as David Howard, Ruth Petrinovec, Leslie Peck, and Lourdes Lopez, to name a few. Ms. Hartman was given an apprenticeship to The Richmond Ballet's professional ballet company directly out of high school, and later became a company member with The Atlanta Ballet in Atlanta, GA under the directions of both Robert Barnett and John McFall. She performed in many ballets such as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Carmina Burana, Concerto Barocco, Serenade, and of course, The Nutcracker. Over the years, Ms.Hartman has developed her reputation as a teacher in ballet and pointe technique. In continuing with her own training, Ms.Hartman received her ABT teacher certification in primary through level 3 in the ABT National Training Curriculum in August of 2011 in NYC. Bringing a syllabus to the curriculum of Ballet Western Reserve is a priority of Ms.Hartman's to ensure the consistency and high-standards of dance education that BWR is known for. In July of 2012, Ms.Hartman will return to NYC to continue her studies with ABT in the National Training Curriculum.
Ms. Hartman resides in Girard and is a proud mother to her 8 years old son, Alex. She feels blessed to have such an amazing and supportive family, not only at home, but, at Ballet Western Reserve and with the Youngstown community.
Jackie Cunningham Children's Dance Coordinator Jackie is a former student of Ballet Western Reserve. She received her B.A. in Dance from Slippery Rock University in 2005. While in college, she choreographed and performed for SRUDT’s Fall and Winter Concerts, Senior Synthesis, Site Specific, and Guest and Faculty performances. She has worked with artists such as Teena Custer, Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer of Bridgman/Packer Dance, Jennifer Keller and Gwen Hunter Ritchie of Labco Dance Company, and Hellanius Wilkins of Edgeworks Dance Theatre. In 2004, Jackie performed works by Anna Sokolow in Sharing the Legacy, Dance Masterworks of the 20th Century at Hunter College, New York, NY. In 2003, she received a scholarship to the American Dance Festival (ADF), where she studied with instructors such as Gerri Houlihan, Nicholas Leichter, Ronald K. Brown, Eiko & Koma, David Dorfman, and Vitali Kononov, to name a few. Jackie is also a dance instructor of Gigi’s Studio of Dance of New Castle, PA.
Tarra Joseph Children's Ballet Coordinator/Office Assistant Born in Warren, Ohio, Tarra Joseph began dancing ballet with The Warren Dance Center at the age of 5. At the age of 10 she began dancing en pointe and was cast as Clara in Ballet Theatre Ohio’s (BTO’s) The Nutcracker. She continued to dance with BTO, performed children’s roles in Cinderella and Giselle, and majored in dance at Kent State University’s Arts Excel program throughout junior high. On a work-study scholarship, Tarra began student-teaching at the age of 12 with Great Lakes Festival Ballet (GLFB) and danced various soloist variations from Paquita, Le Corsaire, Alice in Wonderland, and The Sleeping Beauty as well as corps de ballet roles from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Tarra also studied ballet and various modern dance techniques at the Walnut Street Lodge in Sharon, Pennsylvania and cheered competitively with the Varsity high school cheerleading squad at Warren John F. Kennedy High School. Upon graduation from high school, Ms. Joseph was cast as the Sugar-Plum Fairy in GLFB’s The Nutcracker and attended Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive Program. Majoring in Criminal Justice at Youngstown State University (YSU), Tarra danced with and choreographed works for the YSU Dance Ensemble, one of which was presented at an adjudicated performance at the American College Dance Festival (University of SUNY, Buffalo, New York). During Tarra’s senior year at YSU she served as President to the Dance Ensemble and was awarded the Kocinski Award for her talents and dedication. Since then, Tarra has continued dancing at the School of the Canton Ballet and with the Ananda Center for the Arts’ Dance Company in Massillon, Ohio. She has taught ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern and hip-hop at various competitive and recreational studios throughout Mahoning, Trumbull, and Stark Counties. Tarra directed the dance program at the North Canton YMCA Gymnastics Center, and coached the Walsh University Dance Team in North Canton, Ohio. Most recently, she has danced the role of one of the evil step-sisters in Ballet Shenango Valley’s production of Cinderella.
Jamie Erin Murphy Modern Dance Instructor
Joshua Green A native of Youngstown, Ohio and an Archangel Dance Theater Company Alumni. It has been said that his life was orchestrated to gear him for the stage, for he was birthed into a family of musicians and performers. Joshua has been performing since the age of six when he joined his mother Karen Clark-Green while she toured with the Kenley Players, a touring equity theater company. He debuted as Emiel”s son in SOUTH PACIFIC with the Kenley Players in 1995 and the showed starred Robert Goulet. From the age of seven until he graduated high school he danced with The Archangel Dance Theater of Youngstown, Ohio where he became a principal dancer and choreographer. He is also an alumni of The Youngstown Connection, the Youngstown area’s elite semi-professional show choir. Joshua is now listed as one of the group’s main choreographers. He is currently the Advanced Hip Hop teacher for Ballet Western Reserve and the Advanced Dance teacher for the Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop (YEPAW) in Akron, Ohio. He attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC and is now finishing his degree in Musical Theater at Youngstown State University. Joshua is the recipient of the 2010 YACTA Award for Best Male Lead in a musical for the musical RAGTIME at Fairview Arts and Outreach Center. He is an active member of the YSU Dance Ensemble and featured in many shows in the YSU theater season. In his career Joshua has performed in many shows at Fairview Arts and Outreach Center with TopHAT Productions, he performed with Archangel for the appreciation of Nelson Mandela in Cleveland, Ohio, The 2003 Children’s Olympics, The 2004 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade- featured dancer, The 2005 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade – featured dancer and soloist, a four city concert tour in Beijing and Xian, China, “America Sings” at Lincoln Center NY - featured performer, The Mayor’s Annual Ball years 2005 and 2006 in Youngstown, Ohio. The Packard Band 4th of July Concert Celebration and many others. Dance has been a major driving force in his life and it always will be.
Norman Toot Norman Toot has been pianist for Ballet Western Reserve since 1980. He started there as a substitute pianist for Tim Webb. In 1982, he became the full-time accompanist. He grew up in Columbiana, Ohio and graduated from high school in 1969. In 1975, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Dana School of Music at YSU. He was the organist for Richard Brown Methodist Church for five years and currently plays piano for Centenary Methodist Church. He has been playing piano for the Golden Age Follies since 1990. In addition to being accompanist at BWR, Norman is also in charge of all custodial work.
James McClellan Jim McClellan was hired in the fall of 2005 as Business Manager for Ballet Western Reserve. His association with the company dates back to 1994, when he first appeared as the title role in the BWR / Easy Street co-production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Over the ensuing years, he has appeared in the BWR productions of The Will Rogers Follies, The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella and Footloose, and was a featured vocalist in the 2003 edition of "An Evening of Dance at the Butler." In 2001, he taught acting classes during the school's summer workshop.
______________________________________________________________________________ Female Students: hair must be pulled back into a bun; no hair in face. Conferences with instructors must be arranged through the BWR office, and will take place outside of regular class times. A non-refundable registration fee of $35 per student is required upon enrollment. (Registrations received on or after the first day of each semester will be considered late, and the registration fee will be $40).
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Ballet Western Reserve is a non-profit organization that is committed to offering the highest quality of classes for children and adults at various levels of ability. The school enrolls approximately three hundred students from the age of three to adult. Professional training is offered in ballet, pointe, pas de deux, creative movement, pre-ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop, pilates, and yoga. In accordance with the Ballet Western Reserve mission statement, students are offered the opportunity to develop the skills, experience and discipline that provide the necessary foundation for a professional career in dance. The Ballet also maintains a commitment to offer a variety of dance courses designed to provide physical and aesthetic benefits unmatched by any other athletic endeavors. Classes are available for students interested in performing in the Ballet Western Reserve Company and also for students interested in learning dance technique and discipline simply for the enjoyment of it.
