Is that who I think it is?
by Joy D’Elia
Fanciful fairies, dancing mice, fighting soldiers, Clara and the handsome prince will swirl, twirl and sometimes fight their way across the stage at Flagler College Auditorium during Saint Augustine Ballet’s (SAB) upcoming performances of The Nutcracker on December 16, 17 and 18th. Those are the usual characters that come to mind when one is thinking about The Nutcracker. Indeed, it will be hard to miss them when the cast of sixty-three beautiful young dancers takes to the stage. This year’s cast includes dancers from seventeen Saint Johns County schools, ranging in age from 8 to 17 years old.
But the talented and graceful young cast members are not the only dancers on stage deserving an appreciative look. Each year, Saint Augustine Ballet includes, dare we say, slightly more mature participants in their ballets. Past performances of SAB’s The Nutcracker, as well as last spring’s production of Peter and the Wolf, consisted of a multigenerational cast.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story of The Nutcracker, Act One opens to show the Stahlbaum family hosting their annual Christmas party and welcoming the arrival of family and friends. In most programs, the parts of the family and friends are generically listed generically as “The Party Parents.” This year, ten county residents can be seen in Act One in the role of parents while Act Two includes two local residents: one dancing on her toes as a beautiful fairy and the other as rather unusual-looking Mother Ginger.
The adult cast members represent a cross section of the county’s citizens and volunteers. They can often be found in front of or behind the scenes of many local charities and nonprofit organizations. ºThey range in age from ‘just out of college’ to ‘just out of the workforce.’ So, just who are these local celebrities and how did they find their way into a classical ballet? Let me introduce them to you.
Luis Abella, artistic director of Saint Augustine Ballet, was born in Cuba where he began studying ballet at the age of eight. After performing professionally around the world, he settled with his wife and son in Saint Augustine over six years ago and opened Abella’s School of Dance, a pre-professional ballet school. He is also the founder of Saint Augustine Ballet, a 501(C)3 non-profit arts organization whose mission is to offer Saint Johns county dancers the experience of performing in quality full-length classical ballet productions. It was also his intent to involve community members of all ages in meaningful dance experiences, whether as participating dancers or as audience members.
Jennifer Dournaux is making her Nutcracker debut as one of the maids. She began dancing at the age of 3 and has never stopped. Jennifer has found a way to incorporate her dance background into another passion, Pilates. She is currently working on her Master’s Degree in Humanities with an emphasis on aesthetics and ballet history.
Chelsea Hilding is also playing the role of a maid. She studied dance at the Hartt Conservatory at the University of Hartford, Burklyn Ballet, Briansky Saratoga Ballet under Oleg Briansky, and Boston Ballet under Arthur Leeth. In 2007, Chelsea founded the Echelon Dance Company in Vermont, combining music and literature of the Romantic Era with modern dance. Chelsea helped to choreograph some of the pieces this year’s Nutcracker.
This is the third year Jane and Joe Boles have performed in The Nutcracker as Party Parents. In real life, they are the parents of seven children: six girls and one boy. The six girls have all studied dance and two of them, Bridey and Emily, have previously appeared in The Nutcracker. Joe’s biggest role is that of Mayor of the City of Saint Augustine. He is also an attorney who specializes in elder law. Jane can be found at Saint Augustine Imaging Center, where she works as a radiographer and mammographer. Dancing runs deep with the Boles clan; they claim their two dogs are also avid dancers!
Returning for her third year portraying Clara’s mother, is Sheryl Lepera, a first grade teacher at Otis A. Mason Elementary School, but she’s no stranger to dance or The Nutcracker. Those of you with good memories may recall seeing Sheryl perform in The Nutcracker in the 1990s under the direction of Lori Ladwig. Sheryl holds a degree in modern dance from Florida School of the Arts in Palatka. “I love being a part of The Nutcracker and helping to keep the Christmas ballet tradition alive,” she says.
Dancing in a classical ballet is the last place you would expect to find Tommy Bledsoe, an award winning old-time banjo player who was raised in southwest Virginia. When he’s not playing old time music, he can be found at the Saint Johns County School District where he is arts and world language program specialist, as well as community and driver education coordinator. No stranger to the stage, Tommy toured internationally with Roadside Theater for twenty years before settling in Saint Augustine, where he performs in community productions and serves as president of the Saint Johns Cultural Council. For the past three years, Tommy has played the role of Clara’s father.
Georgia Garrett was born into a photographic family. Before retiring to Saint Augustine, she earned the distinction of being one of the few father/daughter holders of the dual degrees of Master of Photography/Photographic Craftsman awarded by the Professional Photographers of America. She’s also a triple threat. She has played piano since she was eight, took ballet at Butler University School of Dance, studied piano since she was eight years old and currently sings with the Saint Augustine Community Chorus as well as being an award winning photographer! That makes her a quadruple threat! This will be Georgia’s second year as a Party Parent.
With all this dancing, it’s nice to have a doctor in the house or, in this case, on the stage. Todd and Katherine Batenhorst will reprise their roles as Party Parents. Todd is a physician with Flagler Family Medicine, and his wife, Katherine is a Speech-Language Pathologist. “We really had a good time learning the steps and dancing in the performances,” Katherine said about last year’s production. “We were impressed with the talent the children displayed. They were a lot of fun to work with, too!” They are active in many local community charity functions.
Perhaps it was their adventurous spirits that led James and Kassie McCune to join The Nutcracker cast. The couple met while traveling in South Africa and a few years later, they successfully completed a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They recently started their own travel company, KiliBound Adventures, specializing in Kilimanjaro climbs and African safaris.
When they are not off seeking adventure, James practices law and Kassie works as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the Putnam County School Exceptional Student Education Department. James and Kassie both serve the community through participation on multiple boards and community programs, including: EPIC, St. Francis House, Junior Service League, Planning and Zoning, and Circuit 7 Best Practices Team.
Is that really Philip McDaniel making an appearance in the part of Mother Ginger? Although he’s new to the cast, Philip is no stranger to the arts. He and his artist-wife, Wendy Mandel-McDaniel, raised their four children in Saint Augustine, all of whom either danced or acted their way through high school and, for three of them, through college. A former president of the Saint Johns Cultural Council, Philip continues to be a strong leader and advocate for the arts in Saint Johns County. He has served on the Tourist Development Council Arts and Culture Funding Panel, the EPIC board, and he was a co-founder of Project SWING Neighborhood Park and the Hamilton Church Skate Park.
Jessica Lengyel is no stranger to Flagler College Auditorium. She performed there in many recitals by The Dance Company, where she studied dance. She was also a member of Dance Theatre for three years at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Jacksonville and recently graduated from Point Park University with a B.A. in Dance. Through the years, Jessica has attended various summer dance programs including Orlando Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, Nashville Ballet School, and the Florida Dance Festival. She currently dances with Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre of New Smyrna Beach, FL and teaches at The Dance Company. In addition to her dance education, Jessica has completed her Power Pilates mat certification. She will be dancing the part of Dewdrop this year.
So there you have it, the stories of our twelve local adult cast members. No two of them are the same, except in one respect. They can now add the title of ‘Dancer” to their already bulging resumes!
The 2011 Nutcracker is made possible through the support of the Saint Johns Cultural Council’s State of the Arts License Plate grant program, Saltwater Property Group, Inc. and VyStar credit union.
For more information about Saint Augustine Ballet and The Nutcracker, visit saintaugustineballet.com.