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Moments with Martha

With the show opening tomorrow, we now present the final installation in our series "Moments with Martha." Today, Martha brings us news of a new visitor to the manor.

Join Martha, her brother Dickon, Mary and the rest of her friends at DanceVision's The Secret Garden, April 28 at 7pm and April 29 at 2pm, The College of New Jersey's Kendall Theater.

Use the link in the side bar to connect directly to the TCNJ box office or visit our website at

www.DanceVisionNJ.org

Meet the Dancers

Emily Sullivan

Emily Sullivan is in the fourth grade at Community Park Elementary School in Princeton. She started dancing ballet and tap at the YMCA in Princeton and began taking classes at Princeton Dance and Theater in January 2011. She has been a part of DanceVision productions since December 2010. Ballet is her first love, but she also plays piano and viola, takes gymnastic lessons, loves to draw and is an active Girl Scout. She will join the Bluefish diving team this summer.

Emily Sullivan as a Summer Fairy in The Snow Queen, 2011

DV:  How long have you been dancing?

ES: About six years.  I started when I was three or four.  I started dancing with DanceVision when I was eight.

DV:  What do you like about ballet?

ES: Everything.  It's fun.  I like moving to the music, and the movements are so beautiful.

Emily as a Summer Fairy with Jorina Kardhashi as Gerda in The Snow Queen, 2011

DV: What shows have you been in so far? What has been your favorite role? ES: I've been a Summer Fairy in "The Snow Queen," a Ladybug (twice) and a Rosebud in "The Secret Garden," and a Bon Bon in "The Nutcracker."

Emily as a Bon Bon in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2010 (far right)

DV:  What do you like about doing the performances? What do you find hard?
ES: I like being on stage.  This year it's a little hard remembering the steps because I'm leading this time.

DV:  What would be your dream role?

ES: I would like to be Mary or the Fox in "The Secret Garden," the Arabian Coffee in "The Nutcracker," and the Summer Sorceress or the Snow Queen in "The Snow Queen."

Emily Sullivan as a Rosebud in The Secret Garden, 2011

Moments with Martha, number 2

We bring you the second episode in our series of "Moments with Martha."

You can see Martha, her brother Dickon, Mary, Mr. Craven and all their garden friends including our newest member of the Secret Garden family, the Lamb, this weekend at The College of New Jersey's Kendall Theater!

And now for something completely different

Presenting the intial installment of DanceVision's "Moments with Martha." If you are familiar with the novel, Martha is a maid in Misselthwaite Manor. Let's join her as she lets us in on some of the secrets in the manor.

Stay tuned for more in our new "Meet the Dancers" series and more "Moments with Martha." In the meantime, it is time to purchase your tickets to save on the at-the-door pricing. Use the link on the sidebar.

Meet the Dancers

Jennifer Martin

Jennifer Martin is a resident of Virginia. She has lived in the Princeton area during the academic year since 2008 in order to study ballet and other forms of dance at Princeton Dance and Theater and to perform with the DanceVision Performance Company. Jennifer has spent her summers studying dance at Lines Ballet, San Francisco, Ballet West, Kaatsbaan, and Maple Conservatory summer intensives. She is currently a senior at Princeton Day School, where she recently  worked as the dance captain of the musical version of "The Secret Garden." She will appear in DanceVision's "The Secret Garden" as the Dark Angel and as Fox.

Jennifer Martin as the Snow Queen in the premiere production of DanceVision's The Snow Queen, December 2012

DV:  How old were you when you started to dance?  What made you fall in love with ballet?

JM: I started taking classes when I was 3, but before that I used to stand at the door of my older sister's classes and mimic the steps they were doing. Watching her classes, and the rest of the older girls' classes, made me fall in love with ballet. I wanted to be exactly like them.

DV: What has been your favorite role to dance?

JM: It's a tie between a rat in The Nutcracker and the Snow Queen in The Snow Queen. Being a rat was just an absolute blast, and what girl doesn't want to be a queen?

Jennifer Martin as a Rat in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2009

DV: What has been your most challenging?
JM: Snow Queen. Physically, the choreography was very demanding, and it was tough to delve into the character while performing it. I learned, however, that the choreography becomes easier the more in character you are; it takes your mind off of how tired you are.

Jennifer Martin as the Snow Queen and Max Azaro as Kai, 2011

DV:  Can you explain to us what dance and ballet has meant to you and how it has impacted your life?

JM: Dance has been and is everything to me. I have completely fallen in love with its ability to encourage and require me to strive for perfection while relentlessly reminding me that perfection does not exist. It forces me to clear my head on even the worst of days. And the art form on its own is absolutely gorgeous. It's fun to feel beautiful.

DV:  How is the DanceVision Performance Company unique compared to other area ballet companies?

JM: We are treated like professionals. The dancers are given tremendous respect and responsibility, and I think being afforded these things yields intelligent dancers, which are often hard to come by at the student level. I find the atmosphere of DanceVision to be far more mature than companies like it.

Jennifer Martin as Spider in DanceVision's The Secret Garden, May 2011

Come see Jennifer as Dark Angel and Fox in DanceVision's The Secret Garden, an original ballet choreographed by Risa Kaplowitz, on April 28 and 29 at The College of New Jersey's Kendall Theater.

Meet The Dancers

EMILY WOHL

Emily Wohl as Mary in The Secret Garden, 2011

Emily Wohl of Flemington, NJ is a senior at Hunterdon Central Regional High School and will perform the role of Lilias in the upcoming production of "The Secret Garden." She is a student in the Conservatory Program at Princeton Dance and Theater where she studies ballet and other dance forms. She has been with the DanceVision Performance Company since 2007 where she has danced a variety of roles including Marie, Chinese, Snow and Flowers in "The Nutcracker," Butterfly, Rain and Mary in "The Secret Garden" and most recently, Princess Annelise in "The Snow Queen." She has attended summer intensives with American Ballet Theater in NY, Chautaqua, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Harid. She will enter Princeton University in the fall.

 

DV:  How old were you when you started to dance?  What made you fall in love with ballet?

EW:  I started dance class when I was four years old. My first memories of ballet are of watching New York City Ballet’s The Nutcracker on VHS (the one with Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone). My sister, Abigail, and I would watch the tape over and over again and dance around my house. My mom also used to dance. So, when Abigail started class, I followed in her footsteps. I have always loved being able to tell stories with my body and with movement. Even when dance is extremely hard and intense, doing it makes each day seem worthwhile.

Emily Wohl, as Princess Annelise, and Josiah Foster, as Prince Frederick, in The Snow Queen 2011 premiere

DV: What has been your favorite role to dance? 

EW: I love every part that I have danced. You form a bond with the role, and it’s always a little upsetting when you graduate to a different part. I absolutely loved dancing the roles of Chinese in The Nutcracker and Butterflies in The Secret Garden. These two parts were just so much fun! I also loved dancing Mary in The Secret Garden. I always felt like the show was real when I danced this role. I enjoyed becoming a young girl in a magical garden each night.

DV:  What has been your most challenging?

EW: My most challenging role was The Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker. This role was so physically demanding, and so much stamina was required to accomplish it. I have never been so nervous that I was going to either throw up or pass out on the stage.

Emily Wohl, as the Sugarplum Fairy. and Gleidson Vasconcelos as Cavalier in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2010

DV:  Can you explain to us what dance and ballet has meant to you and how it has impacted your life?

EW:  I cannot even describe how much dance has impacted my life; it is hard to put into words. I am positive that I would not be the same person if I had never started dancing. Ballet specifically has taught me so much. You learn an enormous amount of discipline from dance. Most kids my age are shocked when they hear how much I dance and the strictness of this art form. Recently in school we learned about "duende" which is a Spanish word that has no exact translation in English. It is a type of passion that is deep in one's soul. This is what dance is to me. Doing ballet and growing up in a community of dancers has shaped my life.  

Emily Wohl as Marie in DanceVision's The Nutcracker, 2007

DV:  How is the DanceVision Performance Company unique compared to other area ballet companies?

EW: The DanceVision Performance Company is really extraordinary. At other studios and companies in the area, students never get to perform roles past the corps. If I hadn’t become involved with DanceVision, I would have never had the opportunity to grow so much as a performer. In DanceVision’s, productions the audience members do not see kids dancing on stage. They experience a professional performance with student dancers who have learned to dance like mature company members.

Emily Wohl, as Lilias, and Leland Schwantes, as Mr. Craven, perform an excerpt from The Secret Garden at DanceVision's DanceFest 2012! 

THE LADYBUGS OF 2008

THEN AND NOW

The original cast of The Secret Garden featured a group of lively, enthusiastic young dancers cast as Ladybugs. Several of this original group have appeared in every production of the show and are now featured in our current cast. Here they are, seated in the garden scene in the original 2008 production.

These four former Ladybugs have matured into beautiful dancers. Yet, they still have fond memories of their days as some of the youngest cast members in the garden. They recently shared a memory that they now laugh about.

That year, the ladybugs sat on stage as the other characters danced in the garden. They reacted with horror to the Spider, giggled at the Fox, and smiled with the Butterflies. It was fun for these young dancers to be able to watch the older dancers up close and personal, even if it was from behind.

However, during the Act II run-through in the studio, they found they could not move when it was time for them to get up and dance again-- their legs had fallen asleep!! After that, it was decided that the ladybugs would shift their positions after every other divertissement.

Meet some of our original ladybugs today:


Mariel Edokwe, Rachel Ackerman, Lexi Baldachino and Jorina Kardhashi

Rachel Ackerman- Rachel has appeared in previous productions as a Ladybug, Rabbit, Petite Rose, Rain, Rose and a Bee. This year, she dances the role of Martha as well as reprising her roles as a Rose, Rain and a Bee.

Lexi Baldachino-  Lexi is thrilled to be featured this year in the role of Spider. She will also appear in Rain. She has appeared in previous productions as a Ladybug, Rosebud, Rabbit, and a Rose.

Mariel Edokwe- Mariel has performed in previous Secret Garden productions as a Ladybug, Rabbit, and Rose. This year, she is featured as Nut, one of the two squirrels in the garden. She also appears in Rain and as a Rose.

Jorina Kardashi- Jorina is our Robin, a role she coveted back in her Ladybug days! She has appeared in the past as a Ladybug, Rosebud, Rabbit, Rose, and Squirrel. You may also remember Jorina from her fabulous performance as Gerda in DanceVision's recent premiere of The Snow Queen.

Come see these beautiful dancers perform in DanceVision's The Secret Garden on April 28 and 29 at The College of New Jersey's Kendall Theater! http://bit.ly/SecretGardenTix