Ballet in Maine

Robert and I attended a ballet presentation yesterday. It was put on by the Konservatoriet dance school in Alfred. Robert is a part-time teacher and co-director at the Konservatoriet. The school is run by Lynne Penn-Davison, and she organized a workshop presentation using her students’ choreography. It was a great time and the students did a wonderful job.

We were most impressed by one 11-year-old girl (seen below in the full-length tutu), who not only choreographed an elaborate dance called “No Bedtime for Us!”, but danced very well herself in several of the presentations. The ages of the students ranged from 3 to over 50, and the purpose was to raise awareness about the scholarships needed to allow these young women to take classes on an ongoing basis.

Ballet and other forms of dance require more than one class per week in order for the students to gain the full benefit of this art form. It’s not only a healthy activity, it promotes self-confidence, teaches posture, and gives the girls a sense of accomplishment. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford to pay for classes, so scholarships are often the only route for many of these students.

I took some pictures after the performance:

This last one is downtown Alfred. It’s a quaint little town south of Portland, and because the studio is in Alfred, Lynne can charge lower fees for the classes due to a lower overhead. So sponsoring a girl is not that expensive.

For more information on classes - including modern as well as ballet - or if you’d like to donate to Konservatoriet’s scholarship fund, please contact Lynne Penn-Davison at konservatoriet (at) verizon.net (substitute the “@” symbol for “(at)”, of course) or telephone (207) 324-6391.

Tags: Ballet, Dance, Maine