By Christine Cole Correspondent
May 22, 2015
LEESBURG — In its 12th year, the Mount Dora School of Ballet is now creating its own stars.
When students perform at noon and at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Paul P. Williams Auditorium at Lake-Sumter State College, people may notice the school has a deeper bench than ever.
“We now have students that have come through the lower schools and therefore have a stronger foundation,” founder, owner and teacher Kathryn Wheeler said. “And we now have more children getting into prestigious summer workshops and more receiving scholarships.”
Amanda Lily Kountanis will attend the Bolshoi Ballet summer program in Connecticut with a scholarship.
“It is very rare for a girl to be offered a scholarship,” Wheeler said.
Other students performing Saturday include Hannah Wells, who also will attend the Bolshoi program; Elizabeth Powers, who will attend London’s Royal Ballet summer program and Ballet West’s program in Utah; and Victoria Bell, who will go to the Joffrey Ballet program in New York.
Meredith Obispo and Annika Slaby will go to the Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton. Carolyn Bakich and Annika Slaby will attend the summer programs of Gelsey Kirkland in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The Women’s Fine Arts of Mount Dora provided $1,000 awards to Carolyn Bakich, Elizabeth Powers and Vara Shiva Reom.
In addition to being able to create stronger dancers, the school has added a third studio.
Dancers will perform in “Alice in Wonderland” as Dodo Bird, the Mock Turtle, Snail, Lobster Quadrille, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Walrus and the Carpenter. In all, 120 dancers will perform.
They will be joined by Ryan Nussear, courtesy of Columbia Classic Ballet, and Jeremy Studinski, courtesy of the Orlando Ballet.
Tickets for the matinee performance at noon are $20 and will be sold at the door of the auditorium at LSSC, 9501 U.S. Highway 441. The 5 p.m. performance is sold out.
The ballet school is located at 4280 N. County Road 19A, Suite 4, Mount Dora.
For more information, call 352-357-5536.