Ballet Palm Beach In Pb Gardens To Host George Balanchine Workshop With Wilhelmina Frankfurt

Colleen Smith, Artistic Director of Ballet Palm Beach today announced that the highly acclaimed professional ballet company will host a George Balanchine Workshop July 23-27, conducted by Wilhelmina Frankfurt, a former ballerina with New York City Ballet.

The workshop is being held during the final week of Ballet Palm Beach's Summer Intensive. Advanced ballet students ages 11 and up can still register by calling 561.630.8235 or by emailing school@balletpalmbeach.org.

This will be the second time this summer that Ballet Palm Beach has worked with Frankfurt, who is Director of Dance at the South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures and the Arts. At her invitation, Ballet Palm Beach's summer outreach touring group, the Ballet Ambassadors, performed last month for more than a thousand children at an inner-city South Bronx school in New York City.

"Being the first professional dance company to perform at that school, it was an honor to introduce the students to live dance performance on such an intimate level," said Smith.

At that performance, Ballet Ambassadors presented a mixed bill including classical ballet works and original pieces from Ballet by the Book, a set of colorful ballets based on children's books, such as Eric Carle's From Head to Toe and Bill Martin Jr.'s I Love My Earth. The dancers also held question and answer sessions and donated dance supplies to Frankfurt's students.

Plans are underway for Ballet Ambassadors to perform in Berlin, Germany next summer. In addition, throughout the 2018/2019 season, Ballet Palm Beach will dance in free, local outreach shows via partnerships with the Palm Beach County Library, Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, and the Eissey Campus Theatre.

Ballet Palm Beach (BPB), the professional ballet company of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) ballet company dedicated to preserving the art of classical ballet by cultivating new visions in choreography, impacting the next generation through the discipline of dance, and enriching the community through this universal art form. Established in 2001, the company has become a fixture in Palm Beach County. Each year BPB produces main stage ballets as well as outreach shows, both locally and abroad. For more information about the professional company or its school, Ballet Palm Beach Academy, or to support BPB's outreach efforts call 561.630.8235 or visit www.balletpalmbeach.org.

Photo Credit: Steven Caras