Swan Lake
Swan Lake, the most recent performance by the Birmingham Ballet, featured five dancers from Vestavia Hills. Pictured from left to right are Linnea Blakemore, Olivia Martin, Grace Ahnert, Kathleen McCrary and Haley Lockhart. Photo by Rebecca Walden.
Even after her 16th hour of weekly rehearsals, the norm for any junior or senior company dancer with the Birmingham Ballet, you’ll still find Pizitz eighth-grader Olivia Martin with an exhausted smile on her face.
“We put so much work into these rehearsals and shows because we love it,” she said. “It’s a huge part of our lives. I wouldn’t be me without dance.”
That passion permeated Martin’s two-role performance in the studio’s most recent production, Swan Lake, which wraps March 1 after a three-day run at the BJCC. And it’s already got her focused on training for her next performance — the Birmingham Ballet Spring Showcase.
Though this is only Martin’s first year with the studio’s senior company, the substantial stage performance time she’s already received is core to the culture of Birmingham Ballet, established in 1991 and directed by Cindy Free.
“The performance opportunities are wonderful here,” said VHHS sophomore Linnea Blakemore, who is in her eighth spring season with the Birmingham Ballet. “And that includes the opportunity to gain soloist experience.”
It was Free’s philosophy that initially attracted Blakemore to the studio.
“When my mom first met with Cindy, one of the big questions she had concerned body type, and if the students must weigh in,” said Blakemore. “Cindy said, ‘No. We accept them for who they are. Body type doesn’t matter to me. They are dancers and artists, and that is what we are trying to foster here.’”
That atmosphere has clearly struck a chord, with low turnover in the studio’s full-time student roster, an average season comprising three major performances, numerous ensemble and community outreach performances, and a growing base of would-be community cast members participating in spring and fall auditions.
VHHS freshman and senior company ballerina Kathleen McCrary said the supportive atmosphere has helped her further develop her technique.
“Sometimes you have your heart set on one role but that’s not the one you are given,” she said. “But the positivity here is amazing, and the role you receive always ends up being a better role than you thought it would be. You are supported throughout, and that’s a good thing because we see each other more than we see our families!”
And like family, Free encourages her dancers inside and outside the studio.
Birmingham Ballet has had three of its dancers go on to become Jefferson County’s Distinguished Young Woman.
“As I’ve watched our seniors participate in the Distinguished Young Woman program, it’s been awesome to see the teachers work with them on their variations, and pushing each one of them to be better,” said Blakemore. “When we have to miss a rehearsal for the ACT, whenever we have any kind of major life event, they are just really invested in our lives and treat us as if we are their children.”
For more information about Birmingham Ballet’s Spring Showcase, May 2 at the BJCC, or to purchase tickets, visit birminghamballet.com.
