This weekend, Island Youth Ballet will present Excerpts from Cinderella, continuing an Island tradition with a springtime ballet full of hope and magic. The performances will take place on Saturday, June 10th, at 7 pm and Sunday, June 11th, at 2 pm at the Mercer Island High School Performing Arts Center.
More than 40 Mercer Island ballet students will perform highlights from the classic story of a young girl who discovers her prince with the loving help of friendly forest creatures and a fairy godmother.
Set to the Sergei Prokofiev score, Island Youth Ballet’s Excerpts from Cinderella is a condensed version of the full-length ballet, making it a delightful experience for all ages. Lavish costumes and theatrical detail will help set the scene for a magical journey with sewing mice, butterflies, and a grand ball.
“We are proud to provide this high quality and entertaining ballet based on the themes of kindness and hope to the Mercer Island community,” said Susan Valencia, IYB’s Founding Artistic Director. “Watching the story come alive, through the artistic performances of these talented dancers in magical splendor and theatrical elegance, will encourage audiences to believe in their dreams where good wins.”
There will be only one weekend and two performances at MIHS Performing Arts Center. Tickets may be purchased by calling 206-275-4750, at the door, or online at tickets.childrensdance.org.
About Island Youth Ballet and the Children’s Dance Conservatory:
The Children’s Dance Conservatory/Island Youth Ballet is located at the historic Lakeview School on the south end of Mercer Island. Founded in 1984 by Director Susan Valencia, the school provides an atmosphere that is fun and dynamic, sophisticated and academically challenging, while also embracing a reputation for high artistic merit.
IYB is dedicated to the preservation of classical traditions and to that which is innovative and expansive. IYB fosters its dancers to be interpreters of the ballet and to continuously explore the role of music and its relationship to dance and its dancers.
Children who begin classical ballet training from an early age are nurtured in an environment to develop positive impressions and values as part of the disciplinary and aesthetic standards required to dance classically. Good training is for every student, whether or not a career in dance is planned. While becoming a professional dancer is an attainable goal within the school, and there have been students who have gone on to dance professionally, many students select careers in medicine, science, literature and the arts.
The CDC/IYB is a participating member of The Royal Academy of Dance, an international teacher education and awarding body for classical ballet. Established in 1920, its aim is to develop and maintain the highest possible standards of teaching.
Hundreds of Mercer Island youth have danced in Island Youth Ballet and the Children’s Dance Conservatory’s classes and performances. Many of these student dancers have continued their dancing beyond IYB due to their outstanding training.
For more information on Experts from Cinderella, Island Youth Ballet / Children’s Dance Conservatory, please call 206.522.9399, visit the studio at 8635 SE 68th Street, or visit the IYB website.
Event Details:
Performances will be held on Saturday, June 10th, at 7 pm and Sunday, June 11th, at 2 pm. Reserved VIP seating is $35, and General Admission tickets are $25. The MIHS Performing Arts Center is located at 9100 SE 42nd Street.
[Island Youth Ballet / Children’s Dance Conservatory Press Release]
