Dear Wilmington Ballet Families and Friends,

We hope you had a relaxing summer and are as excited as we are to start dancing again! We enjoyed working with so many of our dancers during Summer Intensives, Drop-In Classes, Tyler's Camp, and Princess Camp, and were awed by their hard work and improvement.

We have ambitiously geared up for the fall season and have tackled a deep cleaning of the dance studios, inside and out. We've been up to our elbows purging decades-old paper files, storage closets, dressing room dust, kitchen grime, and wasted wardrobe space. We now have a beautifully organized new wardrobe — complete with Sophie's laminated and color-coded map! Many thanks to the parents, students, and faculty who volunteered their time to help turn the wardrobe from a wasteland into a wonderland.

We are particularly excited to now move on to our favorite work: teaching and choreographing on our fabulous dancers and producing a successful season. Plans for The Nutcracker are being put into practice. We just had a productive meeting with The Playhouse stage crew and are scheming a few new special effects! Those of you who were unable to make Nutcracker auditions, please don't forget to register this coming week — the deadline for Nutcracker participation is September 8 by 1 p.m.!

Oh, and did we mention New York City Ballet soloist Unity Phelan will be our Sugarplum Fairy this year?!

Welcome back, dancers!

Our best to you,

Ann Cole & Sara Neal

Enroll now! Some classes are full, and waiting lists are now forming. There's a 5 percent tuition discount if you pay in full for the season, as well as a new tuition discount for siblings. New class offerings include Tuition-Free Preschool Ballet (try four classes free!), Variety and Modern on Fridays, Core Conditioning on Saturdays and Mondays, and a new Drop-In Class schedule. Enroll today at wilmingtonballet.org ! See you at the studios!

Got tights? Thanks to our new partnership with the Brandywine Dance Shoppe, you will be able to purchase dance uniforms through our website. Click on Uniforms & Merchandise in the main menu to order your WB leotards, tights, and ballet shoes from the comfort of your phone. New Wilmington Ballet spirit wear and Nutcracker merchandise will be available for pre-order soon. Dancers will be allowed to wear WB spirit wear in class at the studios on the first Saturday of every month. Please see our website for new uniform and dress-code policies . All dance wear and merchandise proceeds will benefit WB.

There's still time to join the cast of 100-plus dancers and be part of a beloved Wilmington holiday tradition, the 52 ^nd annual Nutcracker, at the historic Playhouse on Rodney Square — where Victorians party, mice battle, snowflakes swirl, and visions of sugarplums dance in your head! Performances will be Saturday, December 8, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, December 9, at 2 and 6 p.m. Tickets will go on sale soon!

Dancers in Ballet A–H, as well as adult dancers, are eligible to audition and participate. A $100 performance fee and an audition registration form are due now. Missed the audition? It's OK. Just e mail us and let us know. We'll continue to audition dancers the first week of classes. The deadline to audition is September 8 by 1 p.m. Casting will "go live" on our website on Saturday, September 8 at 7 p.m., along with the rehearsal schedule and additional cast and volunteer information. Parents interested in volunteering should plan to attend the Ballet Guild meeting (see below) for more information on Nutcracker production.

Pre-order your performance DVDs and cast flower bouquets now on our website.

Do you like to stich and talk? The Wilmington Ballet Guild wants you! As the "PTA" of the ballet, the Ballet Guild will help WB meet our volunteer needs and provide a base of support for our artistic, community-building, and fundraising endeavors. All dance parents and friends of the ballet are welcome to join!

Monthly meetings at the studios will usually be held on the first Saturday of the month — but the first meeting will be Saturday, September 8, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. On the agenda are Nutcracker volunteer positions, our October FUNdraiser, and our first annual Disco Ball — let's get down!

Click here for the full WB calendar of events, including the Ballet Guild's meeting dates and agendas.

Sophie Malin has joined WB as a full-time Artist-in-Residence and Directors' Assistant. She will also be performing with KCBC during the Fringe Festival, September 7–9. Chelsea Bruce has gone off to Columbia University; follow her on Instagram! Linnea Calzada-Charma, Christopher Davis, Kristen McAllister, and Ethan Hunter Raysor have joined the WB 2018-19 Resident Faculty. Aynsley (Inglis) Johnson got married, has begun to teach in New Jersey, and has joined the WB guest faculty. Anya Ward brought the petit allegro to Summer Intensive and is now a grandma. September Variety Class teachers will include Linnea (contemporary), hip-hop master Clyde Evans, and Kate Forehand (musical theatre). Arthur Hutchinson (Mr. H) will guest teach two classes at WB: one for FGH dancers in September, and one for adults and alumni in early October. Deb Coupe has recovered from directing Princess Camp and is ready to resume Ballet A duty. Karen Hostler is ready to make Nutcracker costumes sparkle in the newly organized wardrobe (next month, we get in-depth with her in our Faculty Spotlight). See the WB website for full bios of our incredibly talented and professional faculty.

Here are a few ways you can help financially support Wilmington Ballet this season:

All donors will be publicly acknowledged in our performance program books and on our website. WB is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, and your contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to donate to WB now . We appreciate your kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity.

September 4 Q1 classes begin, enrollment for October Tuition-Free Preschool Ballet begins

September 8 Ballet Guild meeting, Nutcracker cast list and rehearsal schedule posted on website

September 11 Principal, Soloist, and Divertissement (small group) Nutcracker rehearsals begin

September 15 Corps de Ballet (large group) rehearsals begin

September 25 FGH Master Class with Mr. H

October 2 Adult and Alumni Drop-In Master Class with Mr. H

October 6 Ballet Guild meeting

October 14 Nutcracker cast photo shoot with Ali Gayle Photography. Photos will be made available to purchase via digital download.

October 19 Board meeting

October 27 WB Disco Ball FUNdraiser

October 29 Q2 classes begin

December 8 & 9 The Nutcracker