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April Appetizers
BCB news & updates
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Dear BCB Families & Fans,
Welcome, April! We are shaking off the winter coats and socks, wiggling our toes and stretching our limbs! From January to March, most of us here at Brass City Ballet were wrapped up in the adventure of Cinderella! Well, we got her safely off to the ball and back! Thank you to all those who participated, volunteered and bought tickets to see the spectacular show!
Of course, it was just an appetizer for what is ahead! Because now we are preparing for Season Finale performances where everyone gets a chance to shine on stage!
April is also the month for one of our biggest fundraisers, Give Local. We have an ambitious goal to raise $15,000! And you really can help! Spread the word to your family and friends - the more donors we get, the more the CT Community Foundation & Ion Bank will give us in bonus bucks.
Keep on dancing!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Fisk Barisser
Artistic Director
Brass City Ballet
…where the art, technique and joy of dance go hand in hand
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Mark Your Calendar
April 20
Earth Day
Hollow Park, Woodbury
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
BCB performs at 2:00 pm
April 24 - 25
Give Local Fundraising Campaign
Help us raise $15,000!
April 27
Cinderella Volunteers Appreciation Party
All the Cinderella volunteers are invited to celebrate together! Save the date on Saturday, April 27.
Location TBD
April 27 - May 11
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
May 11
Deadline for Season Finale Program Booklet Ads
June 1
Season Finale 2024
NVCC Mainstage Theater
1 pm & 5 pm
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"As dancers, we use our bodies; we are nonverbal communicators."
—Flamenco dancer Xianix Barrera
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Give Local on April 24 - 25 | |
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You can help us reach
our fundraising goal
of $15,000!
On April 24 & 25,
log into BCB’s Give Local webpage to make a donation:
It's the biggest, baddest, bestest fundraising
event of the year!
The more donors we get, the more bonus bucks the CT Community Foundation & ION Bank Foundation can give to us!
Please keep our dancers dancing!
No gift is too small!
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Let Us Know!
If you are not coming to class, our teachers need to know! As we near our end of year Season Finale performances, our teachers are busy choreographing during class time. For this reason, it’s very important to have all the students present. Please email us at info@brasscityballet.org if your child is going to be absent. Too many absences may result in removal from the performance.
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Concentrated Studies Program
Schedule Your
Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
From April 27 to May 11, we will meet with all of our Concentrated Studies Program A1 - E-level students and their parents. These gatherings are short, approximately 10 minutes, and designed to give an update on the student’s progress thus far and their future development. Please make sure you bring your child with you to the conference. If you feel that you need longer than 10 minutes, please email Elizabeth Fisk Barisser at ebarisser@brasscityballet.org to request back-to-back sessions. Thank you!
Visit Sign-Up Genius to reserve your time slot.
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Program Booklet Ads
Support Your Children!
Ads are now being collected for the Season Finale 2024 program booklet. This is a great opportunity to wish your child good luck and support Brass City Ballet.
Click here for Season Finale 2024 Ad Form
Any questions?
Email us at info@brasscityballet.org.
Deadline for your ad is May 11th. You can also collect ads from your employer or area’s businesses by using the same ad form.
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"Dance is a discipline, our common language. But we don’t just talk about dance. We talk about life."
—dance artist Charm La'Donna
on helping students grow beyond the eight-counts
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BCB Alums, we want to hear from you!
Send your news and updates to info@brasscityballet.org
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Waterbury Ballet Company
(aka Brass City Ballet)
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An interview with Founder & Artistic Director,
Elizabeth Fisk Barisser
This article was first published
in January, 2021. Vol 1 #5
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When and how did Brass City Ballet start? 39 years ago, in 1985, I opened up the school in the Parish Hall of the 1st Lutheran Church at 88 Cooke Street, downtown Waterbury. It was called Waterbury School of Ballet, and it was my own private school. My entire professional dance career had been with nonprofits: Rambert, the school where I trained in England; the Hartford Ballet and Syracuse Ballet Theatre where I danced professionally; and the Istanbul State Conservatory in Turkey where I taught. I knew I did not want to remain the sole owner of the school and eventually found a lawyer who helped us incorporate into a 501(c)3.
Why did the name change? When the school incorporated as a nonprofit in 1989, we took the name, Waterbury Ballet Company. In the early 90’s, the city of Waterbury began to promote its brass industry history and for marketing purposes, reclaimed its moniker, the Brass City. We jumped on that bandwagon and adopted the name Brass City Ballet. When we moved to Middlebury in 2008, the name came with us! To me, Brass City Ballet represents vibrancy, energy, and liveliness. Why change it?
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What is Brass City Ballet’s mission and what impact does it have on the community? BCB’s mission is to promote the art, technique, and joy of dance through its school, performing company, and community outreach. So, simply put, we train dancers. And some have gone off to professional careers as such. But what we also teach our students is how to manage the struggles they face in the dance studio and on the stage. These are valuable life skills that they will carry into their daily lives.
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As Brass City Ballet’s Artistic Director, what motivates you? Working with youth and imparting these skills are what motivate me every day when I go in to teach.
When a BCB student walks into the studio he/she begins to learn responsibility, discipline, and team-work; how to tap into his or her creativity; and how to persevere. The BCB student does not run away from the challenges. At BCB, we help each one, individually, to face them.
So, while we teach students how to dance on their toes, we really teach them how to stand on their own two feet with strength and healthy resilience. I love to watch each dancer grow and develop as artists and people. It fills my heart!
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“For me, the student who is not going to become a professional [dancer] is just as important as the one that is.”
—educator Pam Turner,
in DanceTeacher+
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Happy April Birthdays!
4/2 Paige Gumpert
4/5 Chloe Koller
4/5 Goldie Ollero
4/6 Maisie Brown
4/8 Abigail Gurzynski
4/9 Charleigh Staff
4/13 Aviella Ashurst
4/14 Claire Cady
4/15 Elena Moffie
4/17 Tahira Nugent
4/17 Sharifah O’Dell
4/22 Ines Batista
4/22 Elliana Russo
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Brass City Ballet 1255 Middlebury Road, Middlebury, CT 06762
www.brasscityballet.org 203-598-0186
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