As we continue to settle into new rhythms this fall, the Academy is bustling with activity this month! Read on for more information on what we’re looking forward to and how to stay connected. Happy October!
This week marks the beginning of CB Moves, our dance and creative movement program for students with specific needs. We’ll kick off the year with seven classes, all held in the Otto M. Budig Community Studio, with resources tailored to support each group of students as they learn and grow as dancers this year.
We’re proud to partner once again with Cincinnati Children’s and to kick off a new partnership with our neighbors at the Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. As the year progresses, we’ll add more classes to serve additional groups of dancers, including an innovative new CB Moves program for persons with Parkinson’s. Join us in welcoming our fellow CB Moves dancers to our new home!
The Otto M. Budig Academy is thrilled to welcome our fifth class of Professional Training Division students, our largest group yet, now representing two tracks of training experience. They hail from 12 different states and include 7 returning dancers and 4 students who have advanced from last year’s Main Division. Throughout the season, this talented group of dancers combine full-day training with professional and community performance opportunities, all as they work to make the transition from student to professional dancer. Already this year they’ve been hard at work learning and performing at our Academy Open House and Cincinnati Ballet's new Community Performance Series.
Please help us welcome the 2021-2022 Professional Training Division Class:
PTDs: Lucy Arnold, Hannah Blair, Ava Bradford, Jenna Daugherty, Abigail Einterz, Amber Harper, Madelyn Harpole, Natalie Higle, Anna Kinghorn, Annika Olsen, Sierra Severt, Claire Sturgeon, Salomé Tregre, and Ari Yao.
Trainees: Cathleen Breslin, Michael Duncan, Kayla French, Edward Kidd, Natalie Marshall, Ramsay Miller, Siobhan Nickell, Trevor PinterParsons, Scott Reed, Lauren Vogel, and Avery Ward.
Last month we introduced you to some new full-time members of our Academy team, now this month we want to celebrate and welcome our new part-time faculty members. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Caitlin Ackerman, Oliver Arana, Ja'Nay Brown, Emily Egner, Jeri Gatch, Mae Miller, and Rowan Salem, as well as Cincinnati Ballet Company dancers Jhaelin McQuay and Samantha Riester, rounding out our remarkable team of teachers for the 2021-2022 Academy Year. We’re thrilled to have them with us and know our students will benefit from their voices and expertise in the studio classroom.
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate the Grand Opening of our new Margaret and Michael Valentine Center for Dance and especially those who helped us introduce the Academy to new families at our Academy Open House. We loved seeing so many familiar faces joining in the festivities! Thanks for being such terrific ambassadors!
We hope dancers and parents are getting settled in classes and well acquainted with our new Center for Dance. Now that we’re a few weeks into our Academy Year, below are a few notes and reminders as we work to make this space a welcoming home for all.
Academy Commons
One of the most
exciting new features of the Center for Dance is a dedicated space for dancers
in our Preparatory, Community, Young Dancer, and Advanced Divisions to prepare
for class. This area is for putting shoes on, using the restroom or
lockers, warming up and stretching, and waiting calmly for teachers to lead the
way to the studio. To ensure everyone is comfortable and safe in this space,
and to respect those taking class in the adjacent first-floor studios, please
remember this is not a space to play, jump or make lots of noise.
Thanks to all our dancers for your help in setting the tone in our beautiful
new space!
Absence Reporting and Return to Class
It’s more important
this year than ever that absences are reported, particularly when due to
illness or COVID-19 exposure, so the Academy can follow-up with families to determine
when sick students can safely return to class. Don’t forget students must
stay home from class if they’ve been ill within the prior 72 hours and must be
cleared by an Academy representative before returning to the Center for Dance.
For absence reporting, please connect with the Academy Administrative Office through one of the following channels:
Absence Notification Online Form
By phone: 513.562.1111 (Option 1)
Communicating with the Academy
Any time classes are in session, at least one member of the Academy administrative team will be on site, usually stationed in the lobby as you enter. They're present to help direct families, support students, help with uniform orders, and to address simple questions or issues in the moment. Please don't hesitate to seek them out if you need assistance! That said, for more complex issues (including tuition payments, class schedule questions, questions for teachers or about curriculum or class experience, upcoming events and programs, and more) your best channels for communicating with the team will always be via email at cbacademy@cballet.org or phone 513.562.1111. Please leave a message if you get our voicemail. Sometimes we are in meetings or on the phone, but we will return calls at our earliest opportunity for any messages that are left.
Lost and Found
Significant items found around the Center for Dance are sometimes brought to the Welcome Center for safekeeping. Please note the Lost and Found will be emptied on the 15th of each month and anything left behind will be donated or discarded.
As we’ve expanded programs in our new home, we’ve also taken the opportunity to diversify our classes—and not just for our young dancers, but for adults as well!
This month, we want to highlight one exciting new offering in our Adult Dance and Fitness Division. Pilates Mat is an excellent and safe way to enhance lean strength, flexibility, posture and the overall mind body connection. Used as an essential sculpting and conditioning tool by professional dancers, Pilates focuses on developing core strength with low impact to reduce risk of injury while building overall fitness. Taught on Tuesday mornings by Company dancer Jacqueline Damico Amador and on Thursday mornings by experienced Academy faculty Isabele Elefson, this class is open to all levels. We’d love to see you there!
Week of October 4: CB Moves Classes Begin
Week of October 11: CB Moves for Parkinson's Classes Begin
October 25 - 31: Academy Fall Break, No Classes*
*PTD, CB Moves and Adult Division will continue to have classes this week
November 1: Tuition Payments Due (4 & 8 Installment Plans)
November 5 - 7: King Arthur's Camelot at Music Hall
King Arthur’s Camelot transports us to the mystical land of Camelot where the story of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere unfolds in a visually stunning display of dance, drama, and magic that the whole family will love! Complete with puppets, projections and jousting, this ballet is fit for royalty, so bring your whole castle and court!
OTTO M. BUDIG ACADEMY | 1801 Gilbert Avenue | cbacademy@cballet.org | 513.562.1111
