Youth ballet company expands rigorous training for Middle Ga. performers

Many of the region’s finest young ballet students will be on stage Saturday when the Middle Georgia Youth Ballet presents “Let’s Go to the Movies: A Night of Dance and Music” at the Douglass Theatre at 7 p.m.

The evening will feature dancers performing to a variety of popular music from films new and old, including “La La Land,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Pride and Prejudice,” James Bond’s “Dr. No” and more.

Also performing will be the Middle Georgia Concert Band Pops, the area’s multigenerational group of amateur musicians, students and educators.

The nonprofit Middle Georgia Youth Ballet was founded in 1996 by the late Jean Evans Weaver and continues its mission of offering area dance students ages 13–18 the opportunity to take weekly ballet-focused classes throughout the school year with local and guest teachers. After auditioning for one of the Youth Ballet company’s 24 slots, all lessons are free.

In addition to weekly lessons, Youth Ballet members are given performance opportunities such as Saturday’s show, participate in community service performances and activities, and take part in an annual dance‑intensive weekend in April.

But there’s something new this year.

“We’ve added a younger group this year that we’re calling MGYB II,” said Lindsay Misch Crisp, artistic director for the Middle Georgia Youth Ballet. “This group serves 11–13‑year‑olds who want to find out a little bit more about how the Middle Georgia Youth Ballet works or who may not feel quite ready to be in the actual company. 

“It’s sort of a training ground for those who might want to audition for the regular Youth Ballet later. The younger group does get to take part in Saturday’s performance.”

Crisp said being part of MGYB II is also by audition for dance students taking two or more technique classes per week. She said there are nine MGYB II slots and the program is somewhat less intense, with classes every two weeks rather than the weekly Friday classes for regular MGYB members. Youth Ballet classes are in addition to classes dancers take at various schools of dance throughout Middle Georgia.

It all goes to show that Saturday’s performances are by young people who truly love and are committed to dance, with ballet as an emphasis.

“These are dedicated students who are already studying several days a week at great dance studios across Macon-Bibb, Houston and Peach counties,” Crisp said. “They’ve passed an audition to be part of the Youth Ballet, which means an added dance session each week and more rehearsals for shows like this and performances we do around the community.”

Crisp said participation in the Youth Ballet shows dancers’ desire to take their art to another level. Some want to make dance a major part of their young lives, she said, while others will take their studies further at the university or conservatory level. A few may even become professional dance teachers, choreographers or dancers.

She said interest in MGYB and MGYB II shows the ongoing relevance of classical ballet studies alongside modern dance genres.

The dance community wants rigorous training and the Youth Ballet fills that need, Crisp said.

“The fact that we’re maxed out and can’t fit anybody else in really speaks to the state of dance these days,” Crisp said. “Young dancers want to be involved and up their level of training. We’re so happy the Middle Georgia Youth Ballet can be part of that.”

Still, Crisp said MGYB doesn’t ignore modern and contemporary dance forms such as hip-hop, jazz and West African dance.

“We really try to hit techniques of all styles, but then we come back to ballet,” she said. “We want our students to be well-rounded, but we want them to have that solid foundation in ballet. I think that’s what the students expect as well.”

Crisp also commented on differences between dancers of the past and today’s young dancers, living in a new age of social media.

“I can’t say exactly who their heroes are in the world of dance in the same way I might have years ago,” Crisp said. “But I know this: I know young dancers, including our girls, watch a lot of dance on TikTok and Instagram. That has a lot of influence. Tiler Peck with the New York City Ballet has a big online presence, and I think the girls are looking at a choreographer named Molly Long of Project 21, who’s very popular.”

Tickets for “Let’s Go to the Movies” are $10 for students and $15 for adults. Tickets are available at the door and in advance at the Douglass Theatre, 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., and the Jean Evans Weaver Center for Dance, 117 Orange St. Find more information and follow the Youth Ballet on Instagram or contact them at midgayouthballet@gmail.com.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com. Find him on Instagram @michael_w_pannell.