Verb CLICKS (Creative Liasons Inspiring Cleveland’s KidS) March 30, 2008

[Dan Kilbane]

For Immediate Release

Contacts:
At Verb Ballets: 			For Media:  
Margaret Carlson 				Dan Kilbane
216.397.3757, ext. 3			216.513.3654
mcarlson at verbballets.org			kilbanedan at yahoo.com
www.verbballets.org
       
Verb CLICKS (Creative Liasons Inspiring Cleveland’s
KidS)
Second Annual Collaboration with STEPS ON BROADWAY
With the support of the Cleveland Foundation

March 30, 2008


February 21, 2008 -- Cleveland, OH -- Verb Ballets,
Cleveland’s National Repertory Dance Company, presents
Verb CLICKS on Sunday, March 30, 2008, in the dance
studio at Ideacenter, located at Playhouse Square. On
this full day of activities, Verb hosts dance
programming for youth and families that includes
master classes, taught by master teachers from STEPS
ON BROADWAY, and a repertory workshop, taught by Verb
Ballets. For more information, call Verb at
216.397.3757 or go to www.verbballets.org.

Verb CLICKS will consist of classes in Yoga for Dance,
Ballet, Modern, Musical Theatre and a Repertory Class
utilizing movement themes from Verb’s repertory. 
During the Repertory Class, Verb Ballets will be
selecting talented students to intern and perform with
Verb Ballets over the summer.  Lunch will be included
and registration is limited to 50 people.  Four master
teachers, from STEPS ON BROADWAY, will also award
scholarships to the New York school. Verb CLICKS is
the culmination of a season-long effort to engage,
educate and expose youth of varying ages to the power
and beauty of contemporary dance, ultimately fostering
a love of dance for lifelong patrons.   Verb enlists
professional dancers from Steps on Broadway, a
prestigious dance community training center based in
New York, to teach master classes in modern dance,
musical theatre and ballet.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to study dance with
these amazing Master Teachers from New York City and
to possibly earn a Summer Scholarship to STEPS ON
BROADWAY or a summer internship with Verb Ballets!

Verb CLICKS rates:
•	$55.00 per student for full day (includes all 4
classes, catered lunch, and repertory workshop).
•	$20.00 per student per class (pre-registered) or
$25.00 per student per class at the door.

Master Teachers:
Pam Pribisco, Yoga for Dancers			9:30am – 10:15am
Born in Ohio, she was a founding member of the
Cleveland Ballet, and served as the ballet mistress
for the company. She has been on the faculty of the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York, the
Joffrey Ballet School, and teaches annually at the
Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival.  Ms. Pribisco was the
ballet mistress for Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte
Carlo.  She staged and choreographed many of the works
in their repertoire.  She was profiled in the New York
Times for her work with the company.  She also writes
for the international dance publication Pointe
Magazine, advising young dancers on various aspects of
their careers.

Alexander Tressor, Classical Ballet	10:30am- 12:00pm
Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Tressor spent his
early years traveling with his mother in the Moscow
Circus.  At age six, he appeared on Russian television
and went on to star in numerous television, film and
theatrical productions.  In 1976, the family
immigrated to New York City.  At the age of seventeen,
he started studying ballet with David Howard, and
later at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet with
his father, Andrei Kramarevsky, former principal
dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.  He continued his
studies with Stanley Williams and Richard Rapp at SAB
and, while on tour with Sophisticated Ladies in Moscow
in 1988, with Assaf Messerer at the Bolshi Theater. 
Alexander danced in SAB’s annual workshops with the
New York City Ballet in The Tchaikovsky Festival in
1981.  He has also dance with Malmö State Theater in
Sweden, the Connecticut Ballet Theater and many other
companies.  Along with performing, Alexander has
directed and choreographed numerous industrial shows
and commercials.  In 1988, Alexander began working on
new theater projects and created his own company
tressorgroup with his friend and producer Nolen
Bailey.  The company has received critical acclaim
from The New York Times, The Village Voice and
numerous Russian-language media publications.

Kristina Berger, Modern, Horton Technique	12:15pm –
1:15pm
Originally from Washington, D.C., Kristina performed
original Lester Horton works for the Library of
Congress Dance Concert Series restaged by Don Martin. 
She was a two-year scholarship student at Jacob’s
Pillow and studied with James Truitte, Carmen de
Lavallade, Milton Myers, Bella Lewitzky, and Ana-Marie
Forsythe.  After earning a BA in dance at American
University and an Outstanding Dance Major Award by
National Dance Association, she studied at Alvin Ailey
American Dance Center, where she performed sections of
“Revelations.”  Kristina has danced with the Joyce
Trisler Danscompany, Washington Opera Ballet, Dana Tai
Soon Burgess & Co. at The Kennedy Center, and The
ShadowBox Theater.  She has toured nationally with
Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus, Cirque Le
Masque, and The Kennedy Center production of “The
Nightingale” ballet.  She has taught and demonstrated
Horton classes for both children and adults in
Washington, D.C., and in New York at Peridance Center
and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, as well as the
NYC public schools.  Kristina Berger now performs
Isadora Duncan repertoire and teaches workshops with
Dance Visions Co. and is a member of BALAM (Balinese
American) Dance Theater.

Lisa Harvie, Musical Theatre Dance		2:00pm – 3:15pm
An accomplished dancer and choreographer, Lisa Harvie
began her training in Ottawa, Canada, at the Cumbrae
Dance Centre.  She holds her teaching certificates in
jazz, tap and highland through the British Association
of Dancing and attained the Advanced level of ballet
under the Royal Academy. (R.A.D.)  She has performed
with both The Ottawa Ballet and Les Grands Ballets
Canadiens.  Ms. Harvie holds a B.A. in Criminology
from the University of Toronto, which she achieved
while continuing her dance training at Metro Movement
and Randolph School of the Arts.  Since moving to New
York, Lisa has performed in a U.S. tour of West Side
Story, and has appeared nationally in productions of
Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma (Dream Laurey), Footloose,
Scrooge and Singin’ in the Rain.  She played the role
of Louise in Carousel at Stages St. Louis and
performed in My Fair Lady for both Houston Theatre
Under the Stars and Dallas Summer Musicals.  She has
worked as Associate Choreographer on two productions
at the Gateway Playhouse in New York and continues to
teach at workshops and conventions throughout Canada
and the United States.  Lisa teaches in New York at
Steps on Broadway as well as the Connecticut Dance
Conservatory in Stratford.  She is on faculty at both
schools within the jazz, tap and theater departments.

Verb CLICKS is a community effort in conjunction with
dance schools in North East Ohio.  The Cleveland
Foundation underwrites this program.

The Ideacenter at Playhouse Square is located at 1375
Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115. It is right in the
heart of Playhouse Square at the intersection of E.
14th Street and Euclid Ave.  The Ideacenter is two
doors west of the Allen Theatre. 

Major sponsors of Verb Ballets include AHS Foundation;
Akron Community Foundation, The Bascom Little Fund;
Millie L. Carlson; RSIS: a NASA Glenn Contractor; The
Cleveland Foundation; Cuyahoga Arts and Culture; The
George Gund Foundation; Kulas Foundation; The Laub
Foundation; Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, The
McGregor Foundation; John P. Murphy Foundation; The
National Endowment for the Arts; The Ohio Arts
Council; and Playhouse Square.  Additional individual
sponsors include Charles and Sandy Abookire, Chuck and
Ann Ennis, and Norma and Jeffrey Glazer. 

DANSKIN is the official 2007-2008 sponsor of Verb
Ballets.  Additional Verb sponsors include Baumgarten
& Company, LLP; Cedar Hill Communications; Fitworks;
Mann Jewelers; PrimeZone Media; Shima Limo, WCLV, and
WCPN.

Steps on Broadway is a special community of artists
where the individuality and potential of each dance
student is realized.  Located on the Upper West Side
in New York City, Steps encompasses ten studios filled
with natural light, a dancewear boutique and café,
which all contribute to the uniquely creative
environment of Steps.  Each day over 50 classes are
offered from beginning to advanced levels in a wide
range of styles and techniques.  Throughout the year,
Steps incorporates into its schedule special master
classes, educational programs and performances.  With
an unwavering passion, Steps strives to be the
cultural core of the dance community by reaching for
excellence in our instruction, arts programming, and
facilities and in our support of the artists and
community we serve.  Whether a seasoned performer or a
beginning adult, you will enjoy a creative experience
at these legendary studios.  Steps is open seven days
a week.

Verb Ballets is now in its sixth season under the
leadership of Artistic Director Hernando Cortez,
Executive Director Dr. Margaret Carlson, an energetic
staff and its dedicated Board of Trustees, who have
established Verb as Cleveland’s premiere dance
repertory company. Verb Ballets was named one of “25
to Watch in 2004” by Dance Magazine, the country’s
leading news magazine covering dance and again in
February 2008 named “one of 5 ‘great Tiny Troupes” in
America! Verb Ballets discovers, collects, interprets
and stages choreography that matters to the region and
to the world of dance. As a curator of expressive
movement that is globally connected and nationally
respected, Verb Ballets has a mandate to support and
foster emerging talent, present excellence in
contemporary choreographers and revive and honor
modern dance classics. 

Please call Verb Ballets at 216-397-3757 for more
information.




      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?  
Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.  http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping