Jan. 20, 2017. Ballet Arizona’s annual gala, “Dance With Me”, honored longtime Ballet Arizona and community supporters, Carol & Randy Schilling. The January 20th event was held at Phoenix Art Museum where more than 300 guests enjoyed a world premiere ballet by Artistic Director, Ib Andersen titled “The Evolution of a Dancer”. The performance featured students from various levels of The School of Ballet Arizona with choreography meant to showcase the skills, passion and dedication that students need to have in order to become professional ballet dancers, culminating in a Pas de Deux from two of Ballet Arizona’s company members. The committee, led by Chair Sharron Lewis and Co-Charis, A.J. Dickey, Gwen Hillis, and Ricki Dee Jennings raised more than $450,000 towards the ballet’s education and community outreach programs. Thanks to support from guests and events such as this, Ballet Arizona is able to expand its Dance for Parkinson’s class to twice weekly and create new programs such as Creative Aging for seniors. The highlight of the evening was the moment when the dance floor was filled with guests dancing with the professional ballet dancers while Jo & The Birdman provided the live music.
