Brandywine Ballet Company Brings Professional Dance to West Chester
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Chester County residents don’t have to drive to Philadelphia or New York to enjoy ballet. The Brandywine Ballet stages three professional-quality performances each year right here in West Chester.
Established in 1978‚ the Brandywine Ballet Company consists of about 40 dancers‚ ages 11 to 16. A professional division of the company‚ the Brandywine Ballet Theatre‚ was added in 1999 and offers a more rigorous training and performance schedule for about 18 dancers‚ ages 14 to 25.
“I was born and raised in West Chester and received my ballet training here‚” says Donna Muzio‚ artistic director and founder of the Brandywine Ballet. “After high school‚ I went to New York for four years‚ and I always had a passion to bring professional ballet to the suburbs.”
After training professionally in New York and serving as principal dancer and ballet mistress with the Devon Festival Ballet in Philadelphia’s Main Line area‚ Muzio returned to her hometown and started the Brandywine Ballet.
Because of her efforts‚ Chester County citizens can enjoy classic ballets such as Dracula (performed every fall) and The Nutcracker (staged every December)‚ as well as a spring repertoire that changes each year and free outdoor summer performances at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square. Most of the ballet’s indoor performances are held at the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall in the Philips Memorial Auditorium on the West Chester University of Pennsylvania campus.
“We get very nice feedback from people‚ saying they really appreciate us being here‚” Muzio says. “The Brandywine Ballet has changed the flavor of Chester County and made a pretty nice impact. The Nutcracker has been sold out for the last three years.”
The Brandywine Ballet Theatre‚ which is part of West Chester University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts‚ also brings an outstanding classical repertoire to Chester County residents and has helped many dancers jump-start their careers.
“We’ve had close to 50 students go on to dance professionally‚ and we’re very proud of that‚” Muzio says. “We encourage our dancers to get a college degree‚ and when they’re 22‚ it’s much easier for us to send them off to New York because they have the polishing and maturity they need to succeed.”
For Muzio‚ the most rewarding part of working with the Brandywine Ballet is motivating and guiding the younger students.
“It’s very rewarding to make a young child into a young adult who’s a dancer‚” she says. “To be called a dancer is the highest compliment you can get.”
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Tisa Della-Volpe
Comments
I recently was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the BBc at the Rose Tree Festival in Media, Pa. The performances were absolutely flawless from my viewpoint. I was trying to view the upcoming performance dates and a description of such. My grandaughter is 10yrs old and I would love to bring her to one of the performances.
By anne pierce on 2008 07 31
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