Taking It To The Next Level

The Berlin school year had just ended when Margot Paul and Megan Leary began gearing up for more training.  These two Berlin youths auditioned for and were accepted into the acclaimed Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts International Pre-Professional Summer Training Program.  Only 35 students from across the country were selected to participate in this two-week intensive ballet program.  The Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, located in the downtown cultural district of Torrington, was founded in 1969 by ballet teacher Sharon Dante, and is recognized as a leading professional ballet training organization in the United States, and is also accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance.  Nutmeg offers two intensive programs; a year-round Residency Program, as well as a Summer Program in which Paul and Leary attended.

Using the same approach as their year-round Residency Program, Nutmeg developed a summer program as a platform for training serious-minded students who also wish to be involved in high-quality performance opportunities. Auditions occurred across the United States on various dates from January through April.  The Pre-Professional program that Paul and Leary participated in was specially designed for the highly motivated younger female and male dancer aged 10 to 14 years old.  All resident students in this program were housed in the main dormitory building complex and limited to 35 live-in students. The curriculum included 14 days of rigorous study in Classical Ballet Technique, Pointe (a dance performed on the tips of the toes), Pas de Deux (a dance for two people, typically a man and a woman), Classical Male and Female Variations, Theory Study, Repertoire (dance pieces that a company or dancer is prepared to perform), Modern Repertoire, Study of Ballet Methodology, and a new course in Bio-Mechanics (the science of movement of a living body, including how muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments work together to produce movement).  As a bonus, the Nutmeg summer students were invited to visit Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts where they experienced America's longest-running international dance festival.

Margot Paul, an incoming eighth grader at McGee School, took her first ballet class when she was 3-years-old. She studied other dance forms such as jazz, tap, and hip-hop as a young child but began a more in-depth practice of ballet in West Hartford at Ballet Theatre Company only 3 years ago.  She was cast in the role of Clara in BTC’s 2010 Nutcracker under the artistic direction of Roman Baca.  In addition to ballet, Paul currently studies pointe, modern, and repertoire at BTC, and is a member of BTC’s Junior Dance Company.  Megan Leary, an incoming freshman at Berlin High School, began ballet at the age of 4 and has studied dance at Miss Caroline’s School of Dance in Berlin for the past 11 years. Leary’s passion is ballet, but she also immerses herself in other dance forms such as tap, jazz, and pointe.  Leary also participated in the Newington Children’s Theater for 2 years, and more recently was a member of the McGee School Drama Club.

On the last day of their 2-week intensive, Paul, Leary and the other pre-professional students captivated their audience with a demonstration and performance in the Nutmeg Premier Studio.  The dancers began with barre and center work staged by Victoria Mazzarelli.  Eleanor D’Antuono, Victoria Mazzarelli, and Susan Szabo collaborated in the staging of variation experts from the classical ballets “La Bayadere” and “Paquita”.  The dancers then moved to a powerful Modern improvisation staged by Jonathan Eden.  Mazurka from “Paquita” staged by Timothy Melady then followed, and Nutmeg Principal Ron Alexander’s staging of Waltz of the Hours from “Coppelia” concluded the show.  Akemi Kerber was the pianist for the event; instructors Joan Kunsch and Steven Apatow were also in attendance. 

Paul and Leary intend to continue their ballet training with a lot of hard work and determination, and look forward to practicing what they learned at Nutmeg and where it will take them.   Both girls agreed “The teachers at Nutmeg really pushed us hard.  They made sure we were having fun too.  We were dancing 8 hours a day, every day.  The R.A.’s were great. When we went there we didn’t know anyone…we didn’t even know each other…but we made friendships that will last forever. We met people just like us from all over the United States…Maine, Colorado, Massachusetts, Arizona, Maryland, Texas…everywhere.  At Nutmeg we realized how much we really love to dance.  We’ve got big dreams, and we’re going to follow them.”