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2006
The Magic Toyshop (La Boutique Fantasque)
Southern NH Youth Ballet will present The Magic Toyshop on Sunday, March 12th at 1:00pm and 4:00pm. Tickets are priced at $18.00 and $22.00, (plus a $3 Box Office Fee). This is a great family event! The Magic Toyshop is choreographed to a Gioacchine Rossini score arranged by Ottorino Respighi. Peter Pawlyshyn, Associate Artistic Director & Ballet Master from Eugene Ballet Company brings this one act work to life with brilliant character dances. The tarantella, mazurka, Russian dance and can-can are only a prelude to the beautiful pas de deux of the Principal Dolls.

Synopsis: Two families enter a toy shop in search of beautiful dolls to buy their naughty children. With the toy shop owner nearly broke and destitute, he and his wife aim to please and make a sale. The spoiled children can not be pleased, no matter how beautiful and wonderful each toy doll presented is. Finally the most wonderful dolls are brought out for show and sale, the Principal Dolls. This is the toy shop owner's last chance. The children are ecstatic! Each family wants to purchase one of the dolls, but this means that the beautiful couple, who are so much in love, will be broken up. What to do? All the toy dolls are distraught and plan to save the principal couple. They agree to put the naughty children in their place and teach them a lesson. What seems to be of no hope is saved in the end by love and friendship.

SNHYB will also present other repertory works, both classical and contemporary, on the program. This includes a brand new work called Strings in Three Movements by special guest choreographer Chiara Ajkun of Ajkun Ballet Theatre in New York City. Jeremy Collins, former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater, will also be staging an original work titled Romanian Night in Gale on the company dancers. And look for a new modern piece, Turn the World Around, by artist-in-residence Melissa Desrosiers.

2005
Angelina Ballerina - The Understudy
This 30-minute long story ballet is based on the book "Angelina and the Princess" by Katharine Hollabird. Characters from the Angelina Ballerina book series as well as the popular PBS television series have been incorporated into the story.

At the end of dance class one afternoon, Miss Lilly tells the dancers about a special audition with the famous director Mr. Popoff for a performance he is organizing in honor of the Princess of Mouseland. All of the dancers are very excited and nervous. Angelina stays late for extra practice. The next morning when Angelina gets up, she is sick with a fever. Her mother tells her she cannot go to audition. Angelina is devastated, so she grabs her pointe shoes when her mother is not looking and sneaks out of the house. At Miss Lilly's studio, the dancers all audition for Mr. Popoff, and Angelina runs in very late. During her routine, Angelina falters and gets dizzy and falls down. It is announced that Angelina's friends Flora & Felicity are cast in the lead parts. Angelina bursts into tears and vows not to dance again. Her mother & father try to console her, but it is her best friends Alice & William who convince her to come and dance in the corps de ballet. Angelina learns her part very quickly and decides to understudy Flora & Felicity's parts as well.

When the night of the big show arrives, Mr. Popoff introduces Flora & Felicity to the Princess backstage. However, when Flora steps forward, she trips and hurts ankle. Mr. Popoff doesn't know what to do until Alice speaks up and tells him that Angelina knows the part. Angelina takes Flora's place, and Flora sits with Mr. Popoff and the Princess in the audience. Angelina and the other dancers perform beautifully and the Princess congratulates them all - especially Angelina for being a wonderful understudy.

Also on the program for Spring Fling:

  • Excerpts from the classical work Paquita, originally choreographed by (about 15 minutes).
  • Scarlatti Sonatas: A section from an original ballet piece choreographed by Artistic Director Patricia Lavoie (about 4 minutes).
  • Concierto de Aranjuez: A new contemporary ballet by Patricia Lavoie with a Spanish flair (about 6 minutes).
  • An original modern dance piece choreographed by Melissa Desrosiers to music from the movie soundtrack for Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron (about 4 minutes).

2004
In 2004, SNHYB ushered in the spring season with another exciting repertory concert. On May 20th and 21st at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH, the company presented a brand new ballet in the Madeline series, titled Madeline, Pepito & the Spanish Princess, conceived and choreographed by Artistic Director Patricia Lavoie. The dancers also presented Act II of the classic ballet Swan Lake with guest artist Jeremy Collins (former principal dancer with American Ballet Theater) partnering Amy Von Handorf in the lead roles of Odette and Prince Siegfried. Another featured piece was the famous pas de deux from August Bournonville's Flower Festival in Genzano: 1858. And, of course, the crowd also enjoyed the lively BEATLEMANIA, an original work by Patricia Lavoie set to familiar Beatles' tunes.

2003
Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet presented an encore performance of Madeline & The Red Shoes at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Additional works include the world-famous comedic ballet Graduation Ball, choreographed by David Lichine. Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet was granted special permission to perform the ballet. In addition to these two works, an original dance choreogarphed by Artistic Director Patricia Lavoie, titled Salute To America, was also performed.

2002
Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet celebrated the coming of spring on Saturday, March 2nd with a presentation of Madeline & the Red Shoes at the Palace Theatre in Manchester. Based on the beloved children's stories by French author and illustrator Ludwig Von Bemelmans, Madeline & the Red Shoes is a colorful ballet about the "twelve little girls in two straight lines" who live in Paris with their teacher, Miss Clavel. Upon the invitation of Artistic Director Patricia Lavoie, guest artist Kitty Seale (the ballet's choreographer and the Founder & Artistic Director of Alabama Dance Theatre) staged this colorful and light-hearted work for Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet. This delightful children's tale has already thrilled packed audiences in other areas of the country, including at a production by the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. In addition to Madeline & the Red Shoes, Southern NH Youth Ballet also performed Bolero, a technically difficult and breathtaking original work by Artistic Director Patricia Lavoie, as well as excerpts from the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty and modern choreography by artist-in-residence Melissa Desrosiers.

2001
In March 2001, Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet presented its first Spring Concert at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH - "Spring Fling: A Gala Event." The evening showcased a piece titled Valse Fantaisie, a work licensed to us by The George Balanchine Trust in New York City, as well as excerpts from Giselle, Copellia and other ballet and modern repertory works of the company. The students of Southern New Hampshire Youth Ballet had the extraordinary opportunity to work with Darla Hoover, a repetiteur of the George Balanchine Trust and former New York City Ballet soloist, and Jonathon Stafford, a current member of the New York City Ballet corps.