With live performances being canceled all over the world, the art of Ballet is adapting rapidly. As my dear friend Kevin McKenzie (Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre ) puts it: “…the art form of ballet, until it returns to theaters or live performance, will take a secondary role to the art form of filming it for the foreseeable future.”
At SNB we are fortunate to have found two very skilled, imaginative young men (Lyric Burt and Taylor Wilson of TL Solutions) to tackle the job of filming dance for virtual performances.
TL Solutions offers services that include photography, video production, web design, digital and social media, marketing, and financial processes. Taylor is the “left brained” member of the team with a background in business, financial analysis and technology while Lyric is “right brained” and killed in storytelling, editing, photography, and developing marketing campaigns that captivate audiences and promote brand-awareness for clients.
I had the good fortune to meet Lyric when SNB began to present Brew, Brats and Ballet annually at the Reno Little Theater, where Lyric was in charge of creating digital marketing campaigns to attract audiences. At the same time, Taylor hired a Financial Intern at Crisis Support Services of Nevada who happened to be married to one of our SNB dancers. Lyric told me: “Taylor and I immediately fell in love with SNB as we are both dance fans thanks to our mentor, Bruce Keller, at Portland State University’s College of the Arts: School of Theater & Film. We spent many nights at Bruce’s house sipping bourbon and talking set and lighting design for dance productions that Bruce had worked on. The work TL Solutions is doing with SNB
feels like one of the most natural paths we have taken. We have the education and background to appreciate the art of what SNB does and to translate that to a digital platform.”
Working in the theater is a natural fit for Lyric: “My family first moved to the Reno area in the early 1990’s when I was about eight years old. My father is a musician and my mother loved the theatre, so I was put on a stage as soon as I could walk.” In elementary school, Lyric became part of the TMCC Talent Academy, performed on stage throughout middle and high school and in his senior year went back to the TMCC campus to study video broadcasting and media production. “This program changed my life and gave me the fundamental skills to build a career in media production,” he told me.
In 2010 Lyric and his partner, Taylor, moved to Oregon to attend Portland State University’s College of the Arts: School of Theatre & Film. Lyric shared that they both chose to earn degrees together in the same program: “It was our dream to work together in theater and media production.”
After graduation, the pair moved back to Reno, and Lyric was “blessed” to be hired as Company Manager at Reno Little Theater where he learned what it takes to run a theatre production company. After almost five years with Reno Little Theater, the couple were in a financial position to start their own corporation and invest in high-quality media production equipment.
TL Solutions has converted Reno Little Theater’s rehearsal hall into their temporary studio while the theatre is shuttered because of COVID-19. Lyric said: “We’re doing our best to make lemonade from lemons to provide new and innovative solutions for our clients.”
SNB is presently working on creating two virtual productions with TL Solutions for 2020 and early 2021. Editing a virtual dance production presents quite a challenge for Lyric, especially when dancers meet on Zoom: “Not every phone and laptop records video at the same frame rate, so that has contributed to the dancers seeming out of sync, and I have to compensate for that in editing.”
Despite all the challenges, Lyric and Taylor are very inspired and optimistic about their work: “We’ve looked COVID in the face and are finding solutions that will ensure our clients are able to weather the storm until we can once again gather together in person to present live performances.”
Besides working with SNB, TL Solutions (TLSNV.co) works with the Reno Little Theater, Crisis Support Services of Nevada and TMCC to produce virtual content to be distributed to audiences via platforms like Vimeo On-Demand, virtual classes, and live-streamed events.
To find out more about SNB virtual programming or SNB Academy Hybrid and Zoom classes, visit www.sierranevadaballet.org.
Alexander Cain Biber (Principal Dancer/ Ballet Master/ Choreographer in Residence/Teacher) grew up in a performing arts family and has loved theater and performing from an early age. He began his ballet training, at the age of 14, with Rosine Bena at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center – studying ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theater. In 2003, Alexander became an apprentice with Sierra Nevada Ballet and was promoted to the first company in 2006, to soloist in 2008, and to Principal in 2012.
Jennifer Lightfoot-Johnson (Grant Writer and Development Consultant) comes to SNB with 16 years of experience, both professionally and as a volunteer, in grant writing and working in the nonprofit sector.
Jennifer Boyle August (Guest Teacher/Choreographer) discovered her love of dance in Reno, Nev. During her time at Reno High School, Jennifer took a Modern class at TMCC, with instruction in Graham, Luigi, and Horton dance technique. While Jennifer was educated in other areas of dance, she felt these styles spoke to her more than anything else. After graduating from Reno High School, she moved to Boston to study dance with Joan Palladino at Dean College where she received her Associate’s Degree in Dance. She was then hand-selected by Judith Jamison to study at Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive program in New York City.
Sara Weir (Demi Soloist) was born in Provo, Utah, and started ballet at age three. She trained in dance with Trisha Wilstead at Rocky Mountain Dance and then trained with Brittany Squires and Heather Gray at Jaquiline’s School of Ballet. She performed professionally with Showcase and Theater Ballet at Brigham Young University, Utah Regional Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet.
Carlee Bertero (Soloist/ Teacher) was born in northern Nevada and began studying dance at an early age at Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts in Reno. Carlee was invited to join the Sierra Nevada Ballet Apprentice program in 2012; was raised to the first company in 2013; to featured corps member in 2016, to Demi-Soloist in 2017, and to Soloist in 2021. She has performed in many SNB story ballets such as Peanutcracker-The Story In A Nutshell, Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty-A Fairy’s Tale, A Midsummer Nights Dream- A Steam Punk Ballet, and Twelfth Night-A Ballet Noir. She has performed as a featured dancer with SNB annually in Dancing By The River as part of Reno’s Artown Festival and in SNB’s annual Brew Brats and Ballet in Reno and Carson City.
Domingo Rubio (Second Permanent Guest Artist/Guest Teacher) is SNB’s second Permanent Guest Artist as of May 2005. He has danced professionally for some 30 years. Domingo has danced with the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet Hispanico and was featured in the Robert Altman film, The Company. Rubio danced the role of Maxfield Parrish in SNB’s, A Painter’s Love Story and is a featured artist in SNB’s Dancing By the River and annual ballet classics.
Sam Weber (First Permanent Guest Artist/ Guest Teacher) is SNB’s first Permanent Guest Artist and is a founding member of the Company. He was one of the first permanent guest artists of The Reno Ballet under the direction of Rosine Bena. Weber danced with the Joffery Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and The Jazz Tap Ensemble. Besides being a fine ballet dancer, Weber is considered one of the greatest tap dancers in the world. He is known as “the fastest feet in tap.”
Gina Nelson (SNB Company Coordinator for Carson City and SNB Board Member) is originally from Napa Valley, Calif., and a long-time supporter of the arts and arts education. Gina worked as a crisis prevention specialist in a day treatment elementary school and was a counselor/teacher in a non-public school for at-risk boys.
Steven M. Porter (SNB Board President/SNB CEO) is a long-time devotee of the arts. Originally from the East Coast, Steve was raised with love and devotion to all the arts.
Cathy Mercer (SNB Company Coordinator for Reno/Managing Director/Board Member) grew up in Carson City and is a former dancer with a long-time devotion to the art form.
Ananda Bena-Weber (Associate Director, Dance Artist/ Ballerina/Principal/Teacher) is a principal dancer and NY award-winning artist and the Associate Director of the Sierra Nevada Ballet and a founding member. She has danced professionally as a soloist with the Reno Ballet when it was formed in 1994/95 and 1996. She danced with Perspectives Dance Theatre and Fascinating Rhythm Productions. She has appeared as a featured soloist with Sam Weber performing in Morton Gould’s “Concerto for Tap Dancer and Orchestra” throughout the SF Bay Area. She has appeared in principal roles in several original dance works such as Take Me To The River and Blue Rondo, and classics such as Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, and Paquita.
Rosine Bena (Founder and Artistic Director/Master Teacher)
Sophia Riella (Trainee) was born in Truckee, Calif. She started ballet at the age of two with Sherrie Petersen, Sierra Ballet School and continued there for six years while also studying Irish and Scottish Dance with Lindsey Marccaci in Lake Tahoe and at Truckee Dance Factory doing competition dance. She has also studied classical music, composing, and piano with Elaine Courtney and has studied voice with Stephanie McMoy.
Erin Garman (First Year Company) began dancing at the age of 12 at Scene Stealers Theatre Arts where she trained in jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, and ballet. She later began training with Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts where she continued training in many styles and at Sierra Nevada Ballet Academy where she first met Rosine Bena, and started getting more serious about ballet, also dancing with Spiral Ballet.
Maya Macias (Trainee) was born in Houston, Texas into a military family. While her family was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, at age two and a half years old, Maya began studying dance at the Children’s Ballet Theater because she wanted to go to “ballerina school. “ Maya continued her ballet training at Space Coast Ballet and when she was six years old, she began performing with Space Coast Ballet in the Nutcracker.
Olivia Mann (SNB Summer Demi Soloist) began studying at the age of four at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, and the Dallas Ballet Center and later trained at Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Heather Rodriguez (Trainee) started dancing at nine years old in Corpus Christi, Texas. She continued studying Ballet, Contemporary, and Jazz throughout her childhood with Corpus Christi Concert Ballet.