Ballet is an art made BY people; OF people, and FOR people. The choreographer is much like a painter who creates an image through the use of paint and brushes. The choreographer uses space as the canvas and creates the image with dancers’ bodies.
Watching a choreographer create a new work is exciting, inspiring, and exhilarating.
Right now, SNB is housed at the Steinway Piano Gallery and Music School until the renovations of our new home at 500 East Moana Lane in Reno are completed, and it is an amazingly beautiful experience to see new original works by eight different choreographers being created in this elegant shared space as SNB prepares for our annual Brew, Brats & Ballet (BBB) program. Each choreographer has magically inhabited the Steinway Gallery, and each choreographic piece is completely different in style and content.
Jennifer August has done an emotionally beautiful modern piece, The Imposter, to the music of Julian Scherle about the inner critical voice that is inside each of us. Jen told me, “I am constantly bothered by this extremely critical voice inside my head whom I have named ‘Bruce.’ I wanted to create a work that depicts the struggle of dealing with the inner critic within all of us.”
Oliver Adams has taken a completely different path. Oliver said, “Jump in the Line is a playful dance with lively, upbeat movements to capture the carefree spirit of the song. The audience should feel like they have been transported to a tropical island with the energetic, calypso inspired choreography.”
Alexander Biber has choreographed what he calls, “a silly piece for the sake of being silly.” Biber’s piece is an entertaining short story ballet based on the fable of The Frog Prince.
Sara Weir is a principal dancer with SNB and this is her first piece of choreography. She has chosen to create a lyrical neoclassical style ballet to the inspiring music by Jerome Kern arranged for solo piano by Ronald Williams that will be performed live by her husband, pianist Jayson Weir.
SNB soloist Anthony McMenamy decided to join forces with another SNB company dancer, Karrina Ferris, to create a very contemporary choreographic piece about embracing the now in our lives. Anthony told us, “ I have grown up with and enjoyed dancing with Karrina for years, and I thought it would be an uplifting and gratifying experience to create a choreographic work together.”
Veteran Choreographer and Founder of the UNR Dance Program Barbara Land has chosen to choreograph to the music of Schindler’s List. Her piece is about experiencing faith on a higher level. Barbara said, “ I love choreographing on the SNB dancers because I always feel supported. The dancers really get me.”
Ananda Bena-Weber contributes two wonderful contemporary ballet pieces to this year’s BBB: an excerpt of her audience-acclaimed full-length story ballet, Dracula, which premiered in October of 2023. It will be repeated by audience request in October of 2024, and a new piece inspired by the collaboration between SNB and the Steinway Piano Gallery and Music School. Ananda heard the talented pianist Albina Asryan, and she said that they “immediately felt a great spiritual and artistic connection.” This piece will be presented as a duet between dancer and musician. Ananda will dance a solo as Albina plays the solo piano.
My contribution will be very classical this year with two small excerpts of our full-length story ballet, Sleeping Beauty-A Fairy’s Tale that will be presented this summer in Reno, Carson and Lake Tahoe.
Being at the Steinway Gallery has not only inspired us, it has made it possible for us to use talented musicians playing live on our 2024 BBB program. This experience proves that joining together creates better art and a better world, and this is only the start for us. SNB is on a grand new adventure, creating the Northern Nevada Performing Arts Collective with Steinway Piano Gallery and Music School; Sierra School of Performing Arts; Silver State Story Tellers (filmmakers); T&L Media (arts marketing); Dr. Jayson Weir; Dance PT Carri Cameron and Healthy Performers Nevada; Satori Dancewear, and local visual artists from the community – all under the same roof.
SNB will perform Brew, Brats & Ballet (2024) at 7:30 PM on April 20, 2024 at the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City and on May 3, 4 at 7:30 PM and on May 5 at 2 PM at the Reno Little Theater. Join us to see a diverse, eclectic, exciting program of brand new short choreographic works introduced by the choreographers themselves.
For tickets or information about SNB, the SNB Academy and the Northern Nevada Performing Arts Center, visit www.sierranevadaballet.org or call: 775-360-8663.
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.