Bering Sea Ballet puts on first dance recital
On Saturday, May 11, Bering Sea Ballet put on their first dance recital, a culmination of nearly two months of hard work for many student dancers across the Nome community.
The dancers and their families gathered in the gym of Nome Elementary School where volunteers had placed gymnasium mats for the artists to dance on.
Dressed in black leotards and skirts, the dancers treated their audience to four numbers. The youngest dancers started the recital with a routine to the song “Flowers in the Garden.” Then, the older dancers of Bering Sea Ballet performed to the song “Rewrite the Stars.”
The third dance was a number from a Youth Acro (Acrobatics) dance class that partnered with Bering Sea Ballet to put on the recital.
The fourth and final dance was an acro solo performed by seventh grader Noel Pardee.
Bering Sea Ballet is in its first season. Its founder, Rabekka Bickford shared how the brand-new dance group got its start. “I recruited the teachers (Brodie Kimmel and Kimberly Grimmer). We sought help from NSHC CAMP department for funding for the ballet bars and the space rental,” Bickford said. “We met once a week. We work on fundamentals of ballet then choreography.”
As the month wore on, Bering Sea Ballet focused on their upcoming recital. “Kimberly Grimmer choreographed the dances and chose the music,” Bickford said. “Brodie and I decided on the costume: a formal ballet audition outfit.”
After Bering Sea Ballet’s two performances, the recital veered to the acro performance, choreographed by Noel Pardee and her mother Marta Pardee and, finally, Noel Pardee’s solo. The audience was delighted to see the level of talent in advanced dancer, Noel Pardee’s solo, “Hide and Seek,” choreographed by Katelyn Ettinger from CTRL Acrobatics.
“Noel started dancing when she was five-years-old,” said her mother, Marta Pardee, “For the last two years, almost all of her dance instruction has been on Zoom. She dances all styles of dance including hip hop, jazz, ballet, contemporary, modern, acro, and tap. Contemporary and acro are her favorites. She will spend a lot of the summer attending dance intensives.”
Noel Pardee intends to take her solo to competition in Anchorage, later in the year.
Besides showcasing her own dancing talent, Noel Pardee also demonstrated her leadership skills, helping to teach and choreograph the acro dance routine.
“Noel loved dancing and teaching the Youth Acro class in Nome and sharing her passion for dance with the community,” Marta Pardee said.
All in all, Bickford feels like the inaugural dance recital was a success.
“I felt the performance went well. The children worked hard and took pride in their work. More importantly, they had fun performing. We had a good audience turn out. I would hope for even more of the town to turn up next time.”
Bering Sea Ballet’s next session of instruction and performance starts in October.