Jun 22

Modern Masterclass with Alexis Britford

By Ohio Contemporary Ballet News

The Verb Ballets Center for Dance hosts Alexis Britford for a very special community Modern Dance masterclass series.

Alexis has been a professional modern dancer for over 12 years, and is an inspiring educator. She has danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, GroundWorks DanceTheater, Lula Washington Dance Theater and Neos Dance Theatre. Students will learn to move with grounded grace and basic modern dance technique, as well as fun choreography!

All ages and ability levels welcome, 14 years and older. This is an IN STUDIO masterclass. Drop-in class rates or ten-class passes can be used to attend. Socks, bare feet, or ballet slippers are recommended. Masks required for unvaccinated individuals.

July 17, 2021 at 1:00pm AND/or July 31, 2021 at 1:00pm

Photo: Kevin Inthavong

Register Now! Space is Limited

Alexis Britford

Alexis Britford, originally from Columbus, Ohio, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts’ high school Classical Ballet program and has a BFA, summa cum laude, in Dance Performance from Wright State University. During her undergraduate studies, she was a member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company (DCDC2) and upon graduation was promoted to the professional company, where she enjoyed seven seasons touring both domestically and internationally. Ms. Britford was also a company member of GroundWorks DanceTheater for two seasons. As an independent artist, Ms. Britford performed with Lula Washington Dance Theater, Neos Dance Theatre and returned to her alma mater, Wright State University, as an adjunct in the dance department. She has been performing and teaching professionally for over 13 years.

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Jun 22

Love4

Triptych

By Ohio Contemporary Ballet News

In 1968, Heinz Poll, along with his partner and lighting designer, Thomas Skelton, founded The Chamber Ballet, later to become Ohio Ballet. Under Heinz Poll’s leadership, the Ohio Ballet presented its subscription series in Akron and Cleveland, offering free outdoor summer performances throughout northeastern Ohio and toured to more than forty states as well as internationally. Heinz Poll was a major contributor to the arts in Northeast Ohio until he passed and the company folded in 2006.

Ohio Ballet premiered Triptych on April 8, 1988, at EJ Thomas Hall in Akron. Ohio Ballet was the only company to perform this work and it was a staple in its repertory for years. Verb Ballets Associate Artistic Director, Richard Dickinson, MFA is former Ohio Ballet dancer and owns the licensing rights to five of Poll’s ballets. He has set all five on Verb Ballets, helping to keep the legacy of Heinz Poll alive.

Directors’ Choice: June 26, 2021

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Heinz Poll

Heinz Poll was born in Oberhausen, Germany, in 1926. Poll was a champion ice skater before he became a dancer. His experience on the rinks imbued him with a love of speed that he expressed in his athletic baroque ballet, Cascade (1985). After World War II, he studied dance at Joss’s Folkwang School in Essen, began his professional career at the Municipal Theatre in Goettingen and became a principal dancer with the Berlin State Opera Ballet. In 1951, he joined the National Ballet of Chile as a dancer, ballet master, and teacher. The company’s tradition of bringing serious programs to indigenous people in remote mountain villages served as the model for Ohio Ballet’s Summer Festival of free outdoor performances. In 1962, Poll joined Ballet de Jeunesse Musicales de France as ballet master. Two years later, he came to the United States as a guest artist with the Chilean company. He performed in the American Dance Festival the following summer and stayed in New York to teach at Thalia Mara’s National Academy of Ballet. In Akron, he developed Ohio Ballet into one of America’s most polished, respected, and widely traveled chamber dance troupes. Poll was awarded the Association of Ohio Dance Companies Award in 1983, the Cleveland Arts Prize in 1995, and the Ohio Arts Council’s Governor’s Award in 1999. After his retirement, he wrote his memoir and has conferred a number of his ballets to former Ohio Ballet dancers. Poll passed away in 2006.

Photo: Ott Gangl