Extreme Ballet Company Debut Rocks Chicago Suburb

Electrifying ballet company mixes classical technique with hot-rhythm rock music, spandex, and attitude.

SKOKIE, IL -- Counter Pointe, a revolutionary new dance group blending classical ballet technique with contemporary rock music, will make its official public debut at the Skokie Public Library on March 23 at 3:30 PM. The library is located at 5215 Oakton in Skokie; admission is free.

The performing group is the brainchild of Arla Faye, artistic director and owner of North Shore Dance Center in Skokie.

Choreographer Twyla Tharp has experimented to some degree with mixing genres, most recently with the Broadway production of Moving Out," staged to the music of Billy Joel.

EXTREME BALLET
After attending a pre-Broadway engagement of Moving Out" in Chicago, Faye began toying with the idea of having her dancers perform to more upbeat music. She asked for the creative input of managing director Rikki Lee Travolta, an official spokesperson and professional delegate for National Dance Week. Travolta responded with rock music and tear-away spandex costumes.

We live in an era of extreme tastes," explains Travolta. What North Shore Dance Center has done is take traditional ballet and made it appealing to that extreme audience by giving it an attitude and a shot of adrenaline."

TO THE CORE
The hardcore ballet that will be premiered on Sunday, March 23, by the Counter Pointe group is choreographed by Faye and performed to the song Cowboy and the Ballerina" by razor-voiced rocker Mitch Malloy. At various points in the production the dancers are featured in zebra striped faux fur, gothic black spandex, and even traditional ballerina tutus.

Members of the elite performing group range in age from 12 to 15. The dancers are: Natalie Justinian (Skokie), Natalie Kaiser (Lincolnwood), Guydrudge Larue (Chicago), Amanda Lasher (Lincolnwood), Andrea Musolf (Lincolnwood), Samantha Nicholson (Skokie), Katherine Peyer (Skokie), and Vicky Rojas (Skokie).

BREAKING THE MOLD
North Shore Dance Center has a history of being revolutionary with pointe technique (dancing elevated on ones toes). Many dance studios offer only a small window in which dancers may begin to learn pointe, typically around age 12; Fayes program breaks that stereotyped approach and addresses dancers as individuals.

Every dancer is unique. For a child with professional ambitions, starting pointe training at 12 is too late," explains Faye who basis a childs readiness to go on based upon leg and ankle strength, not age. Professional companies begin seriously looking at recruits when they are 14; to be a viable contender requires more than two years of pointe training.

Stereotypical programs also discourage adult dancers from pursuing pointe training. Again breaking the mold, North Shore Dance Center does offer training to adults willing to put in the work to strengthen the appropriate muscles. The studio has adult pointe students approaching age 50 and going strong.

SHOWSTOPPING
Additional dancers appearing March 23 at the Skokie Public Library include:

The North Shore Dance Center Showstoppers: Miranda Borkan (Skokie), Alaina Fuller (Skokie), Jael Goldstein (Morton Grove), Melanie Gunn (Glenview), Natalie Kaiser (Lincolnwood), Brooke Mazur (Glenview), Rachael Rosario (Skokie), Katie Rothas (Chicago), Alma Sandoval (Lincolnwood), Jana Schnieder (Skokie), Michelle Smith (Skokie), and Sabriah Wiedeman (Morton Grove).

Junior Showstoppers: Ariel and Erica Berger (Wilmette), Wendy Boosel (Skokie), Jamie Borkan (Skokie), Kayla Hagaman (Skokie), Beth and Claire Henley (Park Ridge), Rachel Swento (Skokie), Natalie Taylor (Chicago), Michaela Wellems (Skokie), and Kaitlin Walsh (Skokie).

Hip Hop Hooray: Amanda Lasher (Lincolnwood), Guydrudge Larue (Chicago), Maria Loiotile (Morton Grove), and Michelle Smith (Skokie).

North Shore Dance Center is a dance and dramatic arts academy located at 8401 Crawford in Skokie and is easily accessible by public transportation from the North and Northwest Suburbs in Cook and Lake Counties. Classes are offered for ages 3 to adult in ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, hip hop, and ballroom. For additional information call (847) 674-2216.

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