Three local students will take the stage at Wolf Trap’s Theater in the Woods at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20 as part of the 39th annual International Children’s Festival. Coleen Calpin and Grace Rogers from Vienna, and Mimi Dabestani from Oakton, along with 12 other students from the Conservatory Ballet, will dance selections from several well known ballets.
Rogers, a 7th grade student at Thoreau Middle School, will perform the pas de deux from “Sleeping Beauty” with Adrian Lamoureux, a Reston resident and first year student at South Lakes High School. “Getting ready to perform at the festival takes a lot of energy and time,” said Rogers, “but it doesn’t seem like work because I love to dance.”
“We are very pleased and excited to be participating in the festival. For the past 37 years our Conservatory Ballet students have performed throughout the community, demonstrating an excellence achieved through dedication and passion that has helped them succeed in dance and in life,” said Julia Redick, founder and director of Conservatory Ballet. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their dancing with a wide audience, and, perhaps, spark interest in ballet,” Redick added.
The 15 Conservatory students performing at the festival range in ages from 12 to 16, come from across the Fairfax and Loudoun counties and have been dancing for an average of 9 years. “My mom signed me up for ballet,” said Colin Lamoureaux, a Langston Hughes student, “but I’ve stayed with it because I’ve made a lot of friends that I probably would have never even met.” At the festival they will perform excerpts from “Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake,” “Le Corsaire” and “Diana and Acteon.”
The Arts Council of Fairfax County organizes the International Children’s Festival. This year’s event takes place on Sept.19 and 20 with performers from more than 20 cultures, including Georgia, Serbia and Spain.
<i>Visit www.internationalchildrensfestival.org for more information or to purchase tickets online </i>