July Summer Intensive 2017 | Mrs. Kathy Gasper

Happy Monday to you all. Today we want to introduce our first Summer Intensive instructor and founder of Gasper's School of Dance, Mrs. Kathy Gasper (Mrs. Gasper or Mrs. G to majority of us). Mrs. Gasper is a master instructor taking time out of her retirement in Florida to teach at our 2017 July Summer Intensive.

Currently Mrs. G resides in Florida, where she is enjoying the beach and choreographing at a local equity theatre, Florida Studio Theatre. She has just completed choreographing her 2nd show and will be back this fall for her 3rd production with the company. We are so glad they love her as much as we do!

We are just ecstatic that she will be back teaching this summer and bringing her knowledge of dance back to the area. To find out more about out founder and this talented woman, please read below.

KATHRYN GASPER

Kathy Gasper has an impressive classical background complimenting her appearances on the Broadway stage, television, cabarets, regional theaters, and summer stock productions. Kathy has been a soloist and principal dancer with the Milwaukee Ballet, Weisbaden Ballet, Illinois and Chicago Ballets, the Florentine Opera, the Chicago Opera Ballet and the Merion Cole Ballet.

Kathy’s professional musical comedy roles includes Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Bye Bye Birdie, Gypsy, Oklahoma, and Annie.

She has been privileged to have studied and performed under outstanding choreographers Lupe Surrano, Luigi, Jamie Rogers, Madame Clistove, Ellis DeBoulay, Peter Genaro, and Ron Fields. She was assistant choreographer for the Doc Severinson & Brothers and Sisters night club act at the Plaza Hotel in New York and Hawaii.

Kathy was the Founder and former artistic director of the Red River Dance and Performing Company 1979—1995 in Fargo, ND, and choreographed and was the director of the dance department at Trollwood Performing Arts School from 1981—1993.

Competition & G Crew Team Announcement

Thank you to everyone who came out and auditioned this past Saturday for our Competition Divison & G Crew team! You all did great even with the added pressure of Valley News Live stopping by (thanks for the surprise visit VNL).

Choosing the teams this year wasn't an easy task. We did some restructure & rearranging of the different team names as well. We really wanted to focus on matching dancers together that would form a well rounded team.

All members should initial next to their name at the studio if you accept the position on the team. The list to initial is on the bulletin board near studio M.

So withour further ado, your 2016 - 2017 GSD Competition Teams.

Mini

Alex Kirch

Prima-Wing

Dylan Johnson

Emma Kulla

Tegan Lancaster

Mateo Leslie

Camille Miller

Lauren Philbrick

Premiere-Wing

Kyla Andvik

Sofia Astolfi

ArieAnna Chandler

Ava Jung

James Kirch

Drew Noah

Demi-Wing

Emma Hetland

Isabella Kirch

Kate Schelske

Grace Tuton

The above list is in no particular order. Again, we wanted to pair people with up with others that we felt would work together and dance well as a group.

The first competition practice and TEAM / PARENT meeting will be this Saturday, September 10 at 3:00pm. Come ready to dance.

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Also, NEW this season is G Crew who will be working with head coach, Shaina. We are excited for this team and what they will accomplish this season. They will be performing in-town as well as local competitions. First, team practice & team / parent meeting this Friday, September 9 at 5:05pm. Come ready to dance.

G Crew

Mary Beth Porter

Lily Soleim

Madeleine Turner

Congratulations to all!!

Storybook Ballet

This season we will have select specialty classes. These classes are scheduled in 6 weeks or less. One of these classes is Storybook Ballet, which will meet on Saturday's for 6 weeks this fall (with a possible second session later this season).

Storybook Ballet is open to students in Ballet levels 1 - 3. A student must be enrolled in a ballet class to register for Storybook Ballet. This specialty class will meet for two hours every Saturday from September 10 - October 15. The 2nd hour of class on October 15th we will hold a small in studio performance, including snacks and a group photo.

Each week your child will work on performance, production, and choreography to present this final piece. We will also break for snacks, as this is a long class period. The class will also include construction of a prop or costume piece, ballet warm-up, exploration of movement, and musicality.

Attire

As our ballet classes have required attire, Storybook Ballet is an exploration of movement, character, and dance, we encourage your child to be an individual in this class. Though please make sure they can move and dance and are not restricted or distracted by their attire. Hair should be in a ballet bun. Preferred attire would include leotards, ballet skirts, or small tutus. We still want to work on technique and see their dance lines to enhance their expierence and growth as a dancer.

This class is taught by Lacey Gasper. Lacey has a BFA in Theatre from Concordia College. She has been dancing for over 18 years including training at Gasper's School of Dance, Minnesota State University Moorhead, and various dance studios in the Twin Cities. Lacey has performed in numerous productions as a featured dancer including Pippin, Sweet Charity, Go Go Beach, Children of Eden, Guys & Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie, and Grease to name a few. Lacey also has off-stage experience in theatre and production management, make-up, apparel & design and graphic design. She is excited about the opportunity to teach theatre, dance and movement to a new generation of kids.