(Chelsea Update would like to thank Patricia Marsh for the information in this story.)
Students from Ballet Chelsea spent the weekend performing at the 52st annual Michigan Youth Arts Festival (MYAF), at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo.
Led by Artistic Director Wendi DuBois, the non-profit dance group presented an ensemble piece and a pas de deux at the event. This marks the seventh time Ballet Chelsea has auditioned and been accepted to perform at this prestigious festival.
Expected to attend were Emmeline Cumming, Katie Dewyer, Michael Erickson, Mikayla Fields, Anneliese Glaubitz, Meredith Hooker, Natalie Krienke, Janine Modafferi, Rachel Modafferi, Sarah Myers, Therese Noch, Claire Prenevost, Madeleine Sullivan, and Lauren Yordanich.
In addition, Cumming, a senior company dancer and accomplished musician was selected as one of only four soloists, and the only pianist, to perform at the MYAF Gala Concert on Friday, May 9.
She was expected to play Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Opus 16 with the Detroit Symphony Civic Philharmonic, this year’s guest orchestra.
Cumming, a Chelsea High School senior, has been awarded a scholarship to attend WMU in the fall, and will major in piano performance and dance.
The Michigan Youth Arts Festival is a culmination of a 9-month search for Michigan’s most talented high school artists.
More than 250,000 students participated in the adjudication process in February, with about 1,000 invited to participate in the 3-day arts “spectacular.” Artistic disciplines featured at the festival include dance, instrumental and vocal music, visual arts, theatre, creative writing, music composition, poetry recitation and media arts.
Ballet Chelsea has more than 70 members from Chelsea, Dexter, Ann Arbor, Jackson, Manchester, Pinckney, Grass Lake and Ypsilanti.
To learn more about Ballet Chelsea’s performances and upcoming events, visit balletchelsea.org.
