WHEN: Friday, July 31^st, 3:00PM
WHERE: Madam Walker Theatre, 617 Indiana Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202
ADMISSION: Suggested $5.00 Donation at the door

RBAI’s Summer Intensive Program immerses students in four weeks of intense study in classical ballet technique and repertoire, contemporary dance, character and historical dance, modern, acting, and supplemental classes such as Pilates, stretching, and ballet history.

This production will feature exciting new choreography by Sergey Sergiev, IBC dancer and contemporary instructor/choreographer for RBAI; new character works such as Moldavian Dance and Scamarohi choreographed by Alyona Yakovleva, Artistic Director of IBC/RBAI; choreography given to the Academy by the Young Choreographers in Russia; as well as the 3rd Act of Don Quixote, choreographed and arranged by our Artistic Director, Alyona Yakovleva, after Petipa.

The performance will also feature guest artists from the Indiana Ballet Company. Our students are excited to present what they have learned in only four weeks, and we hope you enjoy their performance!

Program Sponsors for this performance are the Madam C.J. Walker Theatre Center, and Embassy Suites North.

Travis DiNiccola spent some time with our Artistic Director, Alyona Yakovleva and Lisa Burns, Director of Development for ‘Art of the Matter’ on WFYI, to air 7/24 at 8PM and 7/25 at 4PM.

Visit their site to listen to the episode online (our segment begins at around 16:20), or subscribe to their podcast to catch all their shows. Read the full article »

The web presence of the Indiana Ballet Company is undergoing some changes this month; perhaps you’ve noticed that our site is getting a much-needed refresh as we charge into the new season. Look for new imagery, links to our friends all over the online world, and ways to get connected to our programs, our mission, and our dancers.

If you have questions or comments regarding the rebuild, feel free to shoot us a note at tech@IndianaBalletCompany.com !

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – July 1st, 2009 – Miao-Jing Ji, a fifteen year-old student from Tianjin Art Institute, China, has decided that this summer, Indianapolis holds a key that will help perfect her passion for dance.

Having studied ballet since the age of six, Miss Ji was still in middle school when accepted into the highly respected Tianjin Art Institute, a residential school teaching ballet, Peking opera and Chinese acrobatics. For two consecutive years she was awarded the distinction of “Top Ballerina” for her age group, in the city of Tianjin. Last year, she won first place in a competition spanning five provinces with a population almost 43% of that of the US. China itself, determined to make up for a three-century lag in expertise and appreciation, has gradually invited and insisted upon only the finest training and execution of what was once a predominantly western art form. As proof of this nation’s accomplishment and determination to be recognized as one of the world’s major centers for ballet, its artists regularly take home Grand Awards from the most prestigious international ballet competitions.

So, for a sixteen year-old dance student trained to seek nothing less than the best, why give up an opportunity to win even more honors in her home country this year, for a 7,000 mile summer trip to an Indiana ballet school? Read the full article »

From the Indianapolis Theater Examiner:

“Butler’s 2008-09 theatre season focused on the comedies and tragedies of other cultures and concludes with their first by the Russian playwright Alexander Ostrovsky (1823-1886).

Balzaminov’s Wedding wasn’t even translated into English until just recently, and with help from Alyona Yakovleva, Artistic Director of the [Indiana Ballet Company and the Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana], director Elaina Artemiev was able to restore some of the depth and humor that was lost in the translation. …”

Read the full article »

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – April 11, 2009 – Ask any serious student of theatre about Russian drama and Chekhov instantly comes to mind. But ask about Alexander Ostrovsky, the man considered to be the founder of Russian national drama, and most will draw a blank. That’s why Alyona Yakovleva, Artistic Director of the Indiana Ballet Company, was so excited to be invited to join the artistic team of the very first presentation in the Midwest of Ostrovsky’s Balzaminov’s Wedding. Thanks to the pioneering spirit of the Butler Theatre Department, Indianapolis audiences are one of the few in the country that can expect to enjoy this rare glimpse of one of Russia’s secret treasures. Read the full article »

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – April 11, 2009 – In a period of stagnant or negative growth for most arts organizations, The Indiana Ballet Company (IBC) and the affiliated Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana (RBAI) are delighted to receive a gift of $30,000 from The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation in honor of the children and families of Christel House. Read the full article »

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – February 24th 2008 – Love and Shakespeare are not Time’s fool. Just as the Bard’s words on Love speak to us down the centuries, Alyona Yakovleva’s original production, From Shakespeare with Love, reaches through history to capture love’s timeless expression through the universal language of dance. To satisfy the human complexity of the topic, the Indiana Ballet Company (IBC) uses the springboard of the past to examine the present, while weaving together a synthesis of artistic experiences that includes theatre, and live period music, in addition to an eclectic mix of classical, contemporary and historical dance and music. Read the full article »

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – February 19th 2009 – A special kind of alchemy has been brewing almost imperceptibly in Indianapolis over the last three years, and last weekend brought it fully to light. Students from the Russian Ballet Academy of Indiana (RBAI); returned triumphantly to Indianapolis this week after participating in the Chicago Regional Semi-Final of the world’s largest non-professional ballet competition, Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP). Sharing the stage with some of the nation’s top talent, and under the rigorous scrutiny of experts hailing from the world’s finest dance establishments, including the Bolshoi, Paris Opera and New York City Ballet Companies, these young Hoosier hopefuls took the region by storm, as not just one, but each of their five large ensemble pieces was declared a first place winner. Read the full article »