The Muses of Terpsicorps perform on May 20

PRESS RELEASE FROM TERPSICORPS:

The pre-professional wing of Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance presents an exciting evening of classical and contemporary dance performed by up and coming young dancers. The Muses is composed of junior and high school students who study at The Academy at Terpsicorps, under the direction of Heather Maloy, the artistic director of Terpsicorps, Asheville’s professional, contemporary ballet company. The Academy at Terpsicorps is a not-for-profit professional training school for dancers in Asheville, with a particular mission to offer dance at scholarship to low income families across the region.

This is the first year that the critically acclaimed Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance has expanded its mission to include the already thriving dance school. Classes began in September in a temporary location as the state of the art new facility was being completed. There are classes for students of all ages and skill levels, but the Academy takes special pride in their pre-professional division program, a small group of talented and focused young dance artists on their way to professional careers in the field of ballet and modern dance. With 20+ hours of diverse dance styles and cross training a week, the program is specially designed to provide them with the tools needed to compete in today’s concert dance world.

The culmination of a year’s worth of fundraising, construction and rigorous training, the performance on May 20, will include excerpts from the classical ballets, “Sleeping Beauty,” “Paquita,” “Raymonda” and “Le Corsaire.” Contemporary works will include a Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance favorite, “The Waiting Room”, by Salvatore Aiello, as well as pieces by Heather Maloy, Becky Ewing and Melissa Wilson.

Fifteen students who have trained with Maloy in the past have been accepted into the UNC School of the Arts’ high school & college dance program, arguably one of the finest and most competitive in the nation, as well as into the prestigious dance programs at Boston Conservatory, Florida State University, and the Alvin Ailey School in NY. Former students of hers have gone on to perform professionally with the Charlotte Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carolina Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Elephant in the Black Box in Madrid, Spain, Basel Ballet in Basel, Switzerland, Lydia Johnson Dance Company in NYC, Staibdance and T. Lang Dance in Atlanta.

For more information about The Muses & The Academy at Terpsicorps: http://www.terpsicorps.org/academy or call 828-761-1277

The Muses of Terpsicorps- May 20, 7:30pm at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC. $15 / $10 children.