LifeChance

Probably the best ballet event in town happens near the end of January every year when Radenko Pavlovich puts on his benefit performance of LifeChance ballet. He brings in amazing artists who almost always bring the house down. He also dances his own company, too, which is great. This year, top dancers included homeboy Brooklyn Mack who hails from Elgin and began his work under Radenko years ago. Brooklyn is a dynamic dancer and probably the hardest working man in show business. He has cultivated a real love affair with his audience, making sure that we never forget that he is dancing for us. He does us all proud. ~~~~~ We also got to see some other fine local stars, including Jeanette Medina, who came back to the stage for this performance as a favor to Radenko. She's a beautiful girl and was a real standout in Humberto Teixeira's opening piece, Pilar. (Humberto is a member of Pavlovich's Co-Co-Columbia Classical Ballet and a fine choreographer.) Jeanette danced alongside Bonnie Boiter-Jolley in another original piece, the Polovitsian Dances, choreographed by Leonid Flegmatov, who is also in the company. Bonnie Boiter-Jolley is another one of those dancers we are amazingly fortunate to have in Co-Co-Columbia. She got her start here as a child dancing under William I'm-A-Starrett and then Pavlovich as she matured. She studied for several summers at New York City's American Ballet Theatre where she was a favorite of the late Rebecca Wright. Then, after studying for a year under Stacey Calvert, another Co-Co-Columbia daughter and New York City Ballet star, she went away to North Carolina School of the Arts and became a favorite there of the late, great, and legendary Melissa Hayden, and Bobby Lindgren, founder of the North Carolina Dance Theatre. AT NCSA, she danced principal roles in Balanchine pieces like Symphonie Concertante and La Sonnambula, as well as Kitri in Don Q and the Snow Queen in Lindgren's NCSA Nutcracker. When she graduated and it was time to start her career though, Bonnie turned down offers to dance at places like Cincinnati Ballet and NCDT to take a full academic scholarship at USC and study again under Stacey Calvert. Great things await this girl. ~~~~~ Another stand-out at LifeChance was Andre Teixeira from NCDT. Andre danced with Brooklyn, Bonnie and Jeannette in the Polovitsian Dances, but also gave us a Paquita solo that was worth the price of admission alone. ~~~ Sarah Hairston, also a local girl who has done well, was glorious in Journey along side Jay Goodlet. Sarah is a soloist with Cincinnati Ballet who also trained in Co-Co-Columbia and then at NCSA under Melissa Hayden. ~~ The amount of dance talent in Co-Co-Columbia and coming out of Co-Co-Columbia astounds. Is it the weather? The water? Something about that stupid confederate flag flying at the statehouse that produces some kind of fury in these kids making them dance their frustrations out? What is it in our fair land that makes us spit out such talent? I don't know, but maybe Jessica Trotter should research this, find out, then bundle, bag or bottle it and sell it down at Gotta Dance.