Events
Fundraiser
Nutcracker season is just around the corner! In past years, Nutcracker cast members have participated in a concert fundraiser to help pay for production fees. This year, we’re doing a little bit of a different fundraiser. We’re reaching out to local restaurants to partner with them to raise money.
Our first event is September 30th from 5pm-9pm at Chipotle Mexican Grill on 12697 North Pennsylvania Street Suite 100, Carmel, IN 46032. The event is at this location only. To have your purchase count towards our fundraiser, you MUST bring the flyer below (click here to print) or have it pulled up on your phone.
Here are a few more guidelines about this event:
- Purchases of gift cards will not count towards the proceeds, but purchases paid for with existing gift cards will.
- If placing an order online, you must chose the “pay at the store” option, and then hand the cashier your flyer before paying.
We are in the works of getting a few more events set up. A master list of all of the events will be posted in a month or so, so keep you’re eye out for opportunities to help raise money while eating delicious food!
20th Season Performances Announced
Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre is celebrating it’s 20th Season. Join us in celebrating by attending our performances!
CELEBRATION! – September 22-23, 2017
The Tarkington at The Center for the Performing Arts
THE NUTCRACKER – December 1-3, 2017
Pike Performing Arts Center
GHDT’S HOLIDAY SPECIAL – December 16-17, 2017
The Academy of GHDT
SIMCHA – Weekends – February 3-18, 2018
The Academy of GHDT
SUPERHERO; the story of a man called Jesus
March 30-31, 2018
The Tarkington at The Center for the Performing Arts
G2 IN CONCERT AND ACADEMY SHOWCASE June 1-3, 2018
The Academy of GHDT
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
June 29-30, 2018
The Tarkington at The Center for the Performing Arts
Season Tickets are now available at The Tarkington Box Office for the Tarkington performances by calling 317-843-3800. Not available online. Save 10% off single ticket purchases by buying Season Tickets.
To read the entire press release, click here.
Gregory Hancock – Emmy Winner
Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre’s artistic director, Gregory Hancock, is a jack of all trades. Mr.
Hancock wrote a musical, called La Casa Azul, about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. In 1997, it was copyrighted. However, the musical did not premiere until June 2015. The musical was such a success, it had an encore performance the following October. Our local PBS station, WFYI, filmed the performance and a documentary about the process of bringing the show to the stage. This 2016 broadcast, we are happy to announce, won a Regional Emmy for Best Arts Programming.
A Night in India Patron Photos
We had wonderful audiences who came to see A Night in India this past weekend at The Tarkington. We had some lovely vendors in the lobby, including a Taj Mahal Photo Booth with photos taken by Norma Junes Photography. Click here to find yours!
Thank you to all of the sponsors, vendors, patrons, board members, dancers, tech crew, and our director, Gregory Hancock. This weekend wouldn’t have gone the way it did without any piece of the puzzle.
Stay tuned for the reveal of our 20th Anniversary Season!
G2 IN CONCERT
Come see the talented dancers of GHDT’s pre-professional company, G2, perform their annual concert. Dancers in G2 will be performing company repertoire. These student dancers have been working hard in rehearsals to refine these pieces of choreography. For this years G2 show, they will be performing Joan of Arc and Catholic School Girls. Joan of Arc is a GHDT classic. Three soloists represent Joan the Saint, Joan the Maid, and Joan the Warrior. Catholic School Girls is an audience favorite. Humorous and cheeky, this piece gives the dancers a chance to let loose a bit and work on their acting skills.
Academy Showcase
The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre puts on an annual showcase. This gives our students a the opportunity to show their family and friends what they’ve worked on throughout the year and how they’ve improved. AGHDT has dancers from age 5 to 18. The Showcase will have dances from a variety of classes – Bollywood, tap, and classical ballet variations just to name a few.
The G2 in Concert and Academy Showcase is June 3rd at 7pm. Please come support our wonderful students! For tickets, click here.
SUPERHERO – Behind the Scenes
Stage and Lights
SUPERHERO The Story of a Man Called Jesus, is one of GHDT’s most well-known shows. One of the most
memorable parts of the show, is the numerous scrolls hanging at the back of the stage, providing a backdrop. Eleven years ago, when SUPERHERO first premiered, Artistic Director Gregory Hancock spent several weeks writing text from The Gospels in Latin, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic onto the scrolls.
Along with the backdrop, what sets the scene so well is the lighting design. GHDT has worked with lighting designer Ryan Koharchik for 20 years. For SUPERHERO, Ryan uses lights create moods such as excitement, calmness, anger, and grief. Even more elaborate, he uses lights to create garden scenes, to portray the swirling mind of regret, and to cast a large shadow of Jesus on the cross.
Costumes
The costumes in SUPERHERO were all made by Gregory Hancock. Many costumes have character specific detail that are easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention. Mother Mary’s costume includes a shirt with artwork depicting Mother Mary’s face on it. Pilate’s Wife, Claudia, wears a beautiful set of jewelry that Mr. Hancock bought in India. The Cross, has red circles on her palms to represent where Jesus was nailed to the cross.
During The Last Supper and Hallelujah scenes, dancers are representing the 12 apostles. This costume includes white head shrouds with writing on them. These head shrouds were also, just like the backdrop, all hand written by Mr. Hancock eleven years ago for the premiere. Although during these scenes, characters like Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene are not included, the dancers portraying them are. These dancers get specific head shrouds with writings on them from Gospels including their character. Pictured is the head shroud for Mary Magdalene.
Cast
The cast of SUPERHERO this year has dancers from many places. Joining the GHDT company dancers, Liang Fu is coming back again this year as a Guest Artist to perform the role of Judas Iscariot. Liang Fu, originally from Qingdao, Shandong, China, is currently dancing with Kansas City Ballet. GHDT’s pre-professional company, G2, is also in this production. This year, GHDT reached out to Phoenix Rising Dance Studio and Broad Ripple High School to offer their students the opportunity to perform in a professional production. We’re glad to have students from both joining the cast this year as townspeople.
Tech Week
Tech week, is the week leading up to opening night of a performance. The usual tech week has the company rehearsing in studio Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday afternoons, the company takes every costume, prop, and accessory over to the theatre so its ready for rehearsal in theatre the next day. Wednesday and Thursday are long days. Tech runs are done during the early afternoon, meaning a light run through of the show for the dancers, but a heavy fun through of the show for lightning and tech crew backstage. Both Wednesday and Thursday evenings are full dress rehearsals.
This year for SUPERHERO, dancers spent part of their Monday getting henna on their hands for the show. Be sure to look for the beautiful detail on stage! Tuesday was spent welcoming guest artist Liang Fu to rehearsals as well as moving into the theatre. We hope to see you on Friday for the show!
For tickets, please click here!
The Black Dahlia
Los Angeles, 1947, a body was found in a vacant lot. Who was this girl? What’s her story? Who killed her? Her name was Elizabeth Short. She moved to LA after her fiancé went down in the war, hoping to find fame and fortune. She had dreams of becoming an actress, her name known all around the world. She did find fame, however her fame came from her tragic death. She became known as The Black Dahlia, a girl horrifically murdered. Investigators spent years trying to find her killer, yet no one was ever convicted.
GHDT took the story into our own hands. We narrowed it down to four suspects – The Sister, The Reporter, The Showgirl, and The Doctor. Each suspect has their own unique connection to Elizabeth, and each had their own motive. To find out who is guilty, you’ll have to come see The Black Dahlia for yourself.
Performances
GHDT will have 6 performances of The Black Dahlia. February 4-19, Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm. Included with the ticket price are beverages and a plate of snacks for you to munch on throughout the nail-biting mystery. GHDT’s annual February concert is our fundraising concert, so come prepared to participate in auctions and raffles! Performances are at The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre (AGHDT), and tickets can be bought here. Shows are beginning to sell out, so buy your tickets quick!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year from GHDT! Cheers to a joyous and safe 2017. We’re looking forward to what this year will bring for the company.
Performances
Don’t miss an opportunity to attend all three productions in the remaining 2016-2017 season! In February, “The Black Dahlia,” a new work by Artistic Director Gregory Hancock, will premier at The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre in Carmel, Indiana. This annual February cabaret-style performance is a fundraising event for the company. GHDT transforms the every day rehearsal space into a black box theatre, which creates an up-close, unique experience for the audience. Light refreshments are served. “The Black Dahlia” is a murder mystery ballet based on the story of the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short from the 1940’s. Performances will be held the first three weekends of February (4th-19th), Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm.
“SUPERHERO -The Story of a Man Called Jesus” will return on Easter weekend, April 14 & 15 to The Tarkington at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana. This fan favorite production is back by popular demand with performances at 7 p.m. Tickets are now available at the box office.
We close our season with “A Night in India,” June 9 & 10 at The Tarkington. This production will highlight the beautiful history and culture of India as seen through the eyes of choreographer and Artistic Director Gregory Hancock. New works along with popular repertoire pieces will be performed by the talented and versatile company dancers. Buy your tickets today for a unique evening out at The Tarkington Theater!
Academy Student Performances
Along with the GHDT company performances this season, The Academy of GHDT will present “G2 and Academy Showcase” on June 4th at The Tarkington – one performance only. Come see the talented students of G2 and AGHDT perform new choreography and some popular company repertoire pieces.
GHDT is looking forward to a wonderful new year! Please join us at the theatre!
Nutcracker 2016
GHDT’s The Nutcracker was a raging success this year! All of the performers worked so hard to put on a beautiful, magical weekend of performances. From the wee little unicorns, to the 14 dancing snowflakes, everyone’s part came together to tell this heartwarming story of the season.
Performances
This was the 24th season that GHDT’s contemporary Nutcracker had been performed. Our lead roles this year, Klara, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Nutcracker Prince, were performed by Audrey Holloway, Nicholle Sanders, and Justin Sears.
The dancer-favorite performance this year, was once again the school show. Every year, schools around the area come to Pike Performing Arts Center Friday morning of Nutcracker weekend, to see The Nutcracker. Our dancers get excused from school for the day, and get the amazing opportunity to perform in front of an audience of 1,400 children. 
If you missed it this year, be sure to join us next December for the 25th anniversary of The Nutcracker!
Nutcracker Tea
Along with The Nutcracker, we have an annual Nutcracker Tea. This year, our fourth annual Tea was held at Pike Performing Arts Center before the Saturday matinee performance. Tea-goers were treated to tea, lemonade, mini-sandwiches, fruits, veggies, and desserts, and had the chance to win prizes in a raffle. On top of all of that, they also received a photo-opt with Klara, Sugar Plum, and the Prince
The Tea wouldn’t be possible without all of our amazing business sponsors, donors, and volunteers. Special thanks our event sponsor Performance Services, Inc.
Thank you to our donors for their support!
The Fresh Market, Carmel
Market District, Carmel
Party Time Rental, Indianapolis
Hershey Foods
Whole Foods Market
Carmel Orthodontics, Dr. Ron Miller
Norma June’s Photography
Floral by Sharon McKee
Napkins handmade by Dianne Shull
Salon 01, Carmel
Gigi’s Cupcakes of Indianapolis
Kroger Company
Denise Salamie
Haewon Miller
Ivy Heazeltine
A special thanks as well to all of the volunteers who worked the event. Mark your calendar for our fifth annual Nutcracker Tea next year!
Nutcracker Event at Barnes & Noble
Klara, Sugar Plum, and other Nutcracker cast m
embers spent part of their Saturday at Barnes & Noble promoting their upcoming performance. Patrons shopping at the bookstore that day, could mention GHDT while checking out, and GHDT received some profits. The dancers colored with children, told the story of The Nutcracker, greeted shoppers, and even did a little bit of dancing!
It’s still happening!
The good news, is that you ca
n still help out! Through Wednesday, if you’re shopping in store, be sure to mention GHDT! If you’re doing your shopping online, be sure to enter code #12043253 and a portion will benefit the company there as well!
