2017 Summer Intensives
It’s that time of year again! The Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre Summer Intensives are back! This year, all levels have a 2-week long intensive. Our intensive is for dancers ages 6-18, and they will be separated according to age and level. From July 10-14th and July 17-22nd, dancers will take classes ranging from ballet to middle eastern dance, and terminology classes to conditioning. Dancers will be fully engaged in learning and having fun from 9am-4pm, Monday-Friday.
For information on dress code and prices, as well as the registration forms, head over to our Summer Intensives page.
Nutcracker Bootcamp
In addition to our annual Summer Intensive, this year we will also have a week long Nutcracker Bootcamp. GHDT’s Nutcracker is a very special tradition for many dancers and families. We want to give every dancer the chance to get a head start and learn every part of the show, all while having fun with their friends. The Nutcracker bootcamp is July 24-28th from 9am-4pm.
For more information, as well as registration forms, head over to our Summer Intensives page.
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!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS – HYDERABAD SISTER CITY COMMITTEE, PATTAR & CO. CPA, INC., and INDIA ASSOCIATION OF INDIANAPOLIS
Thank you to our Performance Sponsors for their support of GHDT’s A NIGHT IN INDIA performed June 9 & 10th at The Tarkington in Carmel, Indiana. We appreciate their partnership!
HYDERABAD SISTER CITY COMMITTEE
Raju Chinthala, President
rajuchinthala@gmail.com
PATTAR & CO. CPA, INC.
Ravi Pattar
1455 East Southport Road
Indianapolis, IN. 46227
info@pattarcpa.com
INDIA ASSOCIATION OF INDIANAPOLIS
Sumeeta Bhatia
Chairwomen
Don’t miss A NIGHT IN INDIA on June 9th and 10th at 7PM. For tickets, click here.
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!
“That concert featured a few of my very favorite moments of audience reaction in dance and they are so very rare. Not those moments of big applause, which are great and there were many that night, but those moments when a dance comes to an end and there’s not a sound because to make a single sound would break the spell. That moment when the dance is so beautiful or so heartbreaking that to make a sound other than the beating heart would just destroy the moment. I love that moment when the absence of applause is the highest praise the audience can give. The dancing and choreography are so beautiful and the moment is so tender that all the audience has to give is the respect of silence. And love of the moment. Wow.” – Charlie Stepp
“I had such an intense reaction to seeing the beautiful “Violin Under the Bed.” I ran across this article about this syndrome, first described in 1817, that pretty… well describes the physical as well as emotional feelings that I had at the end of that show. Ironically, another name for this is Florence syndrome.
-Katie Brown
I love that moment when the absence of applause is the highest praise the audience can give…
“Words like beauty, elegance, intrigue, passion and colorful movement come to mind when I think of
“The Violin Under The Bed and Scarlett Letter.” I was moved by the experience of these stories so eloquently told by modern dance and music. I recommend this show to any seasoned spectator of dance and, in fact, to novice audiences as this show is likely to enthrall the newbie and the experienced with its majestic style.”
-Dr. Louis Janeira
“I wanted to share with you how much we enjoyed seeing Gregory Hancock’s performance “The Violin Under The Bed”. In Mr. Hancock’s moving tribute to his late mother, the piece captured the humble beginnings from which she came, the love between her and her husband, her love of playing baseball, and how she embraced life. I have an appreciation of how much she loved her son, and he in return, with the rich artistry of creative dance, illustrative costumes, and selection of music. It was evident that the audience connected to this story. I felt that I knew her because of this beautiful illustration and celebration of her life.” – J.J. Kaplan
“Ivy…I can’t express my gratitude enough for the tickets. Truly an emotional tribute and a feast for the eyes. Thank you so much for allowing my friend Laura and I attend.” -Teri Cappron
AGHDT
Registration for 2016-2017 classes at The Academy is underway!
Please come to one of our two open registration dates to sign-up for classes!
Friday August 5th 5:30 – 7:30pm
OR
Saturday August 6th 10am – 2pm
The Fall 2016 class schedule can be found here.
Registration forms, Class Calendar, and Tuition Policies can be found here.
Please print out forms and have them filled out when you come to register.
G2 and Nutcracker Auditions
There will be a set of auditions for both G2 and CATS, as well as GHDT’s 2016 The Nutcracker on Saturday August 27th from 1-2pm.
Please contact AGHDT if you have any questions or concerns!
See all you dancers in class this Fall!
2016-2017 Season Announced
Our 2016-2017 Season Announcement is here! Next season brings back some GHDT favorites, along with brand new World Premiere pieces!
Join us in October when we open our 2016-2017 season with the World Premiere of The Violin Under The Bed, and the long-awaited Tarkington debut of The Scarlet Letter.
December brings GHDT’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker, featuring a cast of young dancers telling a tale of love and compassion.
GHDT’s annual February cabaret-styled fundraiser concerts will feature another World Premiere with an interactive murder mystery, The Black Dahlia.
By your many requests, GHDT’s classic, SUPERHERO; the story of a man called Jesus, returns again for Easter weekend. This modern re-telling of The Passion is powerful and poignant.
We will close our season with A Night In India, featuring new pieces inspired by the music, art, history, and culture of India.
Thank you for your continuing support of GHDT. We look forward to bringing you beautiful art for years to come. Buy your season tickets now!
THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED
Gregory Hancock has been creating and choreographing a new piece for his company to perform. Below is some background information about the piece and the meaning behind the name.
When my mother was a young child she cleaned houses to help make money for her family. She was one of eight children from a poor family in Kansas. She dreamed of dancing, playing the piano and playing the violin, but her family could not afford any type of lessons for any of the children. At one home where she would clean
, the lady of the house played the violin and kept it under her bed. My mother would pull the case out from under the bed, open it and look at the violin and imagine she was playing it. She never took it out of the case, but she simply became lost in the idea of becoming music. Many years later, when I was an adult child, I gave her a violin for a gift one Christmas. She never learned to play it, but that did not matter. Her life had moved to a point where she could
have a violin under her bed. The violin is still under her bed. This is the story that inspired the title of my new dance piece that I am creating for my mother. THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED will premiere on July 1 & 2 at The Tarkington. Please support my art in this very personal concert. Thank you to all the friends of my mother who attended a special event at my home last evening to help support this new work.
Within this new piece, company dancer Abigail Lessaris will be portraying the beautiful human and spirit that was Florence Hancock. THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED brings to life some of Mr. Hancock’s favorite memories of his mother, along with some of Florence’s favorite things including a softball warm-up and game.
THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED premieres in METAMORPHOSIS on July 1st and July 2nd at the Tarkington Theatre. Tickets for this performance are on sale now.
