For Immediate Release

Contacts:
At Verb Ballets: For Media:
Margaret Carlson Dan Kilbane
216.397.3757, ext. 3 216.513.3654
mcarlson@verbballets.org kilbanedan@yahoo.com
www.verbballets.org

Verb CLICKS (Creative Liasons Inspiring Cleveland’s KidS)
Second Annual Collaboration with STEPS ON BROADWAY
With the support of the Cleveland Foundation
March 30, 2008
February 21, 2008 -- Cleveland, OH -- Verb Ballets, Cleveland’s National Repertory Dance Company, presents Verb CLICKS on Sunday, March 30, 2008, in the dance studio at Ideacenter, located at Playhouse Square. On this full day of activities, Verb hosts dance programming for youth and families that includes master classes, taught by master teachers from STEPS ON BROADWAY, and a repertory workshop, taught by Verb Ballets. For more information, call Verb at 216.397.3757 or go to www.verbballets.org.

Verb CLICKS will consist of classes in Yoga for Dance, Ballet, Modern, Musical Theatre and a Repertory Class utilizing movement themes from Verb’s repertory. During the Repertory Class, Verb Ballets will be selecting talented students to intern and perform with Verb Ballets over the summer. Lunch will be included and registration is limited to 50 people. Four master teachers, from STEPS ON BROADWAY, will also award scholarships to the New York school. Verb CLICKS is the culmination of a season-long effort to engage, educate and expose youth of varying ages to the power and beauty of contemporary dance, ultimately fostering a love of dance for lifelong patrons. Verb enlists professional dancers from Steps on Broadway, a prestigious dance community training center based in New York, to teach master classes in modern dance, musical theatre and ballet.

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to study dance with these amazing Master Teachers from New York City and to possibly earn a Summer Scholarship to STEPS ON BROADWAY or a summer internship with Verb Ballets!

Verb CLICKS rates:
· $55.00 per student for full day (includes all 4 classes, catered lunch, and repertory workshop).
· $20.00 per student per class (pre-registered) or $25.00 per student per class at the door.

Master Teachers:
Pam Pribisco, Yoga for Dancers 9:30am – 10:15am
Born in Ohio, she was a founding member of the Cleveland Ballet, and served as the ballet mistress for the company. She has been on the faculty of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York, the Joffrey Ballet School, and teaches annually at the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. Ms. Pribisco was the ballet mistress for Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo. She staged and choreographed many of the works in their repertoire. She was profiled in the New York Times for her work with the company. She also writes for the international dance publication Pointe Magazine, advising young dancers on various aspects of their careers.

Alexander Tressor, Classical Ballet 10:30am- 12:00pm
Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Tressor spent his early years traveling with his mother in the Moscow Circus. At age six, he appeared on Russian television and went on to star in numerous television, film and theatrical productions. In 1976, the family immigrated to New York City. At the age of seventeen, he started studying ballet with David Howard, and later at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet with his father, Andrei Kramarevsky, former principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet. He continued his studies with Stanley Williams and Richard Rapp at SAB and, while on tour with Sophisticated Ladies in Moscow in 1988, with Assaf Messerer at the Bolshi Theater. Alexander danced in SAB’s annual workshops with the New York City Ballet in The Tchaikovsky Festival in 1981. He has also dance with Malmö State Theater in Sweden, the Connecticut Ballet Theater and many other companies. Along with performing, Alexander has directed and choreographed numerous industrial shows and commercials. In 1988, Alexander began working on new theater projects and created his own company tressorgroup with his friend and producer Nolen Bailey. The company has received critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Village Voice and numerous Russian-language media publications.

Kristina Berger, Modern, Horton Technique 12:15pm – 1:15pm
Originally from Washington, D.C., Kristina performed original Lester Horton works for the Library of Congress Dance Concert Series restaged by Don Martin. She was a two-year scholarship student at Jacob’s Pillow and studied with James Truitte, Carmen de Lavallade, Milton Myers, Bella Lewitzky, and Ana-Marie Forsythe. After earning a BA in dance at American University and an Outstanding Dance Major Award by National Dance Association, she studied at Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, where she performed sections of “Revelations.” Kristina has danced with the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, Washington Opera Ballet, Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. at The Kennedy Center, and The ShadowBox Theater. She has toured nationally with Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus, Cirque Le Masque, and The Kennedy Center production of “The Nightingale” ballet. She has taught and demonstrated Horton classes for both children and adults in Washington, D.C., and in New York at Peridance Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, as well as the NYC public schools. Kristina Berger now performs Isadora Duncan repertoire and teaches workshops with Dance Visions Co. and is a member of BALAM (Balinese American) Dance Theater.

Lisa Harvie, Musical Theatre Dance 2:00pm – 3:15pm
An accomplished dancer and choreographer, Lisa Harvie began her training in Ottawa, Canada, at the Cumbrae Dance Centre. She holds her teaching certificates in jazz, tap and highland through the British Association of Dancing and attained the Advanced level of ballet under the Royal Academy. (R.A.D.) She has performed with both The Ottawa Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Ms. Harvie holds a B.A. in Criminology from the University of Toronto, which she achieved while continuing her dance training at Metro Movement and Randolph School of the Arts. Since moving to New York, Lisa has performed in a U.S. tour of West Side Story, and has appeared nationally in productions of Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma (Dream Laurey), Footloose, Scrooge and Singin’ in the Rain. She played the role of Louise in Carousel at Stages St. Louis and performed in My Fair Lady for both Houston Theatre Under the Stars and Dallas Summer Musicals. She has worked as Associate Choreographer on two productions at the Gateway Playhouse in New York and continues to teach at workshops and conventions throughout Canada and the United States. Lisa teaches in New York at Steps on Broadway as well as the Connecticut Dance Conservatory in Stratford. She is on faculty at both schools within the jazz, tap and theater departments.

Verb CLICKS is a community effort in conjunction with dance schools in North East Ohio. The Cleveland Foundation underwrites this program.

The Ideacenter at Playhouse Square is located at 1375 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH, 44115. It is right in the heart of Playhouse Square at the intersection of E. 14th Street and Euclid Ave. The Ideacenter is two doors west of the Allen Theatre.
Major sponsors of Verb Ballets include AHS Foundation; Akron Community Foundation, The Bascom Little Fund; Millie L. Carlson; RSIS: a NASA Glenn Contractor; The Cleveland Foundation; Cuyahoga Arts and Culture; The George Gund Foundation; Kulas Foundation; The Laub Foundation; Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, The McGregor Foundation; John P. Murphy Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts; The Ohio Arts Council; and Playhouse Square. Additional individual sponsors include Charles and Sandy Abookire, Chuck and Ann Ennis, and Norma and Jeffrey Glazer.
DANSKIN is the official 2007-2008 sponsor of Verb Ballets. Additional Verb sponsors include Baumgarten & Company, LLP; Cedar Hill Communications; Fitworks; Mann Jewelers; PrimeZone Media; Shima Limo, WCLV, and WCPN.
Steps on Broadway is a special community of artists where the individuality and potential of each dance student is realized. Located on the Upper West Side in New York City, Steps encompasses ten studios filled with natural light, a dancewear boutique and café, which all contribute to the uniquely creative environment of Steps. Each day over 50 classes are offered from beginning to advanced levels in a wide range of styles and techniques. Throughout the year, Steps incorporates into its schedule special master classes, educational programs and performances. With an unwavering passion, Steps strives to be the cultural core of the dance community by reaching for excellence in our instruction, arts programming, and facilities and in our support of the artists and community we serve. Whether a seasoned performer or a beginning adult, you will enjoy a creative experience at these legendary studios. Steps is open seven days a week.
Verb Ballets is now in its sixth season under the leadership of Artistic Director Hernando Cortez, Executive Director Dr. Margaret Carlson, an energetic staff and its dedicated Board of Trustees, who have established Verb as Cleveland’s premiere dance repertory company. Verb Ballets was named one of “25 to Watch in 2004” by Dance Magazine, the country’s leading news magazine covering dance and again in February 2008 named “one of 5 ‘great Tiny Troupes” in America! Verb Ballets discovers, collects, interprets and stages choreography that matters to the region and to the world of dance. As a curator of expressive movement that is globally connected and nationally respected, Verb Ballets has a mandate to support and foster emerging talent, present excellence in contemporary choreographers and revive and honor modern dance classics.
Please call Verb Ballets at 216-397-3757 for more information.