News & Events

Master Class: NYCB’s Sean Suozzi

We are delighted to announce that Mr. Sean Suozzi, New York City Ballet Soloist, will offer a Master Ballet Class:

Sunday, August 27, 2017

11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Levels 5-8

Danspace Studio, 70 Audubon St. (Lower Level), New Haven

Fee: $25

Students are required to wear their class uniform. This is an excellent opportunity for Level 5-8 students. Space is limited. Payment required to reserve your spot. We look forward to seeing you there!

Sean Suozzi performs in Agon

About Sean Suozzi —

Sean Suozzi was born in Glen Cove, New York, and began his dance training at the age of seven with Joyce DiLauro. Mr. Suozzi trained for four years at the Nutmeg Ballet in Torrington, Connecticut with Sharon Dante, Joan Kunsch, Eleanor D’Antuono, Alexei Tchernichov, and Kevin Martin. After attending the 1997 summer session at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, Mr. Suozzi was invited to continue his studies in the SAB winter session as a scholarship student. At SAB, he studied with Stanley Williams, Andrei Kramarevsky, Peter Boal, Jock Soto, and Susan Pilarre, among other SAB teachers. Mr. Suozzi was invited to become an apprentice with New York City Ballet in April 1999 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in February 2000. In May 2007, Mr. Suozzi was promoted to soloist.

Children’s Master Class in Self Defense

NHB is excited to announce that Joseph Peterson, an experienced 5th Degree Champion black belt instructor, will offer a Master Class to students, friends and relatives about identifying, avoiding, diffusing, and defending against a threatening situation. At NHB we recognize the importance of teaching children of all ages these critical life skills. This class will help build confidence in a fun and safe environment.

What: Stranger Danger/Bully Defense

Who: Boys and Girls aged 6 to 16 years

Where: The Community Foundation Building, 70 Audubon Street, New Haven

When: Saturday, July 8, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Cost: $20 per student

Attire: Tee shirt, shorts or track pants, bare feet. Long hair should be secured away from face

Bring your friends! This class is not just for students who study at NHB but for friends and relatives as well.

Space is limited. If interested please contact NHB’s office at 203-782-9038. Payment is required at time of registration.

We look forward to your participation!

Head Instructor, Master Joseph Peterson

I have been teaching the art of Tae Kwon Do since 1994 throughout northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. I started training in Tae Kwon do as a teenager to learn self-defense. As I am not shy to say, I was a huge fan of old-time “Kung Fu Theater” and similar programs of its likeness. What I quickly found out was that this activity was helping me to feel more confident about myself. My self-esteem was much better, and I started to feel strong as an individual. I continued my training throughout college at Northern Illinois University, which is when I discovered my love for teaching. By the time I finished college I was in charge of teaching a campus Tae Kwon Do club as well as a University-accredited Tae Kwon Do course. I finished college with a teaching degree in secondary education and immediately began my apprenticeship for instructing Tae Kwon Do. Since that time I have promoted to the rank of 5th Degree Black Belt and have been teaching and managing Tae Kwon Do schools/programs throughout the Northern Illinois (most specifically Rockford) and southern Wisconsin (Beloit, Janesville) areas full-time. Although I recently received my 5th Degree Black Belt (in 2009), becoming a “Master” of Tae Kwon Do, I will always see myself as a “student” of the arts.

I am very fortunate and happy to have wonderful, dedicated students. I look forward to continuing to study martial arts and pass on my knowledge to those that would care to study along with me. By teaching I have become a much better student. By continuing to train, I have realized how much I have to learn. Remember to always train and seek knowledge with the enthusiasm of a White Belt. For those who teach or would like to teach, remember, as a wise teacher once said, “If you would like to keep what I have taught you, give it to others.”

Open Division Class Update

May 5, 2017

Open Division class schedule changes:

Monday’s 6:45 p.m. beginning ballet class at Whitney Avenue has been canceled through May due to low attendance.

In June, Lisa Sanborn will teach Open Division class on Monday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m. in Danspace (70 Audubon Street, New Haven); In July, Ruth Barker will teach Open Division class on Monday evenings from 6-7:30 p.m. in Danspace. This is in addition to the other scheduled Open Division classes.

Click here for full Summer schedules

In addition, please note NHB is closed on Sunday and Monday, May 28-29, for Memorial Day.

Finally, effective May 30, Adult/Teen Open Division class rates will increase as follows:

$19. per class  ($175  10– class card)
$16. per class College Students/Senior Citizens 65+ years. ($150  College/Senior 10–class card)
$13 per barre ($115 Barre only 10–class card)

We look forward to a wonderful summer and hope to see you in class!

Spring Performance Raffle — Items Needed

We are holding a raffle this year!

Raffle tickets will cost $10/ticket and be sold at the NHB Audubon Street location and in the Shubert Theater lobby prior to the performance, as well as during intermission. The drawing will take place at the reception on the mezzanine of the Shubert theater immediately following the performance. Proceeds of the Raffle will support New Haven Ballet.

This year we have three themed baskets – each basket is very special. The following is a brief description of the three baskets (remember, YOU can be a winner by purchasing raffle tickets for just $10 each!!!)

Basket One: A Dancer’s Delight Basket – This wonderful basket includes a gift certificate to Dancer’s World, Bun Flowers, pointe kits, Arch Genie, wobble cushions, extra thick mat and many more dancer essentials. This is going to take your dancer to the next level!

Basket Two: Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Basket – This basket is a real ‘wonderland’ filled with teas, teaballs, honey sticks, teapots, tea cups and many more items. Have a wonderful tea party, or just a relaxing moment of reflection after the Spring Performance.

Basket Three: Private Lesson with the Artistic Director – This is a 45-minute private lesson with NHB Artistic Director Mrs. Sanborn. This is open to students aged 8 years through adult.

We’ve made it easy to contribute donations of your choice, through Bunflowerz and Amazon. We did this last year and it was very successful and reduced overlap in items. Family and Friends of New Haven Ballet are invited to contribute, and all donations are strictly voluntary and in direct support of NHB.

Click here to make your donation to the Dancer’s Delight Basket

Click here to complete the Dancer’s Delight Basket there is a special item from the Bunflowerz website….. very special indeed. We would love it for someone to donate this to the basket. This item should be ordered no later than May 10.

Click here to make your donation to the Alice in Wonderland Tea Basket,

Directions for Amazon donations:

Review both lists to identify the item(s) to donate, click “add to cart”. Add one or more items.
To purchase your item, upper right corner “Proceed to checkout”.

Shipping: ship to your own address, or if you prefer, to Anne Cropp. Please contact Anne if you wish to send items to her directly and to let her know after you have made a purchase for a basket (anne.cropp10@yahoo.com) informing her of the item that you have donated.

Please place your order no later than Friday May 10, 2017 so that your order will ship in the most economical manner. If additional time is needed please reach out to Anne Cropp (anne.cropp10@yahoo). Alternatively, if you would prefer to donate cash/check we will use those funds to purchase items for one of the gift baskets or to fund a gift certificate towards tuition.

We greatly appreciate your support of the Spring Raffle Basket event! Its fun, its easy and the more raffle tickets you purchase the greater your chances of winning these fabulous items!

Gretchen Patchell Master Classes

We are delighted to announce that Ms. Gretchen Patchell will teach two Master Classical Ballet Classes:

Saturday, June 10, 2017
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Levels 5-8
Danspace
70 Audubon Street, New Haven

Saturday, June 10, 2017
1:00-2:30 p.m.
Levels 2-3
Danspace
70 Audubon Street, New Haven
The fee for the Master Class is $18 per student. All students enrolled in Levels 2-8 are invited and encouraged to attend. Students are required to wear their class uniform.

Gretchen Patchell Bio
Gretchen Patchell received her early training at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. At age fourteen she was invited to attend the winter program at the School of American Ballet on full scholarship. Ms. Patchell has performed a vast assortment of ballets with the New York City Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, and the former Fort Worth Dallas Ballet. While continuing to dance, Ms. Patchell accepted an invitation from Paul Mejia to teach at the Fort Worth School of Ballet in 1996. Ms. Patchell continues to enrich the lives of many children, both through her instruction and choreography.

This is an excellent opportunity for NHB students. To reserve your spot please bring payment to the NHB Office or call if you wish to have a credit card on file charged. We look forward to seeing you there!