News & Events

Wellness Workshop Sept. 30

Join us Saturday, September 30, for a lecture/demonstration that addresses health and wellness in young dancers. The Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service is sponsoring a “Pay It Forward Initiative,” and has asked occupational therapists and occupational therapy students to volunteer their time to make a difference in the world. To this end three graduate students from Sacred Heart University will be giving a FREE lecture/demonstration to NHB students and families.

Stephanie Dumond, Katilyn Romain, and our own Jennifer Rockwell Edwards will be discussing the importance of rest and sleep in children and teens, good sleep habits, nutrition for growing young athletes, and dance bag safety. Come have your dance bag weighed to see how much you’re really lugging around, and learn how to pack and carry your dance bag to reduce the risk of injury. We hope to see all of you there!

When: 1:30-2:30, followed by Q & A and bag weigh-in
Where: Studio 70, 70 Audubon St, New Haven
Who: NHB Level 2 through 8 students
Fee: FREE

Please call 203-782-9038 to reserve your spot

Jennifer Rockwell is an aluma of the Walnut Hill School for the Fine Arts in Natick, MA, where she studied dance performance, dance pedagogy and choreography. After graduating from high school Ms. Rockwell became a company member of Rosella Hightower’s Jeune Ballet International in France and, after returning to the United States, she performed as a principal guest artist with the Amherst Ballet and Pioneer Valley Ballet. At this time Ms. Rockwell began teaching at the Amherst Ballet School, and choreographed extensively for their school performances. She graduated suma cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004, where she earned a BFA in Dance and a BA in Psychology. Her honors thesis for the Commonwealth College dealt with the importance of dance physiology and injury prevention training for young dancers. After graduating from college Ms. Rockwell danced with the Twin Cities Metropolitan Ballet as well as Minnesota Dance Theater and, was eventually invited to join the Saint Paul City Ballet Company as a principal artist in 2007. During her time with SPCB, she danced such roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and the title role in Raymonda, while also serving on the faculty of the Saint Paul City Ballet School. Ms. Rockwell has been on the faculty of the New Haven Ballet since moving to Connecticut in 2012, and she is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Katilyn Romain is originally from Bridgeport, WV. She graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 2017 with a BS in Biochemistry. During college Ms. Romain served as a Service Scholar, where she volunteered in a 2nd-3rd grade special education classroom at a local elementary school for three years. It was this experience that inspired her to become an occupational therapist. Ms. Romain is currently pursuing a Master’s of Science Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

Stephanie Dumond attended Sacred Heart University, where she earned a BS in Health Science with a minor in Psychology. She played soccer all her life and has always been interested in athletic science and sports medicine. It was the result of a soccer injury which allowed her to experience first-hand the medical aspect of therapy. Although that incident disabled her sports career, it fortunately led Ms. Dumond to the profession of Occupational Therapy. It is her mission to help those who are not able to perform the activities which are meaningful to them, and to enrich their lives through activity and occupation. Ms. Dumond is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.

WQUN Interview

NHB’s Ruth Barker will be a featured guest on the radio!

Don’t miss her interview —

What: WQUN radio interview of Ruth Barker

Where: AM 1220 WQUN

Date: Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Time: 8:45 a.m.

Whether you are driving to work or heading to school don’t miss on hearing the latest happenings at NHB!

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!