OUR STORY

DANCEAIR PERFORMANCE: "The students who participate in the ballet classes this year look forward to their time to learn new movements and practice their routines. This program has boosted the confidence of the students it serves and has offered these girls an opportunity that they may not have gotten if it wasn’t for this program. I saw the excitement before a performance in a real theater when I chaperoned the students last spring. They were thrilled to have the opportunity to show what they had learned and dance on the same stage with the New Haven Ballet company."

NHB's IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY: "The classes in your two New Haven studios and the Q House, the DanceAir program, Shared Abilities classes and the scholarships you have made available have truly connected the New Haven Ballet to the entire community in a deep and meaningful way. I have seen several of the Shared Ability performances, and the excitement backstage and in the audience was palpable. The sense of accomplishment, the mutual support and the pride of dancers and parents electrified the very large room. I witnessed the standing room only crowd at the Q House last December and the wonder of young faces seeing excerpts from The Nutcracker for the very first time. The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven is proud to support your work."

TRAINING: "To sit in our car rides to and from NHB over the years makes me realize (even more than I already did) what a profound effect you have made. The laughter to and from Madison to New Haven over the years has truly been some of the best times of her (and my!) life. There are no words to thank you both enough. She has a very large part of her that wants to pursue dance because of all the amazing training and disciplines she has learned from you. But it goes way beyond dancing - and for that, I am forever grateful."

PERFORMANCE: "Yet again, another breathtaking performance and one that we all cannot thank you enough for! It was such an amazing week for N, and all 12 of our family members thoroughly loved it!"

DANCEAIR: "Words can't adequately express the gratitude I have for all of you, the teachers, and the staff at NHB. I have always been very open that I would not financially be able to provide this opportunity for Z. I remember so well when she was awarded her DanceAir Scholarship in second grade. I was so overwhelmed with thanks and so excited for her. The tears just flowed. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of scholarships for the following years, and I am so grateful for the ongoing support to sustain Z's participation. In all her years at NHB, there has never been a class she didn't want to attend or a day she had a negative experience. She may not say much, but I want you to know she loves class with all of you; she has articulated the unique gifts each of you share with your classes. The fact that such a reserved kid actively works to perform on stage is so puzzling to me- but that's Z! She genuinely loves ballet, always practicing and dancing around. She told me the other day that she feels her instructors help her to do better without pushing or being negative, and it's very different from school. She says she never feels bad about herself. She feels ballet makes her want to do better because it just feels good. I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am for NHB, for each of you, and for your role in loving and supporting Z as she grows up."

SHARED ABILITY: "My daughter who is severely disabled with cerebral palsy and has intellectual disabilities has participated in the dance program for many years. It is something she looks forward to every year. At so many levels it makes a difference in her life. She lives in a protected environment and going to a safe place like dance at New Haven Ballet allows her to get out, meet peers like herself, make friends, move her body and stretch, listen and follow instructions, move and feel music, gain a sense of accomplishment, but most importantly interact with enabled dancers where she and her peers are the focus. For the enabled dancers this may well be the only time they will meet, touch, spend time with, and get to know the personalities of someone who is disabled, in a no judgement zone. This interaction will stick with the enabled dancers throughout their lives and see that the disabled are people to be loved, cherished, and work very hard for each step in life or dance movement they make. The instructor is always fabulous, creative, fun and motivating. The year end performance, though not always perfect, brings cheers and tears from the audience as the shared ability dancers together with their partners show off all that they accomplish and their true beauty. These cheers and tears are beamed right back at the audience by the glow of accomplishment and pride in my daughters face. When she leaves the stage we will give her a hug, tell her how wonderful she did and she will simply answer “no over”.  Please support Shared Ability, it is so important to those that are mostly unseen."