Press


The Inverness Oran - November 30th 2005

Beauty of Dance Brought Once Again to Strathpey Place: Local Dancers Work with Professional Troupe.
The students of Ballet Bras d’Or were once again treated to two special dance workshops put on by the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada during their recent visit to Strathpey Place. The professional dance troupe was in Mabou on November 12th to perform Amadeus, the chronicle of Mozart’s life and genius. Ballet Bras d’Or ‘s students are able to take part in a workshop given at the Inverness Center of the Arts on Friday, November 11th by three of the company’s professional dancers, Louis- Phillipe Dionne, Evelina Shushko and Yuriko Minami. The next day, students were given instruction by the company’s artistic director, Igor Dobrovolskiy. This was the third opportunity for Ballet Bras d’Or to work with the professional company.

- Shelly-Merry Aucoin

Duxbury Clipper Thursday, July 2, 1981

Journey to the Stars

Last Friday and Saturday nights a crowd of over 300 people at DHS were taken on a celestial journey with Ballet Bizarre's presentation of Antoine de Saint Exupery's The Little Prince.
The Little Prince was a 4-act ballet-theatre presentation which was a sheer delight for people of all ages. The cast of The Little Prince is made up of local people ranging in age from 7 to adult. They study at the school of "Ballet and Jazz in Duxbury" under the direction of Diana Day. She has been teaching in Duxbury at The First Parish Church on 3A for a little over a year. This is the second presentation for her, having done "Alice in Wonderland" last year at DHS. Diana's superb dancing is only surpassed by her admirable ability to teach her talent to others and is reflected in the quality show that is presented. In the show we are taken from the Sahara in Africa to the Little Prince's own planet and throughout the galaxies in a most ingenious fashion.
The first act opens with a pilot (Robert Lambie) in the desert after a forced landing in his plane. He meets the extraordinary Little Prince wandering alone in the desert. The Little Prince, portrayed by Victoria Chruz, made one feel she had jumped from the pages of Exupery's book. The Little Prince asks the pilot to draw him a sheep. The sheep, danced by Ciel Caldwell, Jennifer Burke and Diedre Carter, were the smallest members of the troupe and were adorable.
We are then taken back to the Little Prince's planet where we learn of the solitary Rose (Katie Reagan) he loves. Miss Reagan's rendition showed good acting expression and meritoriously portrayed such a delicate and beautiful flower. We also see the glorious sunsets on his planet and learn how the Rose torments the Little Prince with her vanity and causes him to depart his planet with the aid of a flock of birds (Catherine Olson, Jeannine Phillips, Lori Bradbard, Emily Hagan, Rebecca Reardon, Jessica Kelly, Erica Chruz, Christa Reagan, Katy Ghiorse, Allison Haight and Marcie Cushing.)
We are aided on our interplanetary journey with a most spectacular array of props, costumes and dancing. The Little Prince learns about life on the other planets with the help of the King (Robert Watson), the Drunk (Kimberly Cecca), the Geographer (Suzanne Frazier), the Businessman (Paula Nappellio), the Lamplighter (Diana Day) and the Vain (Rebecca Taber). Miss Taber's dancing of the conceited man was very well done.
In Act III we are introduced to the slithering body of Kimberly Cecca as the Snake who will eventually aid the Little Prince in his journey home. Miss Cecca gave an excellent performance throughout the show and was very entertaining to watch.
The Little Prince then meets the 3-Petals Flower (Susan Quay). Susan's solo showed what a budding talent awaits us in the future.
The Little Prince then finds that his precious Rose is not so unique in appearance after all. On earth there are many Roses. He learns the significance and meaning of his relationship with the Rose after befriending a Fox (Diana Day)..... showed her true dancing ability ... much to the delight of the audience.
The final scene, "In the Stars," with ... cast members, was truly a cosmos finale. Other members are Katie Frazier, Lisa Swanson, Marilyn.... Olson, Carol Bloodgood and Mimi Donahue.
My hat's off to Robert Lambie, seeing him switch from stage debut to sound man - certainly extraordinary. The visual effects (done by Susan Lambie, Greg Millerm Walter Shramer, Steve Cicco and James Lambie), costume design (Diana Day), choreography and music arrangements were of the highest quality. This unique production of slides, theatre, ... not only displayed the artistic talents and energies of Diana and Bob Lambie, but... audience the extraordinary experience... forth the child that lives in us all.
Patri...

The Inverness Oran’s article by Frank Mac Donald week of June 9 to 22 . 2003

BALLET BRAS D'OR BRINGS YOUNG TALENT TO STRATHSPEY PLACE Bras d’Or featuring the talents of 60 young Cape Breton dancers played to a virtually sold out Strathpey Place on Saturday evening. The ballet company’s Spring Gala featured young dancers from Baddeck, Middle River, Cheticamp, the Margarees, Wagmatcook, and Sydney Mines. The Gala which presented 10 dances, including a two- act adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Carole Chisholm of Nevada Valley, the show’s producer, explained that Ballet Bras d’Or’s artistic director and choreographer Diana Lambie, who operated a school in Boston area moved to Baddeck a dozen years ago when she agreed to teach children in Middle River. Not long after, Karen Ann Campbell, a Highland dance instructor in Sydney Mines wanted her students to benefit from ballet instruction. She approached Lambie. Beginning last year, Lambie began offering ballet instruction to students in six communities each week. Saturday’s production brought hundreds of people to the performance centre. "the show was consistent with the things we want to do with Strathpey Place  Carole Chisholm explains, "We want to make it culturally international. The popularity of the BalletBras d’Or’s instruction to students in communities throughout rural Cape Breton, thanks to Diana Lambie’s commitment to the art form, means that future productions featuring local dancers are certain to become a fixture in the cultural landscape of the island.