On April 14, 21 dancers from Poolesville’s Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre performed for residents of The Village of Rockville retirement community. The dancers, ages seven to seventeen, presented several classical ballet variations as well as dances from their upcoming production of The Jungle Book, an original adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic, which will be performed on June 1st at Poolesville High School. As part of its mission, Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theatre, which was founded in 2008 under the artistic direction of Fran Ichijo, goes into the community to educate and inspire audiences of all ages with high quality ballet performances. At the conclusion of this event dancers presented audience members with carnations as a token of appreciation. The performance was received with enthusiasm and the ballet theatre was invited to return for future engagements.

There’s a new production in town to compete with the various Nutcrackers, light displays, and holiday shows. For the second year now, the Hope Garden Children’s Ballet Theater (HGCBT) has staged its own version of “A Christmas Carol,” that fuses dance, acting, and music to create a gem of this classic Dickens tale. These photos are just a sample of the over 1,500 photos taken by Paolo Galli. All his photos are available for review and purchase at http://www.paologalli.net.

HGCBT's 2012 spring recital featured multiple pieces by a man and a woman, also known as a "Pas." Several local male dancers participated, including Hope Garden Ballet Academy's phenomenal instructor Dustin Kimball. Other guests from schools across the region joined us, as well. The skill and artistry of the guests complimented the ever-increasing abilities and stage presence of our local dancers, making this our most breath-taking and sophisticated performance to date!

In December of 2011 HGCBT launched what will become an annual holiday tradition with the debut of "A Christmas Carol," an original adaptation of the timeless Christmas Classic. The dazzling production thrilled the audience, and made it clear that there is no need to deal with downtown crowds and prices to get quality holiday entertainment! These photos are just a sample of the over 1,000 photos taken by Paolo Galli. All his photos are availble for view and purchase at http://www.paologalli.net.

The evening was a celebration of not only traditional ballet, but of many forms of dance. The audience was treated to some of ballet's most venerated classics, including numbers from "Le Corsaire" and "Don Quixote." But Mme. Ichijo continued her commitment to “mixing it up” by enchanting the audience with an exhilarating contemporary piece danced to the music of Michael Jackson and with a rousing display of the influence of folk dance on ballet, with “Now That’s Character,” demonstrating a distinct traditional Eastern European flair.

Hope Garden Children's Ballet Theatre dazzled its audience with three separate stories of Christmas in their holiday performance of "Noel Notes." Act One, "The Naissance" told the story of the nativity. Act Two featured a preview of HGCBT's original interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol," which will be presented in 2011 as a full-lenght ballet. Act Three featured excerpts from Tchaikovsky's classic christmas tale "The Nutcracker." These images are a small sample of thousands of professional photos taken by Paolo Galli. All his Hope Garden photos are available at www.paologalli.net.

On Saturday, September 25, Hope Garden Ballet Academy and HGCBT had a "moving" experience when they participated in the annual Poolesville Day parade. Six girls danced to "The Nutcracker" on a modified flatbed, and many younger dancers skipped merrily behind the float. Costumes and lively music entertained the crowd as the dancers literally floated by, while the younger dancers held the HGB banner and smiled at the crowd. Later in the day dancers performed excerpts from "Paquita" and a hip hop number on the bandshell stage. We showed our support for the lovely town of Poolesville, our proud home!

Classical Elements marked a major step for HGCBT, with such major pieces as "Paquita" being performed by an increasingly capable troupe.

HGCBT's latest concert, performed December 11, 2009, was our most extravagant. These photos, taken by Kirov photographer Paolo Galli during the final rehearsal, are just a few of the many shots available for review and purchase on Mr. Galli's website at www.PaoloGalli.net

HGCBT presented its spring concert "Repertoire of Life" on May 29, 2009. We regret that not all of our performers are pictured in these photos. Kirov photographer Mr. Galli selected these images in an effort to represent all of the different pieces. But all of his photos from this wonderful show are available for review and purchase through Mr. Galli's website, www.PaoloGalli.net.

These photos were provided by the families of the performers and give a glimpse of backstage preparations and the celebrating after the performance.