Ballet Theater of Lancaster (BTL) received it’s 501(c)3 status from the Internal Revenue Service in April 1994. Carolyn Trythall is the company’s artistic director. A local board of directors manages BTL.
Company membership is open to dancers 12 through 23 years of age. Auditions are held annually in May for the company year beginning September 1. BTL works with about 25 dancers each year. Dancers learn choreography from internationally recognized dance artists, cultivate a spirit of cooperation with one another, develop self-discipline and perseverance, and learn to think creatively through movement. They work in a professional environment within their own community.
The company presents The Nutcracker in the fall of each year. This is a joint venture with the Donetsk Ballet of the Ukraine. Company dancers and dancers from local studios share the stage with the professional world-renowned artists from the Donetsk. Daytime performances introduce the classical ballet to area school children. The company presents an annual spring concert.
Faculty
Carolyn Trythall, Artistic Director
Carolyn
Trythall established Lancaster School of Ballet in 1976, using the Cecchetti Ballet Methodology*.
In 1989 Mrs. Trythall founded Ballet Theater of Lancaster (BTL), envisioning a company that would serve the community by performing
children’s ballet for children, and provide talented local students with an outstanding performance venue. BTL became a separate
non-profit organization in 1992.
Mrs. Trythall originally studied classical ballet with her mother, Ivy Randall, in Washington, DC, and at the School of the National
Ballet of Canada in Toronto. After performing with regional ballet companies including L. Fokine’s Civic Ballet Company of Washington,
DC and summer stock, Mrs. Trythall earned her BA in Art Education and Dance from the University of Maryland. She completed her teacher’s
training at the Royal Ballet School in London, England.
She is a Licentiate of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, a Fellow and Senior Examiner of the Cecchetti Council of America (CCA),
and a member of Dance Masters of America. She has served as Adjunct Professor at Franklin and Marshall College and as Dance Chairperson
of the Washington Chapter of the National Society of Arts and Letters. As a member of the CCA National Examiner Board, Mrs. Trythall travels
widely to evaluate and advise Cecchetti students and teachers.
*Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928), was a renowned Italian dancer and ballet master whose teaching had impact on dancers around the world,
particularly in Russia and England.
Viktor Yeliohin, Choreographer
Viktor Yeliohin,
Ballet Master, choreographer and teacher has staged The Nutcracker in the United States since 1992, for the Donetsk Ballet.
He has been a teacher and choreographer for Lancaster School of Ballet since 1993, as well as Ballet Theater of Lancaster.
Mr. Yeliohin is a graduate of The Choreographic School in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. His ballet studies include character, folklore, drama, music,
mime and dance history. He spent a year in Samarkand with the Ballet Master from the Kirov ballet. Mr. Yeliohin joined the Donetsk Ballet in 1976
as a soloist, where he also served as a principal dancer, teacher and choreographer. He also served as choreographer for the Soviet Men’s Olympic team 1982-1986.
In 1995, Mr. Yeliohin received a diploma of Professor of Choreography from the Academic Board of the Ukraine Academy of Dance in Kiev.
Matthew (Matisse) Metro, Teacher
Matthew Metro teaches lyrical
and modern dance at Lancaster School Ballet. He also assists with rehearsals and master classes for Ballet Theater of Lancaster.
Mr. Metro trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and musical theater at the Dance Conservatory of Southern Minnesota, the Mankato Ballet, and Mankato State
University. He has performed with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, and DisneySea’s Mystic Rhythms in Tokyo.
Mr. Metro has taught master classes for the Michigan Ballet Theater, and Chicago’s Lorraine Gray Dance Studio. He prides himself in being a passionate,
disciplined teacher and a diversified, spirited performer.
Sonia K. Jones, Teacher
Sonia Jones teaches the
Cecchetti Ballet Method at Lancaster School of Ballet. She assists with company classes and rehearsals and is The Nutcracker
Assistant Director for Ballet Theater of Lancaster. Ms. Jones is also a biology student at Millersville University.
Ms. Jones has studied Cecchetti Ballet Method, Vaganova Ballet Method, tap, modern, character, and jazz. As a Cecchetti student, she passed the
Professional Intermediate VI Exam. Ms. Jones is a certified teacher of Cecchetti Ballet Method, Grades I, II, & III. She has attended Cecchetti
Council of America International Teacher’s Seminar, as well as Lancaster School of Ballet’s Summer Seminar.
In addition to performing with Ballet Theater of Lancaster during her six years as a company member, Ms. Jones choreographed and directed an original
version of Anne of Green Gables. She has also performed and studied with Franklin and Marshall College Dance Company.
Board Of Directors
| Ballet Theater of Lancaster | |||
| Board Members - Officers | Members at Large | ||
| Molly Carey | President | Dorothy Ilvento-Theros | |
| Kathy Tripp-McRee | Vice President | Lauren Maxwell | |
| Michael Lutz | Treasurer | Tracy Rennecker | |
| Marcia Morehead | Recording Secretary | Deb Shumaker | |
| Carolyn Trythall | Artistic Director | Ann Womble | |