Classes for the winter session 2012 start this week and next.  The schedule is as follows:

Pilates:

A free private assessment classes is available to all new clients!

• Monday 10am beginner . Jan 9 to March 12. $90. No class Feb 27th
• Tuesday 6:30pm advanced. Jan 10- March 20 $80. No class Feb 7/14/28. FULL
• *Thursday 9:30am beginner. Jan 12-March 15. $90. No class Mar 1st. FULL
• !!NEW!! Adult (very) Beginner Ballet Wed. 6:15-7:45 at GES $125
• Thursday at Gabriola Elementary School.  3:15 all levels. Jan 5-Mar. 15. No class Feb 23/Mar 1. $110
• *Thursday 5:30 All Levels. Jan 12-Mar. 15. No class Feb 23/Mar 1. $80
• Saturday 9am run/Pilates with Lesley and Mara. Jan 14-Feb 18 $100.00
  

* A $10 credit will apply to all clients who have paid for the Thursday holiday mini session.

Pilates private or partner training:

Private and partner training is the best way to boost your fitness level and learn to move as perfectly and efficiently as possible. These classes are available at my home studio at your home.  Take home programs are also available. The fall 2011 prices are in effect.

 Private training:

• 1 private class $55
• 5 Private classes $250 ($50 each) 
• 10 private classes $450 ($45 each)
   
  Partner training:

• 1 class $65

• 5 classes $300 ($60 each class)

• Ten classes $550 ($55 each class)

As always these rates are negotioable and a sliding scale is available where required.

Ballet: Classes Jan. 6th to March 16th. (no classes Feb 23-Mar 2)

• Pre school Ballet Friday 11:30-12:00 Jan. 13-Feb 17 $50. Classes at Home Studio
• Performance ballet. Friday after school. More info upon request.

The following classes will be held at the GES gym and registration is through Virginia at 247-2014 or by emailing Miss Mara

• Kinderballet Friday 1:45-2:45 $90
• Grades 1-2 Wed 3:15-4:30 $115
• Grades 2-3 Tues 3:00-4:15. $115
• Teen ballet Wed 4:45-6:15 $125
• * NEW* Adult (very) Beginner Ballet Wed. 6:15-7:45 $125

It has been a busy Winter season at Gabriola Dance.  Leadiing off, the “We Are Family Dancers” did a great job opening up the Pied Piper show.  Thanks as always to Jenny Feenan for letting up tag along with her production. It’s always a blast and the performance experience is invaluable. As for performances, I couldn’t be more proud of the Kindar/gr 1 children who played the parts of the Greek Godesses in the School’s Drama club performance of Icarus. They were truely beautiful and performed with a maturity well beyond their years.  Rounding out this winter’s highlights were the class recitals.  All the children have learned so much.  Sometimes it amazes me what even one or 2 hours or ballet a week can do to a childs physical and mental devellopment.

In the new year, dance class days will remain the same with some possible tweaking of times to accomodate the school’s needs.  Added to the schedule will be a performance class for the advanced students to prepare for the Upper Island Music Festival in Nanaimo in March. There will also be an end of the year show this May. Also, an adult beginner ballet class will be offered at the school gym on Wednesdays at 6:15. 

Check back here in late December for more details.

This holiday season I am offering 20% off all Pilates gift certificates. So, for every $80 you spend you get a $100 gift certificate to be spent on any Studio Pilates class…group or private.

It’s a great way to start the new year and keep those resolutions!

If you are looking to keep fit between turkey dinner and New Years Feasts, here are some options…Please register  via email.

 Monday 10am Dec 5, 12, 19, Jan 2, 9 $50 

Tuesday 6:30 advanced class Dec 13, 20, Jan 3, 10 $40

Thursday 9:30 beginner Dec 8, 15, 22, Jan 5, 12 $50.00

Thursday 5:30 All levels Dec 8, 15, 22, Jan 5, 12  $50

Rates are:
 
1 private $55
5 privates $250 ($50 each)
10 privates $450 ($45 each)
 
Partner training:

1 class $65

5 classes $300 ($60 each class)

Ten classes $550 ($55 each class)

As always these rates are negotioable and a sliding scale is available where needed.

Check out the list of free classes from dozens of local fitness instructors!  Leslie Standerwick has compiled a list of all the diiferent fitness options on Gabriola.  Check out her website for a list of free classes offered only in NOWvember. http://www.standerwickpt.com/nowvember.html

Well I have finally come down from the clouds after Peter and The Wolf and I am looking forward to a new fun filled year of ballet.  The schedule this fall will be similar to last year’s but your child may be on a different day because they are a year older. Please email me if you have any questions about where your child would best be placed.

Once again I am hoping to have dancers in the after school Drama Club and Gabriola Theatre productions which are both in November/December.  Spots in these production classes will be offered first to keen dancers who are studying ballet technique. Look for more info on these production classes in the following month.

The session begins on Sept 20th to allow us all to adjust to the school schedule.  Most classes that are run through the Rec Society are for 12 weeks. (Kinderdance is 10 weeks.) Please note that there are no classes on Friday Sept 30th or Nov. 11th. You can register for Rec. classes by emailing me at info@maragoldtheatre.com or call Rec at 247-2014.

So, here is the schedule:

Grades 1-3 Tuesday Sept 20th to Dec. 6th. 3:00-4:15

Grades 4-7 Wednsday Sept 21st to Dec 7th 3:00-4:30

Teen Ballet Wednesday Sept 21st to Dec 7th 4:45-6:15

Kinderballet-10 week session runs on Friday Sept. 23rd to Dec 9th (no class Sept. 30th or Nov.11th) 2:00-2:45

Preschool Ballet will be 10 sessions and will run at my home studio on Fridays from Sept 16th to Nov.25th (No classes on Sept 30th or Nov.11th) 12:00-12:30. This 10 week session will cost $75.00                                                                                                                           Please note that all preschool aged children will be in the same class unless registration is high.  In this case, children will be separated by school year and another Friday class will be added.

Much of the fall schedule will remain a continuation from the previous session with an exciting new run/Pilates class that I will be co-teaching with the inimitable Leslie Standerwick.

The session begins on Monday, Sept 12th and runs for 12 weeks. (no classes Sept 29th at 3pm, 5:30 or Oct 1st) Spaces are limited and are already filling up. To register or for more info email info@maragoldtheatre.com

Monday Beginner Pilates at 10am Sept 12 to Nov. 28 $120.00

Tuesday Advanced Pilates at 6:30pm Sept  13 to Nov 29th $120.00

Thursday Beginner Pilates 9:30am Sept 15th to Dec 1 $120.00

Thursday Beginner Pilates 3:00 at GES Sept 15th to Dec 8th (no class Sept 29th)                  registration and price nfo availble through the Recreation Society.

Thursday all levels Pilates 5:30 pm Sept 15th to Dec 8th (No class Sept 29th) $120.00

Saturday beginner run/Pilates 9-10:15am Sept 17th  to Dec. 3rd (No class Oct 1st) $200

Saturday advanced run/Pilates 10:30-11:45 Sept 17-Dec 3rd (No class Oct.1st) $200

Private classes are available in my studio or at your convenience in your home.

An Experiment at Gabriola Theatre Festival

This collective dance creation by four dancers is supported by LINK Dance Foundation, MaraGold Theatre and the Gabriola Theatre Festival

Article by Mara Brenner, Gabriola Dance and Pilates

In 2008, Gail Lotenberg wondered what would happen when six dancers and six ecologists explored the concerns and passions of behavioral ecology through dance. The result has seen 3 critically acclaimed shows that have toured BC, Canada and as far as New York City. The 4^th production of this concept, EXPERIMENTS: Where Logic and Emotion Collide premieres at The Gabriola Theatre Festival on August 21st.

In the past, Gail’s company, Link Dance, has brought together world renowned scientists and dancers to explore the meeting place between ‘the two solitudes’ of art and science. Some of these themes have included the Honey Bee crisis and the loss of coral reefs.  The scientists have explained that they rediscovered through these collaborations that, like professional dancers, they are artists of a sort.  They learned that well conceived research is a thing of beauty and elegantly performed studies open the heart to the splendors of nature that surround and inspire them. They’ve shared with the dancers the pain, emotion and tears evoked by what we are doing to our planet.

Reviewers love LINK’s work on the themes of science. Kirstie McCallum from PLANK, Canada’s premiere online arts magazine said: “The success of this performance lay in strong composition and strong choreography. Abstract ideas were translated into intuitive sensory information and the choreographer understood the phrase ‘less is more,’ … confident, emotionally vibrant choreography that  is satisfying at a deep level”

For the first time this newest show has been constructed and performed by dancers alone, without the involvement of collaborating scientists. It is the voice of the collective dancers investigating with artistic inquiry, but their springboard is the methods of scientific experimentation. It has been collectively created and will be performed by acclaimed LINK dancer Cara Siu, newcomer Kirsten Wiren, and Lotenberg herself, plus the choreographic collaboration of veteran LINK Dancer Darcy McMurray.

This performance marks the first time anyone will see the perspective of the dancers; not even the scientists have yet seen this reflective piece. Don’t miss the opportunity to watch art as the voice of authority and science as the subject of inquiry. For more information go to www.gabriola theatrefestival.ca or go to the new Theatre Festival office at the village.