Shakespearean sprites twirl in SoMa for ballet fundraiser

Arkansas Festival Ballet board members Amy Bell and Kim Meyer-Webb organized today’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream fundraiser at South on Main. “It’s a fun excuse to gather people together before the fall season really comes into play,” says Meyer-Webb.
Arkansas Festival Ballet board members Amy Bell and Kim Meyer-Webb organized today’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream fundraiser at South on Main. “It’s a fun excuse to gather people together before the fall season really comes into play,” says Meyer-Webb.

South on Main -- that cool, hip purveyor of upscale Southern food, drinks and music -- takes a little turn into the fantastical today, as it's invaded by a small army of fairies and other mystical woodland creatures.

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Cocktails and ballet go together at South on Main during the Arkansas Festival Ballet fundraiser, co-organized by Kim Meyer-Webb (left) and Amy Bell.

Dancers from Arkansas Festival Ballet will mingle and perform for patrons at this fundraiser-community outreach opportunity. The theme? A Midsummer Night's Dream, "which is one of the best ballets ever," declares board member and organizer Kim Meyer-Webb.

Amy Bell, also an event organizer and board member, agrees, "It's one of my favorites."

This is the third year for the South on Main-based event -- a casual cocktail party with mingling, fun drinks, hors d'oeuvres. The affair has a laid-back attitude but excellent posture.

"We've got the girls dressed in costumes from the ballet moving through the event," Bell explains. "Then we have the little ones perform a few scenes from the ballet on stage."

Live and silent auctions are almost a requirement at fundraisers, but this event eschews auctions in favor of a raffle, which gives everyone, whether they attend or not, a chance to participate and benefit.

"It's a great way to build suspense and get folks involved," Meyer-Webb says.

Aside from raising money, it's a way for Arkansas Festival Ballet to cultivate new friends and, hopefully, spark more interest through an event that doesn't require a major commitment of money or time.

"It's a fun way to expose some folks who maybe thought ballet wasn't something they would enjoy," Meyer-Webb says.

"That way you're not sitting through an entire performance," Bell says. "You just get a little taste of it."

People are welcome to stay for the entire event, or just drop in and out. Parents of young children who may be interested in dance are particularly welcome.

"This is a chance to have a taste of 'This is what it's like to have your children in dance,'" Bell says.

They'll also announce the 2016-17 season, including the annual spring Storybook Ballet, the highlight of Arkansas Festival Ballet's year and the chance for the students to display their training and discipline.

"It gives young dancers an opportunity to get a sense of what it's like to be a professional artist," Meyer-Webb says.

Arkansas Festival Ballet will also continue its collaborations with the Conway Symphony Orchestra, with which it performs The Nutcracker every year, and the Praeclara opera group, combining ballet with other art forms in hopes of reaching a wider audience.

Meyer-Webb says, "It's a great opportunity for us to cultivate new patrons to not only our organization but to classical ballet as a whole in central Arkansas."

That fits in closely with Arkansas Festival Ballet's mission, which is to promote, present and enhance classical ballet in Arkansas.

The group was formed in 2000 to continue the legacy of Lorraine Cranford, who brought classical ballet training to Arkansas in the 1960s with the Little Rock Civic Ballet.

Meyer-Webb has been involved with the company since its inception, serving on the board, as a ballet teacher, cameo performer and handling marketing and publicity. Bell was invited to join the board when she moved back to central Arkansas in 2006.

"It is because of our background in dance and the way it helped create who we are today that we support the organization," Meyer-Webb says.

Bell, who grew up in Arkansas, helped establish the dance program at North Little Rock High School and had opportunities for advanced dance training thanks to teacher Christen Pitts. She says she feels that Arkansas Festival Ballet and its school, Arkansas Academy of Dance, provide young dancers with many opportunities she didn't have.

"I didn't have the school or a group that I worked with. I think it's incredible. I think most importantly it gives them an experience of what it would be like to dance with a real company. It's an opportunity for girls of that age to experience what does a real dance career look like and decide whether or not that's something they're committed to after high school."

Meyer-Webb and Bell both danced in college (at Southern Methodist University and the University of Montana in Missoula, respectively), but now their dancing days are behind them.

Instead, they channel their energy and interest into supporting and encouraging young dancers.

"I think our focus is on supporting the legacy of classical ballet training in central Arkansas," Meyer-Webb says. "It's larger than just Arkansas Festival Ballet. It's another way to contribute and enrich the community we all want to see prosper."

Classical ballet is not just about artistry or cultivating talent or putting on a show.

Meyer-Webb says that beyond chaines and rond de jambe, Arkansas Academy of Dance director Rebecca Miller Stalcup "ignites some love of not only the art form, but love of self and the importance of exceeding expectations and being proud of yourself."

"It's so much more than just a little ballet class."

The A Midsummer Night's Dream fundraiser is 5-7 p.m. today at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock. Tickets are $35. For more information, call (501) 227-5320 or visit arkansasdance.org.

High Profile on 08/21/2016

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