Marshall community foundation Grant
The Marshall Community Ballet Company recently received a $4,750 grant from the Marshall Community Foundation to help us in covering the cost of our new costumes for our 2018 Nutcracker production. A big thank you to the Foundation for their continued support!!
The Nutcracker is a Marshall tradition and is performed every other Thanksgiving weekend. The Marshall Community Ballet Company started as an idea between Sandi Dobbins and Sally Bulgarelli in 1995 while they were having lunch. They talked about how much they enjoyed seeing the show as young girls growing up and how wonderful it would be if Marshall's talented dancers could perform in their very own hometown Nutcracker. They called Tricia Hilton (Taylor) who was in her last year as a dance major at Western Michigan University to see if she might be interested in choreographing. They met, started the ball rolling and held auditions for the first Marshall Community Ballet Company production of The Nutcracker in April of 1996. The production ran every Thanksgiving season for the first few years and then became went to an every other season production.
The Nutcracker provides an opportunity for students in Marshall to be a part of a large ballet production that these kids would not have had the chance otherwise. The MCBC offers scholarships to any student that cannot afford the cost to participate in the Nutcracker. The Ballet Company took some of their dancers to local elementary schools to introduce local students to the art of ballet. They also have invited some of the nursing homes in the area to come watch the dress rehearsal for free.
“A lot of families have said it has provided a wonderful “first time” experience auditioning for their children. It has given some of them the needed boost of self-confidence to try out for other productions in the community at the Frank center and area theaters. " said Tricia Hilton.
The Marshall Community Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving quality of life in Marshall, and throughout Calhoun County. The Foundation holds permanently endowed funds from a range of donors, and serves as a conduit for special projects and the distribution of grants in support of innovative programs like this one. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.marshallcf.org.
The Nutcracker is a Marshall tradition and is performed every other Thanksgiving weekend. The Marshall Community Ballet Company started as an idea between Sandi Dobbins and Sally Bulgarelli in 1995 while they were having lunch. They talked about how much they enjoyed seeing the show as young girls growing up and how wonderful it would be if Marshall's talented dancers could perform in their very own hometown Nutcracker. They called Tricia Hilton (Taylor) who was in her last year as a dance major at Western Michigan University to see if she might be interested in choreographing. They met, started the ball rolling and held auditions for the first Marshall Community Ballet Company production of The Nutcracker in April of 1996. The production ran every Thanksgiving season for the first few years and then became went to an every other season production.
The Nutcracker provides an opportunity for students in Marshall to be a part of a large ballet production that these kids would not have had the chance otherwise. The MCBC offers scholarships to any student that cannot afford the cost to participate in the Nutcracker. The Ballet Company took some of their dancers to local elementary schools to introduce local students to the art of ballet. They also have invited some of the nursing homes in the area to come watch the dress rehearsal for free.
“A lot of families have said it has provided a wonderful “first time” experience auditioning for their children. It has given some of them the needed boost of self-confidence to try out for other productions in the community at the Frank center and area theaters. " said Tricia Hilton.
The Marshall Community Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving quality of life in Marshall, and throughout Calhoun County. The Foundation holds permanently endowed funds from a range of donors, and serves as a conduit for special projects and the distribution of grants in support of innovative programs like this one. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.marshallcf.org.