Seniors look forward to spring show, Snow White
Central Indiana Dance Ensemble (CIDE) is preparing to wrap up their 24th season. Dancers will present Snow White on May 18 and 19 at the Tarkington Theatre at The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.
Set to the music of Polish composer Bogdan Pavlovsky, CIDE’s dancers’ artistry and skill allow this beloved fairytale to shine with renewed vibrancy, kindling the imaginations of kids and adults alike.
Click here to purchase your tickets to the spring performance.
This performance will feature CIDE’s four graduating seniors, most of whom are going to college for dance and/or plan to incorporate dance into their lives in the future.
Four of CIDE’s graduating seniors will perform in Snow White this month. (From left) Charlotte Van Dyke, Lily Guntz, Alayna Shea, and Gretchen Greener. (Photo provided)
Charlotte Van Dyke
Charlotte Van Dyke is a senior at Guerin Catholic High School. She’s been dancing since she was two years old and has been with CIDE since 2015.
This past holiday season, Van Dyke danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy – a dream Nutcracker role since she was very young. She says she is excited to graduate and begin her freshman year as both a ballet and biology major at the University of Cincinnati.
“Ballet holds such a special place in my heart,” Van Dyke said. “It is my passion, and I could never imagine my life without it.”
In Snow White, she is performing as the raven, representing memory and ambiguity.
“The part of the raven has been challenging so far, but I have loved every minute and I can’t wait to perform it in May,” Van Dyke said.
Lily Guntz
Graduating from Carmel High School, Lily Guntz also plans to attend the University of Cincinnati as a ballet and biomedical engineering major.
“I have loved every moment of my 10 years at CIDE, but am so looking forward to my bright future,” Guntz said. “This summer, I am kickstarting my post-high school career at Cincinnati Ballet’s summer intensive to prepare for my next four years in the city.”
Before heading to Ohio, she said she is greatly anticipating the upcoming performance of Snow White where she will be the Raven Pas de Deux.
“This role has been a wonderfully challenging experience where I have had the opportunity to work with a partner and expand upon my technique,” Guntz said. “I am so excited to watch my friends and peers perform their respective roles as well, everyone has been working so hard and it has really been paying off.”
Guntz has also danced since she was two. She has attended Regional Dance America and The Ballet Alliance, both with CIDE. She reflected on how much she has enjoyed the outreach portion of CIDE, including going out into the public with performances such as Nutcracker and sharing the love of dance with aspiring young kids, parents, and grandparents. She also shared the incredible community that is part of the studio at CIDE and how every dancer bonds in a special way.
“Overall, my time at CIDE has really shaped me as a person and as a dancer, teaching me how to persevere through challenges and smile while doing it,” she said. “For that, I am truly grateful.”
Gretchen Greener
Also from Carmel High School is Gretchen Greener. Dancing since the age of three, she joined CIDE after performing in her first Nutcracker as a Gingersnap at the age of six. Since then, she has attended Regional Dance America, Ballet Alliance, and the Butler Ballet Summer Intensive (twice).
Greener has also performed in Mixed Rep, which is CIDE’s performance in March that shows not only ballet, but contemporary and modern dance. She was able to choreograph a piece for Mixed Rep that she is extremely proud of, called “Anam Cara.”
“It allowed me to combine my passion and love of ballet with my love of Irish dance as I choreographed a piece en pointe to Irish music with traditionally Irish formations,” she said. “This piece will be performed again during our final student showcase in June.”
For Snow White, Greener will perform as The Owl.
“As a graduating senior, I’ve found each of these last performances to be bittersweet,” she said. “It’s always so exciting to perform, but also realize each show will be the ‘last’ – Nutcracker, Mixed Rep, Spring Show – with all the friends I’ve been dancing with. These friends are family and I’ll miss them all so much.”
Greener said she also plans to make ballet a part of her future.
“Ballet has always provided me discipline, and it has taught me so much outside of the dance world,” she said. “It has created life-long friendships, taught time management and respect.”
Greener plans to go to college to earn her BFA in dance with a double major in either business or fashion.
“I am so excited for college as it will expand upon my dance knowledge,” she said. “The anticipation of the endless possibilities that the future holds is so exciting.”
Greener’s long-term goal is to become a studio owner.
Alayna Shea
CIDE’s final senior is Alayna Shea from Westfield High School. She has been dancing for seven years. She has attended IU’s ballet summer intensive and with CIDE has been to Regional Dance America three times and last year’s Ballet Alliances festival. This year she will do a contemporary solo in the Youth America Grand Prix.
Shea’s plan is to study Studio Art, Chemistry and Art History in hopes of becoming an Art Restorationist.
She expressed her pride that she has been able to continue the legacy of dancers who have danced in productions (such as Nutcracker) and how much she values the tradition of dance.
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Past CIDE students have been recipients of scholarships to many top dance companies and schools including Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Graduates of the company have gone on to join Richmond Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Butler Ballet, and Indiana University Dance Theatre, to name a few.
CIDE is a Resident Company with The Tarkington; it is also the only pre-professional resident with The Tarkington. To learn more about the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, including its mission, history, and more about shows, visit CIDEdance.org.