Ballet's Greatest Hits, featuring Antonio Douthit and Alicia Graf Mack

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Ballet's Greatest Hits! will feature prominent dancers from the world’s most well known companies.

Presented by Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) and the Straz Center, this unique production is one you don’t want to miss!
Ballet's Greatest Hits!Jan. 5, 2013at the Straz Center, Tampa
Today’s featured performers of the upcoming show are Antonio Douthit and Alicia Graf Mack of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.

Photo from alvinailey.org

Antonio Douthit, of S. Louis, Mo., began his dance training at age 16 at the Center of Contemporary Arts under the direction of Lee Nolting, and at the Alexandra School of Ballet. He also trained at North Carolina School of the Arts, the Joffrey Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet and the Dance Theatre of Harlem School.He became a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1999 and appeared in featured roles in the ballets South African Suite, Dougla, Concerto in F, Return and Dwight Rhoden’s Twist. He was promoted to soloist in 2003. He also performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal.He joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 2004.
Alicia Graf Mack trained at the Ballet Royale Institute of Maryland under Donna Pidel, and attended summer intensives at the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.She was a principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2005 to 2008.In addition to several galas and festivals, she has been a guest performer with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet and with André 3000 and Beyoncé at Radio City Music Hall. She is the recipient of the Columbia University Medal of Excellence and Smithsonian Magazine’s Young Innovator Award.Mack graduated magna cum laude with honors in history from Columbia University and received an M.A. in nonprofit management from Washington University in St. Louis.Most recently, she served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Webster University in St. Louis.She rejoined Alvin Ailey in 2011.

Free Rock School workshop

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Dean Tidey, Rock School instructor and guitarist for Muddy Apes

Ever thought about being in a band?
Join us at the Patel Conservatory for a FREE Rock School workshop!
Rock School WorkshopSaturday, Jan. 5, 20131 p.m. in the TECO Theater 1010 N. W.C. MacInnes Place, downtown Tampa
The Conservatory’s Rock School program brings students together to form bands according to age and skill level.
At the workshop, Rock School instructors Dean Tidey and Paul Stoddart, along with current Rock School students, will demonstrate some skills and thrills of being in a band. It's your backstage pass to hang out and talk shop with the guys who've been there, done that.
Workshop participants in grade four through adult are invited to bring a guitar, bass or drum sticks for tips and demonstrations from presenters (drum set, amps and keyboards provided). Vocal coach Deborah Lynch will assist with vocal instruction.
You'll learn more about the Patel Conservatory’s popular Rock School program, and how you, too, can get on stage!
Tidey writes, produces and plays guitar for Muddy Apes. Previously, Tidey played guitar for a dozen years in the acclaimed English rock band, Feeder, a band that opened for U2, REM and the Rolling Stones, among notable bands. 
Stoddart has taught guitar and music theory/arrangement/songwriting for more than two decades. He graduated cum laude from the Berklee School of Music in 1989 with a major in Songwriting, and has played in, written for and arranged music for several bands around the country. He still plays throughout the Tampa Bay area with his four piece ensemble.
Lynch served as a music director, accompanist, vocal coach and performer in Richmond, Virginia before moving to Tampa and joining the Patel Conservatory as accompanist last year. Among many other things, she has taught high school chorus, was a soloist for The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in their masterworks concerts with the Richmond Symphony, and has assisted with District Chorus festivals.
Workshop participants are invited to audition for the spring Rock School session, which begins January 15. Rock School bands rehearse weekly and participate in our Rock School Blowout concert. No prior experience is necessary.
For more information on our Rock School auditions, click here.
Our accomplished Rock School teachers are ready to get you rocking!
The workshop is free, but RSVP is required. To reserve your spot, please email music@strazcenter.org or call 813-222-6411.

Auditions for spring Rock School program

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The Patel Conservatory in downtown Tampa will host placement auditions for its spring Rock School program.
Rock School Auditions
Sat., Jan. 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Patel Conservatory, Tampa
Come find your inner rocker! Learn new music on your instrument, songwriting and vocal techniques.
Female rockers and vocalists welcome! No experience necessary.
Students in our Rock School program are placed in a band according to age and skill level. Bands rehearse weekly and the program culminates in our Rock School Blowout concert open to the public.
You can also learn music reading, terminology and notation in Fundamentals of Music. This class is free and open to students enrolled in any class at the Patel Conservatory.
Academic credit may be available for classes taken at the Conservatory. Prior approval from your school is required.
For the audition, bring your guitar, bass or drumsticks (drum set, amps and keyboards provided). Requires a $15 audition fee.
To schedule your audition, or for more information, please e-mail music@strazcenter.org or call 813.222.1002.

Playtime meets learning time

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Last month, the Patel Conservatory offered free classes at the John F. Germany library downtown as part of the library’s Thursdays Toddler Time.


Instructors Allison Novak and Karyn DeLoach led the children and parents through our Tots and Tunes and Creative Movement classes.
Many parents, toddler and even babies had a great time singing and learning rhythm and movement patterns.

Make a weekly date for your playgroup where toddlers can play and explore music, creative expression and movement!
For more information about our preschool classes, please call 813-222-1002.

The healing power of the arts

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The theater is a place that inspires creativity and imagination. It’s also a place that can comfort and heal.

For Patel Conservatory theater student Joanna Crosswait, the theater has given her new life.
The 25-year-old actor from Tarpon Springs was diagnosed with cancer last year. Her passion for theater was one thing that kept her going through some dark days, and it’s the one thing that’s helped her regain her strength.
“I’ve been acting my whole life, since I was three years old,” said Joanna, who grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and moved with her family to Tarpon Springs in 2009.
In high school, she focused on Shakespeare and set her sights on Julliard, but persistent stomach problems kept her ill much of the time.
“Since I was 14, my stomach was messed up, I felt run down and tired all the time,” she said.
She couldn’t eat, and she began losing weight. Consistently nauseous and having pain that radiated to her rib cage, she went to several doctors, who thought she had some type of gastric disorder.
After high school, her health forced her to put off college. At age 20, she built up enough strength and courage to audition for Julliard.
Auditions were in Atlanta, and she had set up the appointment, prepared her monologues and planned the trip. 
But when the day came, she got sick again and ended up in the hospital for endoscopic surgery in search of an answer to her stomach problems, but to no avail.
At 24, she found lumps in her neck that seemed to appear overnight.
“I was finally diagnosed at 24 with Hodgkins lymphoma,” said Joanna. “It turns out that I had cancer since I was 14.”
The stress of the cancer had triggered her stomach disorder. By the time she was diagnosed, cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
She underwent four months of chemotherapy, which left her even weaker and caused other health complications.
“The night I lost my hair, I slipped into a coma. I almost died,” she said. “I had all kinds of crazy dreams. At one point, my uncle who passed away came to me in my dream. He said, ‘You have to get back on that stage. That’s where you belong.’”
That was a turning point for Joanna. When she regained consciousness, she thought, I’m probably going to die, but I’m going to go down fighting.
She says that without her family and the desire to act again, she couldn’t have made it. “Those are the two things that made me fight, otherwise, I would have given up.”
Joanna finished chemotherapy a year ago in December, and finished radiation treatments in March. She is now in remission.
This past summer, she was looking at the Straz Center website to see what Broadway shows were coming to Tampa, and she discovered the theater classes at the Patel Conservatory.
When she joined the musical theater class, it was like coming home.
“The teachers are all so fantastic. They make you feel like you’re supposed to be there. In class, it’s a real warm, inviting atmosphere,” she said.
“It feels like I’m alive again. I haven’t been alive for the past five years. I’m finally able to do what I’ve always done, act and sing and perform.”

Free Movie Night

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Join us for a free Movie Night at the Patel Conservatory in downtown Tampa.

The Patel Conservatory will host a screening of the 1962 film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Music Man on Wed., Dec. 5.
In anticipation of Patel Conservatory Youth Theater’s (PCYT) production of The Music Man, Jr., all students, friends and family are invited for popcorn and the movie.
PCYT will present The Music Man, Jr in April. Get a sneak peak of the show before auditions, which will be this Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012.
Film synopsis: Robert Preston repeats his legendary stage performance as fast-talking con man Harold Hill, who goes from town to town selling citizens on starting a "boy’s band." He takes their money, promising to teach the kids how to be musicians, and he skips town. Looking for new suckers in Iowa, Hill arrives in River City and soon sets his sights on winning over local music teacher Marian Paroo (Shirley Jones). Find out what happens as Hill tries to keep his scam a secret!
The free movie screening will be Dec. 5, 2012 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the TECO Theater.
R.S.V.P. on Facebook, and invite your friends!
For more information, call 813.222.1002.

Theater students land roles in holiday productions

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Congratulations to theater students who've recently been cast in stage productions around town.
******Some of our musical theater students recently got a taste of Broadway with a walk-on role in Elf, the Musical here at the Straz Center.
Congratulations to the following students who played the children in line for Santa in Elf, which played in Morsani Hall:Torrie Bradley, Emma Kerrick, Ashlyn Lopez, Lindsey Davis, Sarah Watson, Ben Watson, Caleb Quezon, Katie Troke, Alexa Lowrey, Analisa Benitez, Brianna Serafin, Bianca Rivera-Irions, Catherine Touchton and Mark Bensonoff.
*******Congratulations to musical theater student Paige Crockett who was cast in two upcoming productions.
Paige was cast as Young Helen in Hollywood Arms, playing in January at the Francis Wilson Playhouse in Clearwater, and she was cast as Bob Cratchit's daughter, Martha, in the musical version of A Christmas Carol at FreeFall Theater in St. Petersburg.
“I auditioned for (A Christmas Carol) last year, and it was really fun,” said Paige, 13, who played three different children’s roles in the production last year.
Paige started taking theater classes at 11. An avid tap dancer, she enjoyed music as well and decided to combine her interests with musical theater. She’s taken classes and performed with St. Petersburg City Theater, FreeFall Theater and Ruth Eckerd Hall.
She started at the Patel Conservatory this fall, and enjoys the atmosphere and instructors. “It’s always helpful to learn from different places,” she said.
“I’m really excited for the upcoming show, and I’m excited for upcoming things at Patel,” she said.
She’s looking forward to Music Man, Jr. at the Patel Conservatory in the spring. Auditions for Music Man, Jr. will be Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012.
“I haven’t done a play at Patel yet, and I think it’s going to be really fun,” she said.
A Christmas Carol will be at FreeFall Theater in St. Petersburg Dec. 13 through Dec. 30, 2012.
Want to learn how to stand out at auditions? Check out our audition workshops! Join us Dec. 7 and Dec. 14, 2012 for audition techniques that could help you snag that next role! The audition workshop series will be offered again in Feburary.