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Center for Performing Arts Memorabilia Center for Performing Arts

12-12-1996

Hansel and GretelCenter for Performing Arts

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American Dance Center Ballet

c

PRESENTS

and GRETEL

AnoriginalballetbyJackVillari

V

H

Holiday Tradition20th Record Breaking Year

Six Spectacular PerformancesGOVERNORS STATE UNIVERSITY - CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Thurs., December 12th Fit, December 13th Sat. December 14th10:00 a.m. & 12:15 p.m. 1 0:00 a..m. & 7:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

STATE OF ILLINOIS

OFFICE O F T I I K CiovSPRINGFIELD 627O6

JIM EDGAR

G O V E R N O R

Greetings:

November 1996

As governor of the State of Illinois, I am pleased toextend my best wishes to the American Dance Center BalletCompany on the celebration of its 22nd season and 20thyear of "Hansel and Gretel," Chicago's longest runningoriginal production.

I commend the members of your ballet company on thepresentation of this holiday tradition which has earned itselfthe honor as the "area's primary annual winter holidayfare." The American Dance Center Ballet Company hasgenerated community and world-wide ties, both on and offstage. The Company should be proud of its 50-memberdance company. Especially in an age when arts institutionsare struggling to keep afloat, it is inspiring to witness thecontinued success of this home-grown effort

On behalf of the citizens of Illinois, please accept mybest wishes for another successful season and for continuedsuccess in the future.

Best regards,

Jim EdgarGOVERNOR

^•x^x^x^sc^x^x^x

HANSEL AND GRETELAs a child, I would wait with great anticipation for December to

arrive. It was always an exciting time off/ear with music, dancing,presents, candy and family traditions taking on special meaning.And... the magic seemed to grow as the holidays approached...

Yes, children's dreams are special dreams, entwined in the worldof fairy tales and make believe, where dreams come true andeveryone lives happily ever after.

As an adult, I wanted to recapture the innocence of all thatembraces Childhood and expand these magical moments by

1 creating a holiday production that would appeal to all ages.The classic children's fairy tale, "Hansel and Gretel" interested

me. One of the best known stories throughout the world and atraditional Christmas opera in Europe, it seemed appropriate tocreate a "Hansel and Gretel" ballet that families could sharetogether. With this in mind, I put together a score with variedmusical selections, tempered some of the cruelties of the originalBrothers Grimm story, and added choreography and dialogue toexpand the visual and emotional moments.

This year, we celebrate the 20th annual presentation of thisholiday ballet, now a family tradition in our area.

It is my hope that we will all share the spirit of children throughour common bond of memories and the universal language of dance.

JACK VILLARIArtistic Director

HANSEL AND GRETELACT I

UR story starts out early one morning in the villagesquare. Hansel and Gretel earn enough money sellingbrooms to buy fresh-picked strawberries, a delicious

dinner treat for the poor family. Anxiously, they rush home tocomplete their daily chores and await the return of their motherand father. As time passes, they become restless and begin tosing and dance. In the midst of all their merriment, Gretelaccidentally knocks over the bowl of berries. Mother comeshome to find everything in disarray and angrily sends them offto the forest to pick more berries.As night falls, father arrives and discovers that Hansel andGretel have not returned. Afraid of possible danger, they rushout in search of the two children.Darkness has enveloped the forest. Hansel and Gretel arefrightened, weary and lost. As they search for the pathway,ordinary trees appear to be grappling monsters. Coming into aclearing, the two tired children decide to say their prayers andgo to sleep. The Sand Madchen sends them to dreamland andcalls upon the Guardian Angels to protect the innocent childrenthrough the night.

— INTERMISSION —ACT II

S dawn approaches, the Guardian Angels bid farewell tothe children and herald the beginning of a new day. AnEnchanted Forest Fairy appears and greets the Morning

Sun. Hoping to rid the forest of a witch's evil spell, she leads thechildren to the witch's gingerbread house. Tempted by all kindsof sweet things to eat, they hungrily sample the tasty offerings.The Sugary Witch catches them and threatens to turn them intodelicious, life size cookies. But Gretel outwits the witch andpushes her into the cookie machine. The witch herself becomesa gingerbread cookie and Hansel and all the other youngchildren are released from her spell.The Forest Fairy excitedly returns with the mother, father andother townspeople, who had joined in the search. Together theyrejoice in a grand celebration of dance. Suddenly, the greatestmoment of joy, the Guardian Angels reappear with a multitudeof the heavenly host and they bless the family saying "Glory toGod in the highest and on earth, peace among men of good will".

HANSEL AND GRETELAn original ballet in two acts

Written and staged by JACK VILLARIChoreographed by KATHLEEN SIMS VILLARI

ACT1Hansel .... Wilfredo RiveraGretel Jennifer LaggerMother Melody GeraciFather Jack VillariWindStorm

Kim Hanna, Vikki Lazuka, Kristen Lolli, KarinnaLorenzini, Megan Nowak, Adrienne Minster

Sand Madchen Suzanne RoseGuardian Angels Angelica Burgos & Lee-Wei ChaoAngels

Leslie Czarnecki, Amanda Doll, Leslie Hubbard, AllisonHudson, Kara Luchansky, Kristen Lolli, JacquelineMcKenna, Adrienne Minster, Molly Mulvihill, SarahPavlacka, Robyn Stone, Tracy Tritt

ACT II

Forest Fairy Sara Pavlacka (Thurs. 10:00, Fri. & Sat. 7:00)Forest Fairy Tracy Tritt (Thurs. 12:15, Fri. 10:00, Sat. 2:00)Morning Sun Maria VillariSunrays Amanda Doll, Adrienne MinsterSunbeams

Heidi Anderson, Leslie Czarnecki, Tarek Halaby, KimHanna, Leslie Hubbard, Allison Hudson, Nicole Lazuka,Kristen Lolli, Robyn Stone

Sugary Witch Kathleen Sims VillariGingerbread Children

Danielle Carter, Amy Farrell, Kathryn Hahn, Paige Jarvie,Tiffany Johnson, Jamie Hume-Killion, Jenna Kusmierek,Katy Leisenfelt, Lauren Payne, Naomi Thrall, MeganValerius, Dana Wolk

TownspeopleTarek Halaby, Kathryn Hahn, Kim Hanna, RichJagodzinski, Tiffany Johnson, Jehna Kusmierek, NicoleLazuka, Vikki Lazuka, Karinna Lorenzini, Megan Nowak,Brian Villari, Dana WolkGymnasts: Laura Bos, Caitlin Marz

Use of video cameras and other recording devicesis prohibited by U.S. copyright laws.

The AMERICAN DANCE CENTER BALLET... is a not-for-profit resident company representing almost every southsuburban community. As the performing wing of the AmericanDance Center school in Olympia Fields, its main goal is to developprofessional level performances and cultural opportunities in thearea. Serving as a springboard for gifted area dancers, it bridgesthe gap between classroom studies and professional theatre.Participants are selected annually and perform with internationaldance soloists under the guidance of director, Jack Villari andchoreographer, Kathleen Sims Villari.

Helping to develop close ties and understanding between nations,it has arranged prestigious cultural exchange programs. TheCompany received national attention in '78 when soloists fromthe famed Bolshoi Ballet of Russia danced as guest artists inHansel and Gretel. Featured dancers have also represented theNew York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The JeffreyBallet, National Ballet of Canada, Stuttgart Ballet, Zurich Ballet,Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Kirov Ballet.

Performing in all styles of dance the Company has beensupported and recognized by the Illinois Art Council, UrbanGateways, the Daily Southtown and Star Newspapers, TargetStores, national dance critics and other arts organizations for itsprofessional standards and contributions to greater Chicago. Assouth suburban's resident ballet company, it has provided avariety of cultural programs that respond to community needsincluding, chartered ballet tours, a film festival of dance, seniorand junior performing groups, international guest artists, masterteachers, university affiliated shows, touring ensemble shows,lecture-demonstrations, scholarship programs and school fieldtrip grants.

COMPANY PROFILESI JACK VILLARI, (Artistic Director) of the! American Dance Center Ballet Company isresponsible for all creative and managerial deci-sions. He has created and directed all of the com-pany's original ballets including "To Live is toDance", "Leaves of Gold," "The MagicToyshop", "Peter and the Wolf and "Hansel andGretel." He is founder of the American Dance

Center School and developed the college credited dance curricu-lum for Prairie State College and Governors State University. Asan accomplished singer-actor, he has appeared with top personal-ities on numerous TV shows, Broadway musicals, night clubs andmovies. He is recipient of the Silver Award of Excellence from theInternational Film Festival for his work in the television com-mercial field and is listed in International Leader's inAchievement and Who's Who in Entertainment. Jack is a mem-ber of Screen Actors Guild, American Guild of Variety Artists,Actors Equity and Morality in Media.

KATHLEEN SIMS VILLARI, (Sugary Witch) ischoreographer for the Ballet Company anddirector of dance for the American Dance CenterSchool. She holds a BA in Dance from ButlerUniversity, Indianapolis and furthered her classi-cal training at the renowned Ballet Russe deMonte Carlo and American Ballet Theatreschools. She is former dance director of the Royal

Academy of Performing Arts in New York and was named in"Outstanding Young Women of America" for her professionalaccomplishments. She has worked in association with WarnerBros., Hanna-Barbera and Walt Disney Productions. Ms. Simshas danced in the national company of "Camelot", supper clubs,broadway musicals, Illinois Ballet, as the Snow Queen in televisedversions of "The Nutcracker" and as a soloist with the ButlerBallet, Chicago, Cincinnati and Indianapolis symphonies.

Together, Jack and Kathleen have performed for presidents, JohnF. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. They authored the world's topselling anthology on the phenomena of Disco and have been rec-ognized "as a vital force in the world of dance" in Dancemagazine"for their significant role in the development of America's richdance heritage."

PRINCIPAL DANCERSFor the past 17 years, the American Dance Center Ballet has com-missioned young professional dancers from the Joffrey II ConcertDancers in New York City. Dancing the roles of the GuardianAngels in this years production are-

Angelica BurgosA

Lee-Wei Chao

ANGELICA BURGOS was born in Armenia and trained in Russiaand the Dominican Rebluc. She has been on scholarship at theJoffrey Ballet school in New York City for the past 4 years and is amember of the Joffrey II Concert Dancers. Miss Burgos hasdanced leading roles in Nutcracker, Raymonda, Waltzes and Etudes.

LEE-WEI CHAO of Taiwan, studied ballet, modern and Chinesedance at the National Institute of the Arts. He danced withSingapore Dance Theatre, Four Seasons Ballet and Henry YuModern Dance Co. Leading roles include, Paquita, Graduation Balland Birds of Paradise. Lee-Wei is currently dancing with theJoffrey II Concert Dancers.

# * # *

WILFREDO RIVERA, (Hansel) was born into amusical family in Honduras and graduated fromthe New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He hasdanced in videos and industrials both regionallyand nationwide. Wilfredo is on the faculty at theLou Conte dance studio and a former soloist withRiver North Dance Company.

JENNIFER LAGGER, (Gretel) debuts in this roleafter dancing the Forest Fairy last year. As anAmerican Dance Center Aspiring Artist, shedanced at the '96 World Olympics, InternationalDance Festival, Disneyland and Great America.iJennifer was nationally selected to attend theRobert Joffrey Summer Workshop for 2 years.

SOLOIST IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

MELODY GERACI, (Mother) holds a M.A. inCommunications from the University of Illinois whereshe performed with UIC Circle dancers. A former mem-ber of the Joel Hall Dance Co., she has danced overseasin London, Belfast, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.Melody has been a faculty member at the AmericanDance Center for the past 6 years.

SUZANNE ROSE, (Sand Madchen) returns for herninth year as a soloist in Hansel and Gretel This will beher second year dancing this role having previously beenseen as the Forest Fairy. Suzanne danced in Chicago'sNutcracker at Arie Crown theatre for 7 years and holdsa B.A. in dance from Indiana University.

SARAH PAVLACKA, (Forest Fairy) is an AmericanDance Center Aspiring Artist scholarship trainee andhas danced in Hansel and Gretel for 5 years. Versatile injazz, modern and tap, she makes her debut as a balletsoloist in this production. Sarah performed at theRobert Joffrey and Disney World Workshops for thepast 2 years.

TRACY TRITT (Forest Fairy) makes her solo balletdebut as an American Dance Center Aspiring Artistscholarship trainee. She performed with the company atthe '96 World Olympics, Atlanta and the InternationalDance Festival, Hollywood. She was an AU-Americanwinner for the '96 National Cheerleader Association.

MARIA VDLLARI, (Morning Sun) is rehearsal captainfor the company. An American Dance Center teacherfor 10 years, she choreographed numerous award-win-ning pieces in tap and jazz. Graduated Phi Theta Kappafrom Prairie State CoDege on a performing arts scholar-ship, she has worked in theatre, videos, TV, fashionshows and industrials.

BALLET CONTRIBUTIONSWe gratefully acknowledge all of these contributors whose interest and

financial support are so vital to our continuing area commitments.

SUSTAINING SPONSORSHIP - $5,000 or moreTARGET STORES

CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP - $1,000.00 or more**STAR NEWSPAPERSDAILY SOUTHTOWN

ANGELS - $500.00 or moreBANK OF HOMEWOODBANKOFMATTESONFIRST NATIONAL BANK OF JOLIET

* FIRST MIDWEST FINANCIAL- Ben Wozniak, ItascaSTEPHEN E. JAR VIE, D.D.S. - Flossmoor

* MERRILL LYNCH - Rob Juskiewicz, Matteson** MR. & MRS. SAM VILLARI

BENEFACTORS - $100.00 or more** AURELIO'S PIZZA - Homewood** ANDREWS PRINTING - Harvey** ARMIDA FLORIST - Chicago Heights

B ANQUE PARIBAS - Chicago** BEVERLY BANK - Matteson

BLACK TIE FORMALWEAR - MattesonMR. & MRS. HAROLD BOSBOS SAND COMPANY - Frankfort

** CHICAGO DOUGH COMPANY - Richton Park* CUB FOODS - Chicago Heights* FUDDRUCKER'S - Matteson

HAMPTON INN - Matteson**DR. & MRS. ERLING HARRY

PETER LEVIN - Chicago Heights** LINCOLN MALL - Matteson

MC LACHLAN, RISSMAN & DOLL - Chicago* MINSTER MECHANICAL SALES - Chicago Heights** 1ST MUFFLER & BRAKES - Olympia Fields** PANOZZO BROS. FUNERAL HOME - Chicago Heights

SPOT NOT CAR WASH - HomewoodBRENT STANFORD, D.D.S. - Chicago HeightsSTIFEL, NICOLAUS & COMPANY - Jack Smith, Olympia FieldsT.C.F. BANK ILLINOIS - Chicago Heights, FrankfortMR. & MRS. JAY THRALLU-HAUL - Park ForestMR. & MRS. DAVID WIECHERSWJOL 1340 AM - JolietWJTW 93.5 FM- Joliet

PATRONS - $50.00 or more

* ARNEBAUERCADILLACCMC TRUCK CO. -Chicago HeightsBRODERICK ALUMINUM, INC. - Chicago Heights

** FLOWERS BY DON - Richton ParkFRESH STARTS RESTAURANT - FlossmoorHIGH STEPPIN DANCE APPAREL - Steger

** HOMEWOOD FLORIST - HomewoodJ.P. RUKLIC SCREW COMPANY - Homewood

** LIANG'S II & HI - Richton Park & MattesonMC DONALD'S - Olympia FieldsR.T.C. & ASSOCIATES, INC. - New LenoxSHAVER MITSUBISHI - HomewoodTHE EGG AND I - Chicago HeightsTHE MAGIC TOUCH CAR WASH - Matteson

* WAL-MART - Matteson

FRIENDS - $25.00 or more

A BETTER DOOR AND WINDOW COMPANY - Chicago Heights** ADVANCE BANK - Lansing* ALL VIDEO SERVICE - Chicago Heights* ARRENELLO'S PIZZA - Glenwood* CLEMENSEN'S FLOWERS - Flossmoor

COUNTRY DEPOT - PebtoneDECOR AND MORE - PeotoneGABY IRON AND METAL COPANY - Chicago Heights

* JAMES T. FILZONE INSURANCE AGENCY - South HollandLISA H. GRANT, D.D.S., M.S. - FlossmoorHOFMANN FLORIST - Chicago HeightsJEWEL FOOD STORES - Olympia FieldsJUST BEWTEEN TRENDS - HomewoodKNECHT BUILDERS, INC. - Peotone

* FRANK & CARM LAGGERLE'S SALON - HomewoodLOOKING GLASS RESTAURANT - Chicago HeightsNEW HORIZON SALON LTD. - Olympia Fields

* NIX NAX ACTIVE WEAR-HomewoodTHE O'DONNELL FAMILYOLD COUNTRY BUFFET - MattesonOLYMPIA CLEANERS - Olympia FieldsTHE PAYNE & PRATER FAMILIESR. HENRY'S DELI-CACYS - Flossmoor

* JERRY SHEEHAN-STATE FARM INSURANCE-Park ForestHAROLD K. SHINSKY, D.D.S - Matteson.SPIFFY, INC. - Flossmoor

* VENICE RESTAURANT - Chicago HeightsTHE WOLK FAMILY

** YASEEN JEWELERS - Flossmoor

* Indicates continued sponsorship for 5 or more years.**Jndicates continued sponsorship for 10 or more years.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During this season of gift giving, we are happy to present our giftof "Hansel and Gretel" to the area.

We wish to thank the news media for their excellent coverage ofthis major event and for special courtesies extended to ourambassadors of dance during their stay with us. Of course, a pro-duction of this kind would be impossible, if it were not for the vol-unteer help and participation of so many. We would particularlylike to thank all the unseen individuals who support our efforts,our continuing business and individual sponsors, and of coursecontinuing business an individual sponsors, and of course you,the theatre-goer who makes it all worthwhile.

GIVE THE GIFT

Through Dancemay we all learn to value

that which should be valued:dedication, understanding and joy.

Best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season

AMERICAN DANCE CENTERA School and Performing Center

2428 Lincoln Hwy., Olympia Fields

- Winter Registration -Dec. 16 to Jan. 25

Pre-School to AdultBallet • Modern • Jazz • Tap

Gymnastics • Modeling • Ballroom

•n , , « . > Phone 708-747-4969Official School of the

, American Dance Center Ballet Co.

• NOW AT 6 LOCATIONSHomewood • Oak Forest • Oak Lawn

Olympia Fields • Palos Park • Tinley Park

THE TRADITION GROWSJoin Hansel and Gretel's gala 21st year celebration!

Guarantee your seating for next year at special group rates.Write or phone the American Dance Center now, (708) 747-4969