Tiny dancers: Mia Bella dancers share stage with State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine

Local dancers as young as 3 years old participated in the sold-out performance of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ at Flagler Auditorium

By Brent Woronoff
| 6:20 p.m. January 6, 2023

Full cast of Mia Bella Academy of Dance dancers and faculty during “Sleeping Beauty” rehearsals. Faculty members: Tristen Stanley (left), Lynne Dicianni (right) and Brie Valenti Crane (front). Courtesy photo

Mia Bella's audition day in October: Emma Claytor, Bella Salazar, Madison Hoisington, Andrea Gutierrez and Charlotte Sosa. Courtesy photo

Mia Bella staff, Tristen Stanley, Brie Valenti Crane and Lynne Dicianni, on the day of the show. Courtesy photo

Cupids will Sleeping Beauty on stage. Courtesy photo

Mia Bella dancers pose in front of a flower background. Courtesy photo

Mia Bella dancers during the waltz: Emma Minn (left), Emma Claytor (back middle) and Beatriz Medeiros (front right). Courtesy photo

The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine performed "Sleeping Beauty" at Flagler Auditorium on Jan. 4. Courtesy photo

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Twenty-six dancers from Mia Bella Academy of Dance in Palm Coast shared the stage with the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine in its performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Sleeping Beauty” on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at the Flagler Auditorium.

The dancers ranged in age from 3 to 14 and had fewer than 10 rehearsals to prepare for their performances, said Mia Bella's owner and artistic director, Brie Valenti Crane.

Soup for everyone from Oksa Cakes

Flagler Auditorium Director Amy Fulmer said the auditorium staff had been preparing for more than a year for the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine's performance of "Sleeping Beauty on Wednesday, Jan. 4.

“It was everything we hoped it would be,” she said of the sold-out performance, “from the (Mia Bella Academy of Dance) auditions in Ocotober to the soup for the dancers.”

Oksa Cakes Bakery & Bistro of Flagler Beach, which is owned and operated by Ukraine natives Oksana Petrova and her husband Sergiy Petrov, delivered the hot borscht soup with sour cream to the auditorium for the performers and crew, Fulmer said.

“This was a special treat for the performers. Their special recipe smelled heavenly in our green room, and the ballet consumed every drop,” Fulmer said.

Oksa Cakes' recipe for their borscht soup can be found at https://thezestpodcast.com/standard-borsch.

The Mia Bella dancers had a live audition in October and were provided videos to learn the choreography. They spent all day on Jan. 4 at the auditorium, receiving their costumes, doing dress rehearsals and finally performing in the show.

The auditions were open to all Flagler county dancers, Flagler Auditorium Director Amy Fulmer said. Mia Bella Academy volunteered to contract and coordinate auditions and rehearsals working closely with parents, and representatives from State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine, Fulmer added.

“For the kids not seeing the set or the professionals before (Jan. 4), I was impressed with how well they handled themselves,” Valenti Crane said. “They were saying, ‘This is so much fun,’ and that's what you want to hear. For some of them, it was their first time on stage, and to be part of a professional production, it was pretty dazzling, a memorable experience.”

The girls were a part of eight numbers in the two-act ballet. Four of the dancers were on stage for as long as seven minutes, Valenti Crane said.

“There was a lot of interacting (with the professional dancers). A couple of the kids had props,” Valenti Crane said. “Even the 3-year-olds had to exactly know their marks. They all handled themselves like the little professionals they are.”

The show was sold out, which gratified Valenti Crane.

“With the climate of the world right now, everyone wants to support Ukraine,” she said.

The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine is in the midst of a tour of the east coast of the United States and Canada, performing “Sleeping Beauty.” Local ballet students are included in the performances at each venue. The 55-member troupe had to rehearse covertly in Ukraine and transporting the company, sets and costumes out of the war-torn country was not easy, Ekaterina Vaganova-Yachmennikova, the company's co-artistic director, told Pointe magazine.

“Dancers already have a very short artistic life,” she told the magazine. “Our priority has to be the human life. So the fact that they are able to continue to do their job is priceless given the surrounding circumstances.”

“Even the 3-year-olds had to exactly know their marks. They all handled themselves like the little professionals they are.”

— BRIE VALENTI CRANE, owner and artistic director of Mia Bella Academy of Dance

Valenti Crane said because the ballet was sold out, some of the family members of the Mia Bella dancers were unable to get tickets. But when the young dancers came out for the first time, the audience applauded loudly, she said.

Mia Bella Academy of Dance was the official sponsor for the “Sleeping Beauty” performance at the Flagler Auditorium. Valenti Crane founded the academy 13 years ago. Her husband, Braham Logan Crane, is the director of Artists Simply Human dance conventions.

“Dance is the business of our family,” Valenti Crane said.

She said that as a patron of the arts, she was excited to see all 1,150 seats in the auditorium were filled.

“Flagler Auditorium does such a great job involving the community,” Valenti Crane said. “We’re always so thankful to (Auditorium Director) Amy Fulmer and all the things the auditorium does to keep arts alive in our community. All around, it was a wonderful experience.”