On March 27, Women’s Impact Fund members and their guests were treated to an inspiring and captivating evening at the ballet. The Women and Wisdom event, “Reach behind the Curtain: A Tour with Charlotte Ballet” was held at the Patricia McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance in uptown Charlotte, home of Charlotte Ballet.

After a lively hour of reconnecting with old and meeting new friends, we moved into the center’s theatre where we were treated to a company performance of “Silent Ghost”, choreographed by Alejandro Cerrudo, Charlotte Ballet’s artistic director. We were all wowed by the beauty of the piece and the talent of the dancers.

Doug Singleton, the executive director, Kimberly Pereira, Director of Education and Community Engagement and Ayisha McMillan Cravotta, the Academy director shared how their passion for dance brought them to Charlotte Ballet and moved them to find a way to share dance with others in the community. Partnering with community leaders, the Reach Program was created to provide every child an opportunity for dance training.

The Reach program was launched in 2009 with a $78,000 grant from Women’s Impact Fund. Reach provides quality dance training to students who demonstrate a natural talent for movement. Students are required to audition for a spot in the class. Class members receive 3 hours of dance training for 29 consecutive weeks, dance attire, and tickets to select Charlotte Ballet performances for themselves and their parents. The classes are held at Mecklenburg County recreation centers throughout Charlotte.

After the performance, Alejandro Cerrudo, Raven Barkley, and Luke Csordas, both company dancers and Carol Mahan, a graduate of the Reach program spoke of how dance has influenced their lives. Both Raven and Luke mentioned that they were able to attend school and study dance because of scholarship support. Carol spoke of how she started dancing by watching performers on television and dancing with them. After graduating from the Reach program, she is currently an Academy trainee with the Charlotte Ballet. Scholarships for the Academy are available to aspiring dancers. As of today, 50 Reach graduates have received Academy scholarships.

Ayisha closed the event by reminding us that dance is a universal language understood by all who are lucky enough to experience it. Those of us who attended this wonderful event were lucky indeed.