NYDP Artistic Director Davis Robertson and Peter Pucci worked together with the Joffrey Ballet in New York City
when Peter was choreographing on the company and Davis was a Principal Dancer. From their friendship came the idea of bringing the NYDP to perform at the YMCA. Robbie Gill the CEO of the YMCA of Chesapeake has a relationship with the CCF. He was instrumental in developing the Carole Cascio Pickleball Courts in the gym at the Y.
Robbie and his team Brian Byrnes, Laura Feller, Kerry Daly worked together with Peter to map out the details for the performance. Laura, Kellen Paddy and his crew prepped the gymnasium for the performance.
Kristen Tyler, the Director of the Dance program at Queen Anne’s County High School and her team of student volunteers arrived to lay the dance floor down in the gym. It was a very serendipitous moment to see a dance floor on top of the Carole Cascio Pickleball Courts.
Michael Bell, Supervisor for Curriculum for QACPS, and Amber Wright, Director of the Dance program at Kent Island High School were instrumental in coordinating the delivery of the dance floor to the Y.
Shari Smigo, the Director of Mid Dance Academy in Centerville, worked closely with Peter and Laura to help coordinate and properly prepare the gym for the ballet dancers. It was a real community effort with tremendous amount of collaboration and focus to prepare for the performance.
The dancers arrived from New York in the middle of the afternoon and immediately went to the Creamery in downtown Centerville for lunch. Then proceeded to the take a ballet class taught by Associate Rehearsal Director, Sarah Wolff in a beautiful new dance studio at the Y to prepare for the rehearsal and performance.
As the dancers were rehearsing in the gymnasium, Sarah went to the QACHS dance studio across the street from the Y to teach a ballet master class to 25 local dancers. It was very exciting for the local dancers to have the opportunity to work with a former principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Ten of the dancers decided to audition for the NYDP’s summer intensives in New York City. All the dancers were accepted into the summer programs which is fantastic.
At the end of the very long day, the Carol Cascio Fund invited all the dancers, family and friends to a dinner at Mamma Mia’s in Centerville. It was a fun festive time. After dinner all of the dancers all piled into a van and took off for New York City.
Many audience members were very complimentary about the performance and grateful to have a professional dance company from New York City at the Y.
Everyone was curious, “When is the next performance going to happen!”
NYDP Performance Featured
The NYPD performance at the YMCA was featured in the Bay Times and Record Observer. Click below to read the full story on their website.
