LOTS TO CELEBRATE GOING INTO OUR 60TH YEAR!

Building a new venue for our community.

Celebrating Alachua County's 200 Anniversary.

Orchestra for Nutcracker.

And MORE....

You will have to wait until the next newsletter to find out more about our amazing 60th Anniversary Season!

Dear DANB Community,

We are saddened and disappointed that Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed the state funding for The Khoury Family Center for the Arts. (The project was carefully evaluated and approved by panel and passed by both Senate and House.) Dance Alive will continue to seek community support and corporate sponsorship and remains optimistic in our pursuit of the Capital Campaign. We have been extremely fortunate that so many people have supported Dance Alive for the last 60 years and look forward to offering the arts to generations to come.

The Khoury Family Center for the Arts will encompass 22,000+ square feet of dance and music studios benefitting the residents of North Central Florida. We will break ground in August and welcome artists to the new facility in September 2026.

Dance Alive would like to thank State Senator Stan McClain and State Representative Chad Johnson for their continued support of both Dance Alive and the Arts community.

Timothy Cannon

Executive Director

Dance Alive National Ballet

Khoury Family Center for the Arts

WISH GRANTED!

Our goal for Judy's birthday... $3,000. We are please to announce that this goal has been reached!

Judy said, " hugs and love to everyone who sent good wishes or helped me reach my goal. It was a wonderful birthday thanks to lots of really special people!"

Below, a clip from last year's Meet the Dancers at the Cade. Just pure fun. Enjoy, and "thank you" from Judy.

A Thank You!

NEWS OF NOTE...

DANB welcomes two new dancers.

DANB welcomes Hernan Montenegro to the Company. Montenegro was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, where he graduated from the Escuela de Ballet del Teatro Municipal de Santiago. At the age of 16, he won a silver medal at the Lima International Ballet Competition and a contract with Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida where he danced as a principal dancer for 3 years. In 2016 he joined Ballet De Santiago where he had the honor of dancing principal and soloist roles in ballets such as Raymonda, Firebird, The Magic Flute, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Onegin, among others.

In 2020 Montenegro moved back to the United States where he worked as a principal guest artist and teacher for Utah Metropolitan Ballet, Southwest Virginia Ballet, Virginia National Ballet, and Star City School of Ballet.

In 2021 he joined American Repertory Ballet under the artistic direction of Ethan Stiefal and Gillian Murphy. There, he had the honor of performing principal roles and several world premiers.

In 2022 he joined State Street Ballet where he had the opportunity to tour nationally and internationally.

In 2023 Hernan performed with Ballet Five Tokyo before joining The Royal Ukrainian Ballet as a soloist for a tour of Mexico, Poland, Amsterdam, and Belgium. In 2024, Hernan danced for Hong Kong Ballet and Hong Kong Disneyland, before returning to his home Country of Chile to dance with Ballet De Santiago for several programs.

Laura Vaz comes to DANB with high recommendations! Vaz is 18 years old, born in Brazil, and began training at Studio Arte Dança in Divinópolis, Minas Gerais. She participated in national and international competitions such as Passo de Arte Minas Gerais, YAGP Brazil, Festival de Dança de Joinville, Passo de Arte Grand Prix, and the Festival Internacional de Dança de Goiás where she was awarded first, second, and third places.

In 2022 and 2023, she was awarded “Best Dancer” in two different festivals.

• Selected for the Final Round of Variations (Festival de Dança de Joinville 2021)

• 1st place in Senior Contemporary Group (Festival de Dança de Joinville 2022)

• Best Dancer at Festival Dançaraxá 2022

• 1st place in Neoclassical Solo (Festival Dançaraxá 2022)

• 1st and 2nd place at Passo de Arte Minas (Variation and Neoclassical Solo - 2023)

• 2nd place in Le Corsaire Pas de Deux (Festival Internacional de Dança de Goiás - 2023)

• Best Dancer at Passo de Arte Minas 2023

• YAGP Brazil Finals 2024

• 1st place in Neoclassical Solo (Passo de Arte Grand Prix 2024)

In 2023, she performed alongside the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra in a piece choreographed by Cristina Helena.

A direct and compelling headline

WHAT'S HAPPENING?

If you want to know what's going on in Alachua County, check out the QR code AND sign up for the event guide provided by Visit Gainesville. Need special help?

Give them a call!

HOW DANCE ALIVE NATIONAL BALLET IMPACTS OUR COMMUNITY

DANB brings unparalleled quality of the arts to our community.
DANB brings business to our community.
DANB enriches lives in our community.
DANB teaches children the wonder of the arts.

Dance Alive National Ballet is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency in partnership with the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. DANB is also sponsored by the City of Gainesville, Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and a Tourist Development Tax Grant from the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in conjunction with the Alachua County Tourist Development Council. DANB is a registered 501-C not-for-profit organization. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained by calling (800) 435-7352. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State. FEID #: #23-7348157 Tax Exempt #: 11-06-032954-60c

DANCE ALIVE NATIONAL BALLET 1325 NW 2nd Street Gainesville Florida 32601 352-371-2986 www..DanceAlive.org