Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes:
Carlene Poster says she’s “proud” to be at the helm of the Glens Falls Ballet and Dance Center as it marks its 50th anniversary year this weekend with a series of three concerts at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls.
The concerts are Saturday, May 14 — at 12:30 p.m. for Junior Company members with guest performances by key Senior Company dancers ($13), and at 6:30 p.m. for Senior Company members ($15). They’re back on stage Sunday, May 15, for a combined companies concert at 12:30 p.m. ($15). Box office: 480-4878.
The school was started in 1965 by Oleg and Mirielle Briansky, husband-and-wife dancers from France and Russia who had previously launched a summer dance school in Saratoga, “even before the New York City Ballet came to Saratoga,” Ms. Poster notes.
“A group of parents in Glens Falls asked them to start a year-round school here,” Ms. Poster recounts. They started in downtown Glens Falls, which is why the school, located in a signature pink building on Bay Road, is named as it is.
Ms. Poster, a professional dancer with Phildanco in her hometown of Philadelphia, started teaching dance there when she moved to Glens Falls. The Brianskys invited her to take over the school in 1981 — “and the rest is history,” she says.
Star pupil: Ling Minucci
One student on stage this weekend, for all performances, is Ling Minucci, 13, of North Creek.
Most recently, Ling was selected by audition for a five-week summer intensive program by the School of American Ballet in New York City, affiliated with the New York City Ballet.
“It’s big. I’m very excited,” she said. “One of my goals is to go to the School of American Ballet, year-round. I want to be a professional dancer.”
She said she started dancing at age 3, and “dancing for real” at 9. “It makes me really happy,” she says. “Not just performing: I like the training and the classes, practicing one thing over and over again. Each time you figure out what you need to do to get better.”
She’s done the state NYSSA program at Skidmore, and was chosen to dance with the New York City Ballet at SPAC for five years.
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