Karen

"Year ago, Jansma discovered she had head and throat cancer. And Wednesday evening, she died at age 22 in a Florida hospital, leaving Carolina Ballet dancers and staff forlorn as they prepared for Thursday's opening night of its run of "Cabaret." May she rest in peace... Here is the link http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/931827.html

Yes DD and I drove up to DC for Napoli, and La Sylphide, Etudes. We were both very impressed and We are both glad we made the trip and she had to skip an audition to make it happen! Karen

No idea unless you can not download the file which is rather large? Karen

and one one from a week earlier..... Story last updated at 9:47 a.m. Thursday, October 9, 2003 Curtain falls on ballet, CEO exits Charleston BY DOTTIE ASHLEY Of The Post and Courier Staff The Atlantic Southeast Ballet and Orchestra has folded, leaving a trail of devastated dancers, staff members and musicians, and its chief executive has left town. DEBORAH SILLIMAN/STAFF Dancers with the Atlantic Southeast Ballet and Orchestra rehearse at the School of the Arts in North Charleston in July. About noon Wednesday, Gordon Crowder, the artistic director and CEO of the nonprofit ballet company, left a message on the answering machine of Jooyong Ahn, the ballet orchestra's conductor. The message said Crowder and his wife, Susanne Crowder-Puerschel, who is associate director of the ballet, "have no money and have gone on a little vacation." [rest of story deleted by Alexandra; see above]

This is what I have gleaned so far from the Charleston Net: Story last updated at 6:54 a.m. Wednesday, October 15, 2003 Ballet owes firms close to $50,000 Painters, welders, carpenters unpaid following collapse BY DOTTIE ASHLEY Of The Post and Courier Staff Several area companies are owed almost $50,000 in unpaid bills following the sudden collapse of the Atlantic Southeast Ballet & Orchestra in North Charleston. In addition to owing $30,000 to Gil Schuler Graphic Design, the ballet owes $7,171 to eight carpenters, painters and welders, said Thomas A. Morris Jr., a local construction manager for theater and film who fabricated the ballet's road equipment. [Rest of story deleted by Alexandra: Our policy on posting copyrighted material (which is posted in our Rules and Policies Forum: Please do not copy the text of a review into a post without permission from the author; this violates copyright. Instead, you may either: Provide a link to the article Quote briefly from it (about a paragraph) summarize the article. ]

After the initial hit at the coast things are slowly getting back to normal here. The school and colleges were closed Thursday and Friday, Friday because there was no electricity. Parts of our small town have been shut down due to down trees and power lines. We lost our power Thursday at 1pm and just today got power back. I am soooooo tired of camping out! Karen

I have stayed at some pretty nice hotels along South Beach. And paid a high price. Botton -line these are all beach hotels. I have atayed at the Holiday Inn directy across the street from MCB. The rooms are all just as nice and the price about $150-200 a night cheaper! The Foutainbleau, Rooney, and The Palms are the ones I have stayed in the past 2 years. I prefer the Hoilday Inn. It has FREE parking and beach chairs. You can walk right across the street to the studios and a short drive to the theater. B)

Yikes! Hard times are already falling on this new ballet company. I received this today. And I am saddened by this news. 80 ARTISTS NEED HELP OVERCOMING ADVERSITY: INTERNATIONAL COMPANY ON THE BRINK OF CLOSING ON OPENING NIGHT We are artists. 80 people from 13 different countries (United States of America, Spain, Argentina, France, Albania, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania, The Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Korea and Australia) who comprise Atlantic Southeast Ballet & Orchestra in Charleston, South Carolina. Who live for what we love the most: to perform. We knew from our first steps what we wanted to do in our lives; to offer our souls through dance, to give life to music, and to create magic on stage. We came from all over the world to join a new company dedicated to creating an atmosphere of respect and integrity for the dancer. We believe so strongly in the mission of this company that we gave up everything to move across the world to join this brand new company, prepared to meet the challenge. Because of Atlantic Southeast Ballet & Orchestra, we are fortunate to be able to become part of an incredible team. Dancers, musicians, production, administration -- we are truly all a big family. The mix of languages and cultures is amazing, and little by little we are creating a new circle, where there are no limits and no boundaries, where we protect each other, and learn from each other everyday. For two months we’ve trained for hours and hours, giving the best of ourselves for the first of the 93 performances that we have this season. Suddenly, one week from the beginning of our season, an unexpected economic crisis jeopardized the future of the company. It took us all by surprise, so close to our opening night. However, at the same time, this situation showed us a different side of the company, a new strength and cohesion, which we are all exceptionally proud to be part of. We decided that we must go on. After only two months of working together, we were just beginning to come together as a team. When we found ourselves in the middle of this crisis, the 80 people that form the company automatically decided to come together to save the dream of Atlantic Southeast Ballet & Orchestra. In the last 48 hours, with lack of sleep and food, we found ways of going on, doing everything possible ourselves to make this company a reality. We began by organizing each other, dividing the work in groups. One group is designing the web page, another group is finishing the costumes, and another group is in charge of the advertising and marketing, putting up posters, giving out flyers, and even talking to people on the street about the company. Thanks to the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, who believed in us and offered the theater free of charge, we will be performing a special tribute for September 11. At this moment, our biggest desire is to make to this performance, on September 11, the most astounding ballet performance in the history of dance. We want to show the world what we have to offer, not only as artists, but also as human beings, and prove that for us ballet is not only our job, but our life. These days a lot of companies and dancers forget the meaning of art, making it only a routine job, and not a passion. We don’t know if this is going to be the first or last performance of ASB, but we don’t think about that. We’re only concentrating on the hope and faith we all carry inside that we will succeed. This performance will define our future, and none of us is willing to give up, not now that we are so close to reaching our goal. The most positive thing about all this is that after uniting to overcome this unforeseen obstacle, something better is waiting for us, something that we didn’t think that we had. What we are building now, we did together, as a team, from our hearts and souls, and the spirit that we’ve created is priceless. This performance will be unique, and we can assure you that every person involved, the dancers, musicians, audience, and production crew, will leave the theater with an experience they will never forget. Unfortunately, the reality of our economic dilemma is different, and the good intentions and the positive energy is not enough for us to triumph. Right now, a lot of people in our community are interested in our story and are doing their best to help us as well. The bottom line is that to keep going, we need financial support. We need your help. Any kind of collaboration will be welcome, so together we can fulfill this great future that Atlantic Southeast Ballet possesses. Tell our story; be a part of it. Help us in any way you can. Please tell your friends about us, forward this e-mail, write Oprah. Help us to give a “fairy tale ending” to this story. Check out our website at www.atlanticsoutheastballet.com or e-mail us at asbceo@atlanticsoutheastballet.com :shrug:

More info found! AUDITION Notice: ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST BALLET: 9 Males, 23 Females, 43 week contracts 2003/04, 91 performances w/orchestra, $325-$700/week, Pointe shoes/Health Benefits, Auditions in Europe/USA Feb./Mar. 2003 Time/Locations, call or e-mail (USA) 843-534-1020, asbceo@atlanticsoutheastballet.com

This is what has been published about them so far..... ATLANTIC BALLET UPDATE After nearly two years of planning, the Atlantic Southeast Ballet plans to open its studio in North Charleston at the end of July. The ASB's first season is scheduled to begin Aug. 28 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center, says Susanne Crowder-Puerschel, associate artistic director of the group. Crowder-Puerschel says that one-third of the 32-member dance company was hired from places such as Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia, Argentina, Ukraine and Albania. Auditions for dancers were held in Europe and at Lincoln Center in New York. A native of East Berlin, Crowder-Puerschel is joined by two other ASB founders: her husband Gordon Crowder, a Canadian dancer, who serves as artistic director/CEO of the group, and Alex Ossadnik, a dancer also from Germany, who is the ballet's resident choreographer. The ASB headquarters will be housed on the former Charleston Naval Base in North Charleston where the group will lease a 15,000-square-foot building. The ballet members will be accompanied by a 40-member orchestra that is still being assembled. The orchestra also is scheduled to rehearse in a space at the studio. "Working with the city of North Charleston is an extremely inspiring experience," says Crowder. "It is a wonderful feeling to know that somebody actually cares about our project and recognizes the benefits for the community." The company is supported by grants and by public and private donors. The company's three founders say individual and corporate sponsors are still being sought. Season tickets and individual tickets will go on sale in mid-July and will range from an average price of $28 to $150 for special events. The ASB will perform 16 dance concerts in its 2003-04 season in North Charleston and at Gaillard Auditorium in Charleston. On the program are "Giselle," "Paquita," "Flower Festival in Genzano," "Wahlverwandtschaften," "Macbeth," "Souvenirs de Florance," "Gezeiten" and "Symphony in Seven." The group will perform 93 concerts presenting them in six states and 30 cities during the 2003-04 season.

thanks rg, I think you are right! Thanks for the help! Karen

Now this DVD stuff is way confusing. When I inserted the DVD into my player it said on the screen "Not NTSC", what ever that means? I looked on the back cover of my DVD's from here and it has alot of intials & other jargon I don't understand. On mine it does list NTSC. On the UK ones one says Disc format "DVD-9", and the DVD "ALL". I will also try them in my car and computer to see if they work there.:confused:

OK, video help. I know other countires, ie: UK has different video configurations, we have VHS and they have PAL? But the DVD's are formatted differently as well? I purchased 2 DVD's a few weeks ago in London and they will not work on my DVD player:( Boo Hiss! Any ideas?:confused: Karen

My husband has surprised me with tickets! We will be seeing it next weekend! I can't wait! Karen

We all are mourning the loss of Stephanie Reinhart here..........our prayers are with her family. http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/stor...p-1770183c.html