Isabeara

I would love to! Of course, this is my view of what has happened, and so anyone with more information, please do not be offended by my obvious bias, but rather share your views as well. In summary, after Mr. Eddie died, the school and company went through a rough two years, with no artistic director and the never-ending problem of a budget too small to maintain their status, much less find and pay a new director. But they survived, just as they always have, and managed to pull of some great performances anyways, by working with guest choreographers and restaging old works. Last August (2004), the Board finally found an artistic director willing to commit to BTM- Dianna Cuatto, who had spent the last few years as Ballet Mistress at the Richmond Ballet (working with the trainees and apprentices mostly, I believe), and had previously danced with Ballet West among numerous other companies for which she danced and directed. I love BTM for its atmosphere; Mr. Eddie created a company with an extremely rare overall good nature, with very little caddiness and competition, and a lot of genuine optimism and care. Ms. Cuatto took (and is still taking) a great deal of time and effort to make sure that this atmosphere would continue under her direction, which is why she has been so great for the company. It has changed dramatically, because no two directors are alike, but I honestly believe her outlook and aspirations for the Company lie on a very similar wavelength as Mr. Eddie's did. One major and obvious difference though, are the dancers. Previously, many if not most of the dancers were foreign (usually a little bit older but fabulous none the less... I was actaully always awed at how such a tiny company could bring in such phenomenal dancers), but almost all left either with Mr. Eddie's passing or shortly after (though many of the American dancers stayed...only one is still with us today and that is the ever fabulous, gorgeous Anmarie Toulomis). Ms. Cuatto brought with her a handful of dancers from the Richmond Ballet and its trainee program, and last summer brought in even more young apprentices from all over the US. Right now we have a Company of about 10 dancers and 16 or so apprentices. This season, there will be four levels of apprentices, some who, in my opinion, deserve to be in the company but sadly because of lack of money, are still apprentices, and others who are on their way, but need that extra push from student to professional. Ms. Cuatto is absolutely amazing when it comes to bridging this gap, and I think this is one of the reasons BTM is heading in such a good direction. She is an amazing teacher; it's difficult to describe just how good but please take my word for it. And even though she is the Artistic Director, she NEVER stops teaching. For a small company, this is crucial. Not all of BTM's dancers fit "the mold" (nor have they ever), but they all hold this passion that makes any performance quite an amazing experience; Ms. Cuatto, like Eddie, looks for this when choosing her dancers, just as much as she looks for technique. Though I'd rather not go into my story, because it is quite long and could be a whole other post, I will say that after being a part time apprentice while finishing my last sememster in high school (2 years ago...weird how it seems so long...), and going away to major in dance in college this past year, I have decided to accpet the full time apprentice contract Ms. Cuatto offerend me for this year, and am so incredibly excited and happy to be dancing with BTM full time (dancing all day long everyday=beautiful!) Right now, we are about to start the summer program (which all apprentices are required to attend) and the Company season begins August 18th. I think our first ballet is Little Women, which should be interesting... if it anywhere close to being as powerful as Cuatto's The Scarlet Letter, which she set on in Spring 2004, then I know it will be fabulous. This past year she also choreographed a new Nutcracker which we will be doing again this year, after the Company performed Mr. Eddie's 20-some year old (but amazing and always inspiring even after so long) choreography for the last time the previous year. I am momentarily forgetting what is planned for the sring, though I do know we will be performing many pieces that have already been set throughout the summer and year for lecture demos and the like. Wow so for some reason, this took a very long time to write, and I hope it makes some sense, espceially to anyone close to BTM, or anyone out there looking for a small but amazing company... I know, I know, I am VERY biased, but I credit my excitement for the upcoming year for this. I can answer questions if anyone has any, so please do ask.

Hi. This is really quite crazy... I've been looking through old posts on Ballet Talk and have found them quite interesting, especially because I am not a regular on Ballet Talk (I usually stick to the Ballet Talk for Dancers site). I am very excited to see that there have been numerous posts about Ballet Theatre of Maryland, as I trained at the school (back when it was still BTA and through all of the changes and difficulties following). The funny thing is that this specific review indirectly mentions me, as I was one of the children crowding the stage! It seems like so long ago...aside from Nutcracker, this particular performance was my first experience working with Mr. Eddie and the company. Manhattnik, I was wondering first, if you are still active on this site, and second, if you still attend BTM's performances and write reviews; if so, I am extrememly curious to know your opinion of the company now, especially because of everything it has been through these past few years. Now under the direction of Dianna Cuatto, in my opinion it still maintains the spirit Eddie enstilled from the beginning, but is also making big changes with its repertoire and source of dancers. I would like to know what others think, if anyone has witnessed or been a part of BTM recently.