Arts: New Dance School in Town

July 21, 2010 | Story by: Lindsey Chester | Categories: Dance

Story by Lindsey Chester. Photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, NC- International Ballet Academy (IBA) has begun taking early bird registrations and will officially open its doors Monday, August 30. Contractors are still working to complete the up-fit of their space on Davis Drive in the office park directly across from Davis Elementary and Middle Schools.

I asked Christina de Matteis Fannéy, School Administrator, what prompted them to open in this tough economy. She said that elements came together and the timing was just right.

The Elements: Their Team

Rossana Gahagan had been an instructor and Summer Intensive Coordinator at Cary Ballet Conservatory and  resigned from there in March. She just returned from teaching an intensive program in Saratoga Springs. She will be one of the Artistic Directors.

Miguel  Campaneria had been a guest intensive instructor at Cary Ballet, and had fallen in love with this area on his many visits. He is leaving his post at the University of Hartford to teach at IBA and four of his male students are moving here to continue their dance instruction. Miguel is also an Artistic Director for IBA. His resume is rich with years of accolades and awards from Cuba to Pittsburgh.

Christina de Matteis Fanney, originally from Port au Prince, Haiti,  studied under Miguel before moving to the US. Upon moving to Raleigh she danced with Raleigh Dance Theatre. She will take on the role of Administrator at IBA.

Carmen Felder will be teaching the younger students as well as the jazz program. She studied under Rossana at Cary Ballet and has a BFA from the University of Oklahoma in dance. She performed in Carolina Ballet’s  Coppelia and Nutcracker.

From the moment Rossana had spoken to Miguel about summer programs she said “I wished we could work together”, and now  she is so happy to have her “dreams come true. It is hard to find a place where you give your students the best opportunities and everyone has the same philosophy”.

Miguel was torn about leaving his position in Hartford where he had built up their program for the past 2 years. An added blessing was when four of his current male pupils decided to move to the Triangle to follow him to the new studio.

New Opportunities

Christina said, “We want our business to be about providing opportunities for the students” that IBA is interested in offering their students competitions. She mentioned two of these:

Youth America Grand Prix where students aged 9-19 can compete for scholarship money and national exposure.

World Ballet Competition in Orlando, where individuals and partners compete against dancers from all over the world. Artistic Director Miguel won a bronze at this competition.

These competitions aren’t for everyone, but IBA would like to offer the possibility to those students that wish to take their training to that level.

Dancers may also audition for the IBA Company, (held September 12 for IBA registered students only). This group will perform in December and again in the Spring.

Their Focus

Rossana stressed that the school will concentrate on classical style ballet training. Miguel added that with “a classical base, you can do anything”. Their emphasis will be with upper level and pre-professional dancers and especially recruiting boys for classes. These upper levels will be able to take partnering and variations classes.

Of course to have a successful studio, opportunities exist for younger students to grow to fill in the upper levels.  There will be a variety of jazz and pre-ballet during the day for younger children, and jazz and progressive levels for all ages beginning directly after school. Dancers will advance based on ability, not age. For instance, students will go “En Pointe” when physically ready, not when they turn age 11.

Miguel wants “to make this one of the best schools in America, not just North Carolina” and something about the team’s determination makes me believe them.

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