CAZENOVIA — Select dancers from the Cazenovia School of Ballet are heading to Orlando, Florida this month to perform at Walt Disney World.
The dancers will first appear in the “Dance The World” parade through Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
According to Joanne Rinaldo, owner and artistic director of the dance studio, practices for this routine began over a year ago with Disney choreographers via video.
After mastering the routine, the dancers were required to submit an audition video to Disney casting for review and adjudication.
“Official word came this May that [the] dancers met the standards set by Disney to perform at the parks,” said Rinaldo. “They will be joined by other dancers from across the country and around the world for this amazing opportunity to dance at Disney.”
Cazenovia School of Ballet dancers will make a second appearance at Disney’s EPCOT with a live stage performance of an original work created and choreographed by Rinaldo.
“This piece was also reviewed by Disney production and awarded permission to be performed by our local dancers Zosia Synborski, Julia Terranova, Finley Kinsella, and Nadia Hendrickson,” said Rinaldo. “[It is] a ‘Rockette inspired’ American precision dance routine that includes jazz, modern, high kicks, and intricate formations and patterns. The dancers’ strong ballet background helps them adapt to the various dance genres included in the choreography. The music I chose is ‘Happily Ever After,’ which is a wonderful song originally used by Disney as part of their fireworks show [a] few years ago.”
The upcoming Disney trip will be the first for 13-year-old Terranova, 12-year-old Kinsella, and 11-year-old Hendrickson. It will be the second trip for 18-year-old Synborski, a recent Cazenovia High School graduate, and the third for the Cazenovia School of Ballet.
According to Rinaldo, the opportunity was open to dancers in the school’s upper ballet levels.
“Dancers were selected and invited to attend based on their dance skills, as the audition process through Disney is very rigorous,” she said. “We want to make sure that the dancers have the training needed to pass the video audition submission that’s required prior to the trip, and then there is also a second adjudication [in] Orlando before the actual parade performance.”
To learn more about the Cazenovia School of Ballet, visit cazballet.com or email [email protected].
