(Greenville, SC) March 3, 2022 – Carolina Ballet Theatre (CBT) is well known for bringing in national and international guest artists. Several of those stars, including some CBT alumni, will perform in the spring production of Arabian Nights happening March 11-13th at the Peace Center.
CBT will guide the audience through this imaginary tale, centering on the story of Sinbad, an American sailor docked at a Persian where he discovers a child-like genie residing in a bronze lamp while shopping at the local fairs. Sinbad and the genie must overcome dangers on their adventure, make new friends, and navigate love before returning to reality and Sinbad’s ship.
Arabian Nights is inspired by the 1956 movie Invitation to Dance, directed by and starring Gene Kelly. However, Arabian Nights, much like many of the Carolina Ballet Theatre storybook performances, will entertain all audiences from families to experienced dancers.
A frequent visitor of Carolina Ballet Theatre, Philip Ingrassia is a ballet master/regisseur and will be playing the role of Sinbad’s friend. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Boston Conservatory of Music where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2004. He received most of his dance training from Ballet San Jose in CA. Ingrassia danced as a founding member of Ballet Rox in Roxbury, MA. The following year, he danced with Jill Bahr at Charleston Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2019, Ingrassia performed with Columbia City Ballet, where he had multiple leading roles and concluded his time as a Principal Dancer. Today, he teaches and choreographs through the Southeast and is an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina.
An alum of Carolina Ballet Theatre, Martin Justo will portray the main character, Sinbad. Justo trained with Quinte Ballet School in Canada and Carolina Ballet Theatre in SC. He has toured throughout Uruguay with CBT and recently performed as a guest in Fujinomiya, Japan. Some of his signature roles include the Nutcracker Prince in Hernan Justo’s The Nutcracker, the Mad Scientist in Madeline Jazz’s Superheroes, and the male soloist in A Tango for Angelina. Justo has performed works by renowned contemporary choreographers such as Dwight Rhoden and Alonzo King. He performed most recently with Boulder Ballet for 2 years.
One of two guest artists who performed in CBT’s recent performance of Tutu Tango and is also performing in Arabian Nights is Brandon Penn of Richmond, VA. At the age of 10, Penn trained at Pine Camp Cultural Arts Center where he studied with Annette Holt, Rodney Williams and Willie Hinton learning a variety of styles. He later enrolled in the School of Richmond Ballet where he studied under Igor Antanov, Malcolm Burn and more. After spending three years at the Richmond Ballet, Penn was accepted as a company trainee during his senior year. After graduating, he spent one year at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase College Conservatory for Dance, studying under Larry Clark, Taryn Russell, Ted Kivitt, and others. Penn was offered a position with Atlanta Ballet and earned a company position with the Columbia City Ballet. After much experience, Penn accepted a principal contract with Fort Wayne Ballet where he recently finished his second season. He has taken up a freelance career and guest dances along the East Coast and beyond.
Emanuel Tavares, who will be playing the roles of Sinbad’s friend as well as Jafar, the Sultan, began studying dance at age fourteen in his home country of Brazil. He previously studied contemporary jazz and has received many awards for best dancer at dance festivals and has earned both national and international scholarships. Tavares became a professional dancer with Especial Academia de Ballet in Brazil, where he performed principal roles in Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Le Corsaire, and Raymonda among others at an early age. At 19, he joined Virginia National Ballet where he danced with the company from 2017 to 2020. Tavares has been a guest artist in The Nutcracker throughout the states of Virginia, Maryland and Florida. Tavares joined Cleveland Ballet in 2021.
Finally, Tevfik Bayram Vatansever, cast as the Genie, began his dance training at the age of 16 with Hilton Head Dance Theatre under John and Karena Brock-Carlyle. Stanislav Issaev later invited him to train at South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities where he finalized his formal training. Vatansever has performed with CBT for several productions including the Bully in Rock Ballet, Dance Master in Cinderella, and as Peter Pan in Lazlo Berdo’s original production of the same name. Vatansever performs as a guest artist for professional and studio companies in the United States including Charleston City Ballet and Carolina Ballet Theatre, and internationally with Yoko Kasai Ballet Studio in Fujinomiya, Japan. Additionally, he has studied with ballet masters from American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, Deutsche Oper Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet and the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre.
“It is an honor to direct and choreograph our guest artists. These dancers are some of the highest caliber dancers in the world and this performance is sure to excite our audiences, ” said Artistic Director Hernan Justo.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit peacecenter.org
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