October 6, 2020 | St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Member Spotlight – St. Lucie Ballet
Contributed by Dorothy Kamm
Member Spotlight – St. Lucie Ballet
Think you have to travel to a big city or out of state to receive professional ballet instruction? Not since 2004 when Lydia Oquendo and Rogelio Corrales opened St. Lucie Ballet in Port St. Lucie. Prior to that, the couple had spent seven years with Minnesota Ballet and its dance school in Duluth. Rogelio was a principal dancer. Lydia also performed, taught and was the outreach program coordinator. Lydia and Rogelio, who met in Miami, wanted to return to Florida but no longer wanted to live in a busy city. Port St. Lucie was conveniently located to I-95 and did not have a serious classical ballet program, offering the perfect opportunity and location.
St. Lucie Ballet offers more than classical ballet programs. The school also teaches jazz, contemporary, modern, tap, acro and musical theater. While St. Lucie Ballet offers a Home School Program and an After School Program, it is the Pre Professional Training Program that sets it apart. The Pre Professional Training Program is an intense course that prepares students for a career in classical ballet. Classes are five days a week and students are expected to be in the studio for daily six-hour sessions, much like a professional company dancer would be expected to commit. Many hours of practice and coaching are necessary to build strength and master techniques. To complete their education, students take online high school or college classes.
Boys as well as girls participate in the Pre Professional Training Program. Students come from near and far. Currently, two boys are from Columbia and two are from Atlanta. Some students travel from West Palm Beach and Vero Beach. Scholarships are available for all boys ages 13 and up to encourage participation. Partial and full scholarships also are available for girls. Scholarships are funded through Treasure Coast Ballet, the nonprofit division of St. Lucie Ballet in charge of fundraising and community outreach.
All students at all levels audition and have a chance to perform. Prior to the pandemic St. Lucie Ballet performed Nutcracker Suite at both the Sunrise Theater and the Lyric Theatre every December. (Both theaters remain closed at this time.) In May there is a spring performance of excerpts from various ballets. In between students may enter national and international competitions, a number of whom have earned awards including the prestigious American Dance Competition, Universal Ballet Competition and the Youth American Grand Prix.
Some students have received scholarship awards from Sarasota Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet NYC, Joffrey Academy Summer, and more. St. Lucie Ballet has been the recipient of the 2020 Youth America Grand Prix Outstanding School Award, the 2018 Shake the Ground Outstanding Professionalism Award and the 2017 Universal Ballet Competition Outstanding Coaches Award. Their students find success once they launch their professional careers. One former student is part of the United Kingdom’s Birmingham Royal Ballet, earning a spot as a company member.
St. Lucie Ballet joined the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance to network and connect with other artists and art organizations. Lydia envisions possibilities for future collaboration and looks forward to establishing partnerships with them.
To learn more about the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance and the benefits of membership, please visit ArtStLucie.org, email: info@artstlucie.org or call 772-462-2783.
To learn more about St. Lucie Ballet, visit www.st-lucie-ballet.com.