With a desire to incorporate ballet into her continuing dance practice, Jaelyn Roth ‘23, a Physics Major and Music Minor from Connecticut, connected with a friend to resurrect the student-run Ballet Club here at Denison. With the backing of CLIC and Dance Chair Gill Wright Miller ‘74, they began meeting weekly on Saturdays from 1-2:30pm in Thorsen Dance Studio in the Eisner Center, either leading classes on their own or taking class from Robert Cole who founded and runs a nearby dance studio, The Ballet Academy in Newark.
Jaelyn’s main goal for this program at the moment is providing the opportunity to explore a particular genre of dance—ballet—in a casual and supportive environment. Jaelyn looks forward to more off campus opportunities next fall (COVID permitting) to see professional companies perform such as BalletMet in nearby Columbus. Last semester the Ballet Club reserved Herrick Hall and watched a recording of the New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker together, which was both fun and educational for a lot of members who had never seen a professional ballet performance before.
For now, the Ballet Club has their weekly meetings and adapted to the restrictions that the pandemic presents so that they can dance together. Jaelyn wants everyone to know, “You can think of our time as a workout rather than a club meeting: we do a normal ballet class and I cater to all levels: brand new beginners and those who have danced for however many years.” Dr. Miller added “While this is not part of our academic offerings, I am happy to have those who are curious about or already love ballet to support each other through offering classes. Jaelyn has been a terrific organizer and is a wonderful teacher.”
If you have any questions about the Ballet Club or want to join, feel free to contact Jaelyn at roth_j1@denison.edu.
