Auditions for Coastal Ballet’s Nutcracker are Aug. 21; Annual production is Dec. 3-5 at new O.B. Performing Arts Center

Auditions for Coastal Ballet’s Nutcracker are Aug. 21; Annual production is Dec. 3-5 at new O.B. Performing Arts CenterAnnual production is Dec. 3-5 at new O.B. Performing Arts Center

Coastal Ballet will host auditions for ages eight and older for dancing and acting roles (stage assistants are also welcome) for this December’s presentation of Baldwin County’s premier Nutcracker performance. Auditions will be held on Saturday, August 21 from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. at Coastal Ballet’s Orange Beach studio at 4223 Orange Beach Blvd in the Orange Beach Medical Arts Center (More info: 251-979-9851 or CoastalBallet.com).
Peformances are scheduled Dec. 3-5 at the brand new Orange Beach Performing Arts Center at Orange Beach High School.
Coastal Ballet owner Madame Rio Barlow (pictured) will direct the performances scheduled for early December. Barlow trained at The Royal Academy of Dance in London and at The Juilliard School in New York, specializing in the Russian Vaganova technique; Madame Barlow danced with companies such as the Miami Ballet and the Alabama Ballet. Madame Rio’s wealth of expertise in the art of Classical Ballet is a summation of extensive training and career experiences acquired in the United States and abroad.
​ She received her training through the Royal Academy of Dance in London, England. Her tutelage in the Vaganova Method was then coupled with instruction and professional dancing during her time with The Julliard School in New York. Madame Rio then became a soloist and instructor for the Miami Ballet and Thomas Armour.
Madame Rio danced professionally with The Miami Ballet and The Alabama Ballet. During her time with The Miami Ballet, she was a soloist for Walt Disney Enterprises. She served as Instructor, Ballet Mistress and Event Coordinator at the Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) in Birmingham. She also ran two schools while in Birmingham.
After moving to South Baldwin County, she opened Gulf Coast Ballet in Orange Beach. In 2008, she opened the doors to Coastal Ballet Academy in Foley. But her studio is now back where it started in the Medical Arts Building in Orange Beach on Hwy. 161. Madame Rio has groomed students who went on to become professional dancers, ballet teachers, beauty pageant contestants, and international dance competition participants. Madame Rio’s dedication to her students is enhanced by her desire to develop a mind, body and spirit symbiosis.