First Coastal Ballet summer camp scheduled June 19-23

First Coastal Ballet summer camp scheduled June 19-23

In cooperation with the City of Orange Beach Expect Excellence program, Coastal Ballet will present summer dance workshops from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. June 19-23 and July 17-21. Tuition is $150 for the week with classes in classical ballet, acting, French, character, jazz, contortion and etiquette. For more information call 251-979-9851.
“Everybody isn’t going to be a professional dancer. But dance can open multiple access points to our students’ creativity,” said company owner and master ballerina Rio Cordy.
Cordy’s advanced ballet troupe has been dancing life into exotic yarns in South Baldwin County for more than 35 years. And with five decades in London’s Academy of Dance, Cordy is a legend in the business herself.
She studied at Julliard and was a soloist and instructor for the Miami Ballet, Disney, the Alabama School of Fine Arts and two of her own ballet schools in Birmingham. The late Queen Elizabeth asked Cordy to contribute to royal ceremonies.
“The Queen was a benefactor for most of my life,” Cordy said. “But my joy is stimulating the imagination of my students and giving All of them new avenues of creative freedom through movement.”
Some of Cordy’s dancers go on to fill Madame’s footsteps as professional dancers, choreographers and teachers. Kyra Rose Cornwell will be serving out her second scholarship with Florida State University’s intensive summer dance workshop.
“But for those who aren’t doing dance as a career, tapping into creativity through ballet characters can unlock other talents like writing, poetry, photography or sculpting,” Cordy said.