Sierra Nevada Ballet Joins Together with Other Arts Groups to Present a Free Grand Performance Event

Published April 25, 2025

Sierra Nevada Ballet Joins Together with Other Arts Groups to Present a Free Grand Performance Event

Filer image element — *Davie Johnson and Annalise Welsh in Alexander Biber's The Night We Met*

In this time when there is so much conflict and division in the world, it strikes me that we are so fortunate to be in the arts. Art draws people together. Art has no boundaries to separate us. It needs no translation; has no race differentiation and no cultural, political, or religious affiliation. Art is universal; it connects us. During these very difficult times, it is more important than ever for us to remember that we are all connected and in the same world, sharing this same time in history together. This is a time for art to lead the way. As performing artists, we have the opportunity to connect in person to one another - artist to audience; audience to artist; artist to artist, and audience member to audience member. This is what makes live theater such a magical, united experience.

In that spirit of magical connectivity, Sierra Nevada Ballet, along with the Steinway Music School, created a collective of different arts groups under one roof in Reno. This Northern Nevada Performing Arts Collective (NNPAC - nicknamed Nevada’s “Little Juilliard”) features the Steinway Society Music School, the Sierra School of Performing Arts, Healthy Performers Nevada, Satori Dance Wear, and the Artist’s Co-Op. They will join together in our new, “state-of-the-art” facility to present a free Grand Performance Event at 500 East Moana Lane in Reno on June 1, 2025 at 2:00pm. This event will feature performances by the SNB professional company and the SNB Academy together with the other members of the Collective. The performance festivities will take place in the Monarch Room at SNB and at the Steinway Recital Hall. This will be a FREE OPEN HOUSE event for the community to visit, see a grand performance, mingle, tour the facility, purchase refreshments at the Steinway Piano Gallery Café, and share in a fun, entertaining, united experience.

Last year, NNPAC’s first free performance event was an amazing success and attracted an unexpectedly large audience estimated at about 500. For that reason, we are requesting that audience members RSVP to attend this year’s free event (by phone, text or email) to SNB by May 28, 2025. Phone: (775) 360- 8663 or email hello@sierranevadaballet.org with the number of guests attending to reserve seats.

This educational performance event is supported by the City of Reno, the Carol Franc Buck Foundation, the Nevada Arts Council, the Marin Foundation, and the E. L. Cord Foundation and promises to be eclectic and exciting. The festivities will open with SNB Academy’s Tiny Dancer/Primary level students (age 3-6) performing to music played by Steinway Music School’s Little Mozarts (age 4-6). SNB Academy levels 1, 2, and 3 will demonstrate a short piece of ballet choreography followed by a piece performed by SNBA’s Pointe 1 and 2 to music played by a young Steinway Music School student. SNB talented teen dancers Mara Weir and Trent Padilla will dance a pas de deux to music played by talented Steinway Music School teen pianist Gwyneth Hopkins. Sierra School of Performing Arts will present an excerpt from their upcoming musical The Producers, accompanied by SNB professional company dancers. Company principals Sara Weir and Anthony McMenamy will perform a pas de deux to the music of Erik Satie played live by two professional artists of the Steinway School. SNB soloists Davie Johnson and Annalise Welsh will perform Alexander Biber’s fabulous new pas de deux, The Night We Met.

SNB Associate Artistic Director, Ananda Bena-Weber, is very enthusiastic about this collaborative event. “We were so surprised last year by the large and highly enthusiastic attendance from our community,” said Bena-Weber. “You could feel the electric excitement in the air from both the artists and the audience. It is an amazing unifying experience to join together with our different arts groups and share the collaboration with our northern Nevada community.”

Bena-Weber will perform a solo piece for the event accompanied by the magnificent Steinway professional pianist, Albina Asryan.

Seating for this event will be limited this year, and it is therefore suggested that those who wish to attend call SNB early to be certain to reserve a space.

Part of the mission of Sierra Nevada Ballet is to collaborate with other arts groups and this June 1 event is an example of the creativity that can take place when we join together and work toward the same end. Art draws people together, and we are so fortunate to be in the arts and share in the united artistic experience.

To reserve seats; get information about the June 1 event; performances by Sierra Nevada Ballet, or information about the SNB Academy call 775-360-8663 or visit sierranevadaballet.org