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Show New School of Dance Formed Academy will use and pay a fee for the University's studios, but will be totally autonomous when it comes to such management matters as finances, artistic instruction instruc-tion and faculty supervision. For more information about the Ballet West Christensen Academy, please contact ; Liz Greenlaw (801) 277-8143, 3:00 - 7:30 until June 3rd; from June 6 on: 581-6323, 9:00 - 3:00 p.m. The Ballet West dance company and the Christensen Christen-sen Academy, both founded by William F. Christensen, have jointly agreed to form a school of dance entitled the "Ballet West Christensen Academy. " 'The Academy' ' will operate through the University of Utah's Department Depart-ment of Continuing Education, Educa-tion, using the universities' facilities. This will be the first dance school in Utah to have a professional format or syllabus. sylla-bus. In the past, ballet schools in the state have not had a progressive program for dancers with a professional profes-sional format. ' What we are aiming toward," says Mr. Christensen, Director of the Ballet West Christensen Academy, "is becoming one of the first class technical dance schools in America, so we can produce some beautiful beauti-ful dancers for Ballet West and other companies." Students will be accepted frorn the age of eight on, and there will be an open class for older students with, or without, extensive dance training. There will also be classes for young men. "It's difficult to find good training for boys in the U.S.," says Mr. Christensen, "we will have classes for young men, ages 9 - 12." Denise Schultze; Ballet Mistress for Ballet West, will be the Principal of the Academy responsible for creating the Academy's syl- labus, instructing the teachers, and consulting faculty personnel. She brings her many years of teaching experience to the Academy. Ms. Schultze had her own school in Johannesburg, Johan-nesburg, South Africa, her homeland, from the age of fifteen. Each year her students were entered in all the Cecchetti examinations, which are similar to the Royal Academy examinat-tions. examinat-tions. Such formal training, with its high standards, produced dancers at the age of sixteen who were ready to enter a professional company. com-pany. Likewise, it is expected that Denise Schultze's expert training will lead dancers toward a professional standard and eventually, as she says, "develop a style that will become known as the distinctive distinc-tive style of Ballet West." The Christensen Academy, located until June 3 on Fortuna Boulevard in Holla-day, Holla-day, Utah, will have its summer session at the University beginning on June 6 and running for six weeks. Then, on August 29, the Ballet West Christensen Academy will officially open. "The Academy" will offer ballet instruction on a nohcredit basis to individuals in the community through the University of Utah's Department of Continuing Education (DCE). All students stu-dents of the Academy will register through DCE. The - - f |