The Mid-Columbia Ballet (MCB) is a nonprofit corporation, whose mission is to foster and advance the art of ballet in its various forms in the Mid-Columbia region. MCB is managed by a Board of Directors and the MCB Guild is responsible for managing volunteers and many fundraising activities.

The MCB consists of young dancers committed to the art of ballet. MCB’s repertoire includes classical, neoclassical, and modern works by choreographers from throughout the United States. MCB has been granted performance rights to several Balanchine works by the George Balanchine Trust and was the first pre-professional group to perform a work by Twyla Tharp.

MCB has performed at Chop Shop: Bodies of Work in Seattle, USA/International Ballet Competition, in Austria at the Tanzsommer Austrian Arts Festival and at SPRING TO DANCE in St. Louis, Missouri. MCB has hosted Regional Dance America/Pacific Festivals four times, each time bringing to the Tri-Cities over twenty amateur and professional ballet companies, internationally known dance teachers and lecturers, and university recruiters for the 4-day convention.

MCB has also grown to be a valuable community resource. MCB received the 2020 STAR award from the City of Richland for pivoting The Nutcracker to a free movie, Clara’s Tri-Cities Nutcracker Dream that had 14,000 YouTube views and featured over 30 local businesses and locations. In addition, MCB was selected as a grant recipient for Gesa’s Local Heroes program in 2020 and 2021 in recognition of the positive impact our outreach and educational efforts have had in our community. We are very honored to be recognized this way.

Welcome to the Mid-Columbia Ballet’s (MCB) Storybook Series showcasing Ballet de’ Seuss. This is our first time performing at the Windermere Theatre. We thank our friends at The Academy of Children’s Theater, and we look forward to future ventures together.

Our next Spring Performance, Swan Lake Act II & Repertory Works, will be performed at Hanford High School, May 20 and 21. We welcome Nicole Ciapponi and Marco Clemente from Diablo Ballet in Walnut Creek, California to perform alongside our senior, intermediate, and junior companies. We are thrilled that Tri-City native, MCB Honorary Board Member, internationally renowned ballerina, and former Artistic Director of Royal New Zealand Ballet, Patricia Barker, will be here to assist our artistic director in bringing this classic to the stage.

Finding suitable performing space in the Tri-Cities is very challenging. Please support the Arts Center Task Force’s efforts to bring a Performing Arts Center to the Tri-Cities. If you attended the Mid-Columbia Arts Fundraiser on March 11, 2023, thank you for your support. Also, please mark your calendars for Mid-Columbia Ballet’s Summer Garden Party at the Reach Museum on August 19, 2023, where you can enjoy a wonderful evening with the Mid-Columbia Ballet and our supporters.

MCB is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to foster the art of dance in our community. We depend on the support of the community to build the resources that allow us to provide you with quality dance performances. We extend our thanks to the many businesses and individuals who generously support our projects each year. Please help us thank them with your patronage. Without the continued fundraising and volunteer efforts of the MCB Guild, productions such as this would not be possible. If you wish to join in supporting MCB, please visit our donor page. On behalf of the MCB Board of Directors, I would like to thank you for attending this production. Enjoy the show!

Al Wells

Chair, Board of Directors

Mid-Columbia Ballet

MCB Staff

Susan Presti, Lily Wutzke, Rebecca Rogo, Willow Busselman, Debra Rogo, Allie Yates, Torrie Mower, Baleigh Bierman, Veronica Andersen

Artistic Director

Debra Pearse Rogo

Administrator

Gaye Wutzke

Artistic Assistant

Torrie Mower

Artistic Assistant & INCLUDE Dir.

Rebecca Rogo

Wardrobe Supervisor

Allie Yates

Outreach Coordinator

Susan Presti

Social Media

Willow Busselman

Administrative Consultant

Renée Kolman

Artistic Intern

Baleigh Bierman

Artistic Intern

Lily Wutzke

Debra Pearse Rogo, Artistic Director

Debra grew up in Melbourne, Australia where she trained in the Cecchetti (Italian) Method of Ballet passing all exams, including her teaching certification, with Honors. She also received teaching and performing opportunities with the National Theatre and Ballet Victoria. After finishing her schooling, she performed with the Sydney City Ballet for three years before moving to the United States where she was the Assistant Director and then Artistic Director of Ballet Omaha, a professional company with its own school. In 1987, Debra and her husband, Joel, moved to Washington State to buy a small ballet school; the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet. After more than 30 years it is now the Tri-Cities Academy of Ballet and Music and includes a Performing Arts Pre-School.

Debra has served as Chairman of Regional Dance America/Pacific, President of Regional Dance America, on the Honorary Committee for the USA International Ballet Competition and as Executive Director of Regional Dance America’s Craft of Choreography Conference. Debra has been a guest teacher at many US schools and universities, the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda, the 2013 Australian Cecchetti Conference, the 2014 USA International Cecchetti Conference and the 2016 Cecchetti USA Summer School. In recognition of her work in the Tri-Cities, Ms. Rogo received the City of Richland 2014 Contribution to the Arts Award.

MCB Board of Directors

MCB Guild

Guild Officers and Committee Chairs

Chair

Dawn Cryan

Vice-Chair

Ashley Lowry

Treasurer

Neil Henson

Secretary

Jen Chamberlain

Apparel

Angie Scherer & Lesley Paslean

Ballet Café

Bouchra Oummani & Aimee Kovis

Flowers

Pam Campbell & Lot Deray

Mementos

Travers Bracy & Brandie Bracy

Photos/DVDs

Christina Stout

Poinsettias

Kay Nguyen & Emily Maloney

Restaurant Fundraisers

Aimee Kovis

Cooklies & Water

Sandra Cortez & Shawna Ekstrom

Raffle

Jen & Travis Chamberlain

Online Store

Jason Paslean

Front of House

Ashley Lowry & Nicole Wiser

Greenroom

Shevaun Martin

Makeup

Kelly Bright & Lauri Whitney

Security

Jody & Ron Longwell

Ushers

Naoko Schiffern

The mission of the Guild is to support and promote the Mid-Columbia Ballet in their commitment to providing high quality performing arts to our community. The Guild assumes responsibility for organizing volunteers to support MCB productions such as The Nutcracker. Guild funds help MCB with production costs such as theatre rental, costumes, guest artists, and outreach. Volunteers organize a series of various events throughout the year to raise funds for MCB.

The Guild welcomes any new members who wish to ensure that the Tri-Cities will always have an opportunity to enjoy the cultural experiences of ballet. To learn more about the Guild and how to become a member visit our Guild page.

2022-2023 Season Guild Members

Ryan & Melany Bickford

Delphine & Alain Bonneville

Travers & Brandie Bracy

Paul & Tina Branson

JoAnn & John Brehm

Bradley & Talena Bricker

Amanda & Brandon Brown

Pamela & Dale Campbell

Travis & Jen Chamberlain

Robert & Svitlana Chmura

Rosey Chu

Sandra Cortez

Tim & Katie Croyle

Dawn & Mike Cryan

Brett & Stephanie Dahl

Rob & AmyLynne Darling

Amber Davis

Michelle Dearlove

Jeremy & Annie Debban

Arnulfo & Lot Deray

Jonathan & Erin Dickey

Karen Nguyen & Gene Dorendorf

Brett & Shawna Ekstrom

Caleb & Michelle Engler

Martin Family

Aaron & Kelly Fergusson

Anita Petra & Horacio Gonzalez

Rick Graff

Kim & Mark Hattrup

Kriste & Neil Henson

Ron & Jody Longwell

Ashley Lowry

Chris & Scott Lowry

Jill Lunde

Craig & Emily Maloney

Byron & Nancy Martin

Anitha & Srinivas Mascal

Sean & Kirsten McNeil

Harry & Terri Miley

Sara & Ty Mulholland

Katherine & Loc Nguyen

Fenton Norman

Jeremy & Esther Ogden

Bouchra Oummani

Lesley & Jason Paslean

Larry & Jennifer Peterson

Thomas & Kelly Precechtel Bright

Susan Presti

Sarah & Jeremiah Robinson

John & Kerrilynn Robinson

Joel & Debra Rogo

Blake & Angie Scherer

John & Naoko Schiffern

Christina & Ryan Stout

Victoria Suryan

Krista Thurston

Katherine Torelli

Christina & Mario Viera

Ethan & Ashley Walters

Al & Jan Wells

Mark & Signe White

Gerry & Lauri Whitney

Molly & JJ Williams

Cole & Jamie Willis

Matt & Nicole Wiser

Michael & Gaye Wutzke

The Mid-Columbia Ballet (MCB) is incorporated in Washington State as a non-profit corporation and is exempt from federal taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information on MCB’s finances, including funding spent on programs, do a charity search at https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov.

Join those mentioned below by giving a gift that will help MCB sustain our efforts to provide artistic excellence in our productions and community outreach programs.

Please patronize the local businesses and other arts groups that support MCB