In 2003, dancers and teachers Eve Whelchel and Julie Gedalecia took on the challenge of becoming the company’s co-directors. Now in their 10th year of leading the company, Whelchel and Gedalecia recently took some time to reflect on their time at SCB.
The company currently has between 100-150 dancers ages 11-18, with even younger dancers being taught in the school. SCB puts on two large performances a year: The Nutcracker in December and a spring production every May, with smaller outreach performances of excerpts in between at places like the public library, the children’s museum and local retirement homes.
“The company has a positive atmosphere—we try very hard not to be one of those cutthroat, competitive-type environments like you see on the TV show ‘Dance Moms,’” Gedalecia said with a laugh. “We don’t have parents like that and our students aren’t like that.”
“We are purely a ballet school, so our focus is in nurturing an appreciation for what ballet really means,” Whelchel added.
Whelchel said that she and Gedalecia have learned a lot and formed deep bonds with their students in the 10 years they’ve directed the company.
“When we first came here, I think that we were very confident in our ability to teach, but learning all the elements we needed to learn as far as being businesswomen was very difficult,” Whelchel said. “As far as how to run a business, relate to parents, things like that—those are things we hadn’t really had experience with. Having the vision we had and maintaining that vision from year to year and to watch it keep getting stronger is a really great accomplishment for us and something we’re really proud of.”
Both Whelchel and Gedalecia said that since they’ve been at the company for so long, they have started to see students they’ve been teaching for years grow up and graduate the company.
“We have them from the time they’re little children—we have them probably longer than any other teachers they have growing up, so it is hard [to let them go],” Gedalecia said. “They dedicate so much time to ballet—they’re here six days a week, about 25 hours per week. It’s like a part-time job while they’re in high school so we spend a lot of time together—it’s kind of like a family.”
“Our graduates do come back and help us when they can,” Whelchel added.
Whelchel and Gedalecia remembered a time when a graduate of the school came to watch a performance but ended up onstage when a cast member got sick at the last minute.
“We said ‘Put on your pointe shoes and get out there,’ and she did it and she remembered it all,” Whelchel said with a laugh.
The directors said they’ve had some graduates come back to teach at the school, while others have helped to choreograph dances. They also said the Saratoga Springs community has given the company very positive feedback on their performances and students.
“People are very impressed with how professional the kids perform and how they handle themselves,” Gedalecia said. “People are very complimentary.”
Both directors said that positive feedback and word-of-mouth is what has kept the SCB around and thriving for so long. As for the future of the company, Whelchel and Gedalecia said they will be happy if they can continue to maintain the current quality of teaching and performances, especially in the tough economic climate.
“It’s very hard in this day and age to survive in the arts, so every year that we can get enough money to put on the Nutcracker and buy another tutu and put on a spring show, I think we feel very lucky to do that,” Gedalecia said. “Arts aren’t at the forefront of our society, especially not now when times are tough. I feel very grateful to just keep what we’re doing—we don’t feel the need to expand or have huge productions. We really like the quality of the things we put on, so just to be able to maintain that in this economic climate would be satisfying enough for us.”
Saratoga City Ballet is currently readying its dancers for the spring production, Alice in Wonderland, which will be performed May 11-12 at the Skidmore Dance Theater. Until then, the company will also perform excerpts of the production at several outreach performances throughout the spring. A listing of those performance dates and locations will be posted on the company’s website, www.saratogacityballet.com.
