Brandon Ballet Dancer Wins Scholarship

News Report

a pre-professional ballet company, announced that Ashleigh Brossett, age 13, has won the Richard Munro Memorial Scholarship for 2012.

The late Richard Munro spent his life nurturing the art of ballet as a ballet master, an artistic director and a ballet academy founder in Kentucky and Texas before moving to Brandon, where he spent the last six years of his life teaching, coaching, choreographing and performing for Brandon Ballet.  Because of his tremendous contributions to Brandon Ballet, the Richard Munro Memorial Scholarship Fund was established to honor his memory.

The Richard Munro Memorial Scholarship, a scholarship of up to $500, is intended to further the recipient’s classical ballet education. One scholarship winner between the ages of 13 and 18 is selected based on an audition held in March. Any dancer in the community classically trained in ballet and meeting the age requirements is eligible to audition. The recipient may use the scholarship to offset the cost of any summer ballet intensive program to which the recipient is accepted during the year in which the scholarship is awarded.

Brossett is a current company member of Brandon Ballet, and was awarded the scholarship after the company’s recent production of the full-length classical ballet, "Cinderella," on March 21. "Cinderella" was presented in partnership with the Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation, an organization that aids families with children who have been diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening diseases. The foundation was started by Valrico residents Sherry and Dirk Tucker, who lost their own son Zachary to cancer at a very young age.

The performance of "Cinderella" was sold out. It featured professional dancer Kristen Zemina and guest professional artist Christopher Miro, who currently dances with Columbia Classical Ballet in South Carolina.

Brossett has chosen to attend Brandon Ballet’s three-week summer intensive that runs June 11-29. The intensive features international and national guest instructors of a high caliber, teaching classes that may include ballet, pointe, repertoire, variations, pas de deux, character, modern and theatre jazz, and African. For more information or to schedule an audition, contact Brandon Ballet at 813-684-4282.

Founded in 1993, Brandon Ballet is a nonprofit regional ballet company that develops and promotes opportunities for aspiring young dancers. By offering a superior training program and two major performances each year, the Brandon Ballet helps serious dancers broaden their dance experiences.

From its humble beginnings, the company has grown to include 38 dancers of varying levels. Professional dancers and training dancers call the Brandon Ballet home. The Brandon Ballet provides Brandon and the surrounding communities with an education in the art of dance. The Brandon Ballet serves the community through performances held at public facilities. All company dancers receive the highest caliber of professional training on a weekly basis and are provided the opportunity to learn standard classical repertoire. The Brandon Ballet has and will continue to foster growth and education by bringing guest teachers and choreographers to the community.