Tallahassee Democrat - 05/28/2022
This June, BACT will return to the Lincoln High School Theatre to present “Snow White” on June 3 and 4. PHOTOS BY AJ STUDIOS
‘You have to be flexible’
Amanda Sieradzki
Council on Culture & Arts
The Ballet Arts Conservatory of
Tallahassee (BACT) will celebrate its
23rd anniversary this summer. Estab-
lished by artistic director and educator
Amy Lowe, the studio and its youth bal-
let ensemble have persevered through
the COVID-19 pandemic and subse-
quent variants by remaining steadfast
in the belief that “ballet changes lives.”
Lowe was proud to see her students
excel even while dancing on Zoom from
their living rooms. Last year’s BACT per-
formances took place outdoors at the
Goodwood Museum and Gardens’ Car-
riage House as well as at the Ball House
and Cottages at SouthWood.
They also joined forces with the Tal-
lahassee Youth Orchestras in February
for a special guest artist concert at Ruby
Diamond Concert Hall.
This June, BACT will return to the
Lincoln High School Theatre to present
“Snow White” on June 3 and 4.
May 30, 2022 8:38 am (GMT -4:00)
Page : B01
Learning to ‘think on the fly’
“Ballet helps you to deal with chal-
lenging situations,” says Lowe. “You
have to be flexible with obstacles that
might get in your way and find ways to
overcome them. Ballet puts you in situa-
tions where you have to think on the fly
and be ready for the unexpected. It’s
something that comes along with years
of training.” Lowe’s extensive ballet
work has spanned nearly three decades.
She holds a degree in sports medicine
with a specialization in injury preven-
tion and treatment and is a certified
teacher in the American Ballet Theatre
national training curriculum, Progress-
ing Ballet Technique, and Pilates.
In 2020, Lowe was recognized as ACHI
Magazine’s Mentor of the Year and was a
finalist in 2021 for Tallahassee Woman
Magazine’s Innovator of the Year.
Her key motivation as an educator is
Established by artistic director and educator Amy Lowe, the Ballet Arts to train young dancers in the healthiest
Conservatory of Tallahassee (BACT) will celebrate its 23rd anniversary this
summer. See BALLET, Page 5B
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 Tallahassee Democrat - 05/28/2022
Ballet
Continued from Page 1B
and safest methods possible while shar-
ing her passion for classical ballet. Her
own love for the art form was first culti-
vated in her childhood living room.
Lowe would frequently ask her mother
to play music on their Steinway grand
piano.
Reimagining ‘Snow White’
“I would get her to come play for me
in the living room while I pretended that
I was onstage or choreographing some-
thing with my accompanist in the back-
ground,” remembers Lowe. “Ballet has
been innate in my soul since I was very
small. It’s like air.”
Lowe first choreographed and pre-
miered “Snow White” in 2014 but decid-
ed to bring the classic fairytale back
with a new twist for this season. The
process for re-creating the ballet began
14 months ago. She decided to not watch
or listen to any of her prior work in order
to re-envision the ballet entirely, writing
a new libretto and selecting a fresh mu-
sical score.
When choosing which stories to tell
onstage, Lowe first looks at her poten-
tial cast of students. Lowe chose gradu-
ating senior, Diana Fernandez, for the ti-
tle role this year because of her love for
the fairytale and ability to portray a
range of acting skills. Guest artist, Car-
ter Whiddon, a Florida State University
graduate dance student, will play the
Prince.
Lowe works closely with students of
all ages who take part in the end-of-year
productions and takes care to coach
them individually on everything from
technical finesse to finding their pur-
pose onstage.
For solo roles, Lowe begins with a
choreographic skeleton, or series of
steps, and then works one-on-one in re-
hearsals to bring a particular character
to life.
Leading students on a ‘journey’
“It’s very important that students
understand that being a solid techni-
cian is only a small component of being
a dancer,” says Lowe. “I want them to
understand that being an artist is a very
individual and unique experience. My
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Saturday, May 28, the 148th
day of 2022. There are 217 days left in
the year. On this date in:
1863: The 54th Massachusetts Vol-
unteer Infantry Regiment, made up of
freed Blacks, left Boston to fight for the
Union in the Civil War. In 1892, the Sier-
ra Club was organized in San Francisco.
1918: American troops fought their
first major battle during World War I as
they launched an offensive against the
May 30, 2022
German-held 8:38 am
French (GMTof
village -4:00)
Canti-
gny; the Americans succeeded in cap-
BACT will return to the Lincoln High School Theatre to present “Snow White.”
role in all this is to lead them on this
journey.”
Lowe credits one of her ballet men-
tors, Ruth Petrinovic, with influencing
her teaching philosophy. She would wit-
ness Petrinovic work with dancers of
varying technical capabilities, person-
alities, and ranges of artistry. She stud-
ied how Petrinovic coached these danc-
ers by using different learning styles
and has incorporated a similar ap-
proach into her studio classes and re-
hearsals.
“We all don’t learn the same,” says
Lowe. “Some dancers and students
need to see the choreography, some
need to hear it, some need to have their
bodies physically put into position.
Protesters in New York defied a corona-
virus prohibition on public gatherings,
clashing with police; demonstrators
blocked traffic and smashed vehicles in
downtown Denver before police used
tear gas to disperse the crowd. At least
seven people were shot as gunfire erupt-
ed during a protest in Louisville, Ken-
tucky, to demand justice for Breonna
Taylor, a Black woman who was fatally
shot by police in her home in March.
Ten years ago: President Barack Oba-
ma paid tribute on Memorial Day to the
TALLAHASSEE.COM | SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022 | 5B
That’s something I incorporate not only
into my teaching practice, but also when
I craft choreography.”
‘Ballet changes lives’
While Lowe’s choreographic style for
this production takes a classical ap-
proach with character work and acting
layered on top of it, she most enjoys
pushing herself out of the ballet box to
make each image onstage support the
larger storyline.
Sometimes this means finding cre-
ative ways for the music and steps res-
onate with the audience, whether it’s
changing how a dancer holds their arms
or finding a note in the music to accent
Page : B05
“Snow White” cast. PHOTOS BY A.J. STUDIOS
If you go
What: Ballet Arts Conservatory of
Tallahassee presents “Snow White
When: 7:30 p.m. on Friday June 3, 2:30
p.m. on Saturday June 4
Where: Lincoln High School Theatre,
3838 Trojan Trail
Cost: $15-20
Contact: For more information, please
visit bactdance.com
with a particular emotion.
Lowe also collaborates with costume
designer Linda Bulecza for many
months to ensure the entire look of the
production is detailed and cohesive.
Lighting designer Patrick Campbell at-
tends the final few company rehearsals
before they add lights, sets, and sound
to the final picture.
Lowe hopes the end result will not
only enchant and inspire audiences but
will be a proud moment for her students
as well.
“I believe strongly that ballet changes
lives,” says Lowe.
“I also believe strongly that ballet is
for every body, meaning every physical
body and everyone who wants to dance.
It’s my privilege to teach those individ-
uals to become the best that they can
be.”
Amanda Sieradzki is the feature
writer for the Council on Culture & Arts.
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