Jun 11, 2024

On June 29 and 30, in South Bend, Indiana, there will be a major
and even unprecedented event in the history of American Catholic
art: a new, full-length classical ballet production with a new
story, new music, new sets and costumes, and nationally known
dancers – with a cast of about fifty. This fairytale ballet, titled
Raffaella, was commissioned by Duncan and Ruth Stroik in honor of
their daughter Raffaella Maria Stroik, a dancer with the St. Louis
Ballet who passed away tragically in 2018 at the age of 23.

In the first segment, Thomas Mirus interviews impresario Duncan
Stroik about the ballet as a whole and the process of putting
together such a huge production. In the second, he interviews
composer Michael Kurek and choreographer Claire Kretzschmar about
the collaboration between music and dance, and the difference
between classical and modern ballet.

Links

Tickets for Raffaella https://raffaellaballet.org/

See rehearsal footage on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/raffaella.ballet/

 Michael Kurek https://michaelkurek.com/

Claire Kretzschmar at Ballet Hartford https://www.ballethartford.com/

Duncan Stroik https://www.stroik.com/

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