By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
Fifty years ago, the Grand Rapids Ballet made its professional debut at the Festival of the Arts. In 2019, the state’s only professional ballet company will be helping to celebrate the event’s 50th anniversary with the company’s Artistic Director James SoFranko and Executive Director Glenn Del Vecchio serving as honorary co-chairs.
“I don’t know if everyone understands it but this was one of the first performances we ever did as a professional company, dancing at Festival,” said Del Vecchio during a recent news conference early announcing the honorary co-chairs. “So to to bring it full circle 50 years later and be a part of Festival 2019 is so exciting to us.”
Festival Executive Director David Abbot said having honorary co-chairs is a big change for the organization which has have community individuals represent the leadership of Festival over its 49-year history.
“This year what we wanted to do in taking us into our next 50 years is always chose a pairing from a leading arts institution so that we can show the community that we are about collaboration in the arts and we are about partnering,” Abbot said.
Abbott said representatives from the Grand Rapids Ballet serving as honorary co-chairs seemed a natural fit given the organization’s history with Festival.
“They are leaders in the community for the arts and in the State of Michigan, this is the only professional ballet company,” Abbott said.
Festival of the Arts is a regional celebration of the arts that traditionally takes place the very first weekend in June. Next year it will be June 7, 8 and 9
“We are expanding back our Festival so it is on the full footprint of downtown Grand Rapids running from Calder Plaza all the way to Rosa Parks Circle,” Abbott said. “We will have six main stages as well as our five pop up stages that we had last year. So you are going to see performance and music in every corner of our Festival.”
And one of course, the Grand Rapids Ballet is already planning its performance for the 2019 Festival of the Arts.
“One of the things that we have always wanted to do is to bring a really high quality performance to Festival and so we are going to have our professional dancers dance at Festival, free to the public. It is going to be an unbelievable evening,” Del Vechicco said.
Abbott said Festival of the Arts recently has revamped is website, festivalgr.org, with application process for performance, art sales, the regional arts exhibition, and food sales expected to begin in November.
