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Year: 2021

Ballet Dance

ENGAGE DANCE BRINGS BACK THE NUTCRACKER

Engage Dance Theatre, a year-round pre-professional dance company in Crystal Lake for ages 5-18 produces three performances a year including a full-length co-production of The Nutcracker with Raue Center For The Arts. The Nutcracker will appear at Raue Center for a limited engagement on November 18 & 19 with performances at 1 pm and 5 pm. 

Join Clara at her annual Christmas Eve party at the Staulbaum house enjoying a night full of celebration, dancing and magic! As the party comes to a close Clara sneaks downstairs to find her precious new Nutcracker doll and falls asleep dreaming of her wonderful evening. She is startled awake by a group of mischievous mice and taken on an exciting journey with Drosselmeyer and her precious Nutcracker. Battling a life-size mouse Queen, slipping & sliding with snowmen & dazzling Snow Queen, and then flying off on an enchanted crystal sleigh to meet the Queen of the Angels and her herald of Angles at the gates of the Land of Sweets. Spanish Chocolate, Arabian Coffee, Chinese Tea, Russian Taffy, Marzipan Candy, Merry & her sweet Mini Mints, Dew Drop with her carousel of flowers, and the elegant Sugar Plum Fairy & her Cavalier all dance for Clara in an adventure not to be missed this holiday season!

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be the new dance company in residence with this cornerstone nonprofit. The Raue Center for the Arts provides for our Engage Dance Academy young artists a state of art performance space and access to industry professionals whose expertise has benefited our performances in the past,” says co-owner Courtney Petrocci. “Looking to the future we see this as an opportunity for both organizations to grow & produce great theatre & dance for the local & greater northern Illinois arts community.”

Engage Dance Academy is a premier dance academy owned & operated by Courtney & Marc Petrocci, former professional dancers at the Milwaukee Ballet. Bringing professional caliber dance training to Mchenry County for dancers ages 18 months-Adult. Engage is a triple-track dance studio offering dance classes for all levels. Engage Dance Theatre also hosts an award-winning competition team for those dancers looking to compete in Chicago-based competitions; and an Open Division for dancers looking for a wide variety of weekly classes ranging from baby ballet, jazz, hip hop, and Aerial Silks & Tumbling.  

For more information visit engagedanceacademy.com 

About Raue Center For The Arts

Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 20 years, they have provided quality programming – striving to make it pertinent, available, and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional showcase theatre named for its benefactor—Lucile Raue—Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a gathering place for our region’s citizens and has become a true destination. 

For additional information, visit rauecenter.org or call the Box Office at 815.356.9212.

Music Tribute

ABBA MANIA PACKS THE HOUSE AT RAUE CENTER

Raue Center was thrilled to have a packed house for the first time since the quarantine began back in March of 2020. ABBA Mania had Raue’s audience members laughing, clapping, and dancing to the hits of the 70s Swedish pop superstars.

“Having such a large crowd in our theater was a bit of a strange feeling after the hardships of the past year and a half but it underscored the reasons why we have been increasingly vocal about the need to get vaccinated or show a negative test before you come to the show,” explained development manager James Knight. 

“It was refreshing to see so many in our audience willing to do the little things to help us keep our community safe. We’ve got a number of other big shows on the horizon: Amy Grant, Night Fever, and Hyprov with Colin Mochrie…so a big thanks to our audience for helping keep us all safe and getting Raue Center back on track!”

About Raue Center For The Arts

Raue Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of all through the arts. For 20 years, they have provided quality programming – striving to make it pertinent, available, and affordable to all. As a painstakingly restored, 1920s regional showcase theatre named for its benefactor—Lucile Raue—Raue Center has attracted the finest stars, Broadway shows, musicians and artists. Named on the League of Historic American Theatres, Raue Center is one of the finest examples of restored art and decor in the nation. The 750-seat theatre, located in historic downtown Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a gathering place for our region’s citizens and has become a true destination. 

For additional information, visit rauecenter.org, facebook.com/RaueCenter, and twitter.com/RaueCenter. 

High School Theatre

LOVE STORY AT CARY GROVE HIGH

Don’t miss the first live theatrical production of Cary Grove High School’s 2021-2022 season!

Tickets are on sale now online and will be available at the door. Our CG Drama cast and crew are excited to welcome back our audiences for Failure: A Love Story!

By the end of 1928, all three Fail sisters will be dead – expiring in reverse order, youngest to oldest, from a blunt object to the head, disappearance, and finally, consumption. Tuneful songs and a whimsical chorus follow the story of Nelly, Jenny June, and Gerty as they live out their lives above the family clock repair shop near the Chicago River before their time unexpectedly runs out.

Cary Grove High School is excited to welcome back our CG Drama audience for this magical, musical fable where, in the end, the power of love is far greater than any individual’s successes or failures. Click on the button below to buy tickets.

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Ballet Classes Dance News

Engage Dance Theatre: Building on Trust and Growing with Optimism

Written by Anne Dyson

Having heard from a few Crystal Lake dance families who were excited about the recent studio expansion of Engage Dance Academy, I decided to stop by 5186 Northwest Highway and check-in with co-owners, Courtney Kramer Petrocci and Marc Petrocci. It was sunny outside and even sunnier inside.

 

When asked to describe the new space, Marc’s enthusiasm was evident.

“It’s a dream come true for us. The new 1400 sq. foot studio space is huge and bright so our dancers can push themselves to greater heights with improved stamina. As professional ballet dancers and teachers, we knew it was paramount that we install a superior quality floor. Our industry-leading Harlequin floor helps the dancers reach lofty goals while being protected against injury. In addition to the new dance space, we now have two extra bathrooms and a cross-training area. This new studio is a dream dance space for any professional dancer or student.”

 

Courtney emphasized that it was important for Engage to grow but they wanted to do it in a space that really benefited their students and instructors. When COVID hit, they thought this dream would have to go on the back burner until the distant future. However, that future is now and, not only has the school remained open, it is flourishing and expanding. Courtney described this journey of hard work as – “building on trust and growing with optimism.”  Both Marc and Courtney agree Engage Dance Academy would not be the strong organization it is today without its tremendously talented, flexible, and respectful Staff. 

Piloting through COVID and Zoom classes last year, without canceling a single one, and now back in studio still traversing through the ever-changing environment had to be challenging. Staying up to date with the latest CDC guidelines and providing their dance families with complete transparency about Engage policies has been key to earning and keeping family support. I asked about feedback from their family group.  Marc replied “Our families have trusted us to continue to teach, nurture and inspire their dancers through such an uncertain time, and our whole staff has worked tirelessly to continue to earn that confidence each day. The comment we hear all the time from both dancers and parents are ‘thank you’ for the consistency we have provided. In a time of uncertainty, the dance world remained- regular classes, successful performance and progression in their technical growth and love of dance.” 

 

With new space comes new opportunities. Courtney explained “With four gorgeous studios Engage has the ability to increase class offerings and still hold strong to our belief of smaller class sizes for maximum one on one attention. We are able to run multiple classes at once starting with a Baby Ballet at 9 am on weekdays & weekends through our most advanced students ending at 9:30 pm seven days a week. We have dance class times that fit different family schedules making us a studio for everyone.”

Engage Dance Academy prides itself on being a triple-track studio focusing on the wants and needs of all lovers of dance. Engage Dance Theatre, their pre-professional dance company performs three dance concerts a year including their enchanting holiday tradition The Nutcracker and features partnering classes with professionals from Milwaukee Ballet. Engage Comp Crew is their award-winning competition team.  Their Open Division Program allows dancers, ages 18month – adults, to pick and choose from many unique offerings including K-Pop and Aerial Silks without a huge time commitment. 

 

Marc and Courtney expressed how Engage would not be expanding today without the love and support of the Engage Dance Families. It was great to hear about a local business growing with optimism through yet another wave of this pandemic.

 

Engage is currently taking fall enrollment and will be holding open auditions for their annual Nutcracker held at the Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake. For more information go to engagedanceacademy.com or call (815)477-0033. 

 

Comedy News Stand-up

Comic and Lucy’s Comedy curator John Dacosse sits down with stand-ups

A big hello and a very warm welcome back from the curator of Lucy’s Comedy. John Da Cosse for the start of the 2021 Season at the Raue Center in downtown Crystal Lake! This is our 14th year where we present a night of Stand-up Comedy on the Raue stage.

I have been performing for 40 years producing this show for the last 10, and the opening of Lucy’s Comedy series this year means more than any other. Since we have all been staying home and following safety guidelines we have tried to bring Lucy’s to you in one form or another, but this will be the first Lucy’s in over 2 years to be performed the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

The first show brings Headliner Doctor Bill Miller to our stage, an actual doctor who has been performing stand-up longer than I have, he started in LA working both The Improv and the famous Comedy Store with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, and Richard Pryor. Recently his humorous YouTube rant on how the medical community is dealing with the pandemic reached some 3 million views. I thought this was a great way to say thanks for his service and start our new season. 

Hari Roi will be performing as the feature act and some of you may have already watched Hari when he performed on one of our live stream shows. The host, Ted Willson, is one of my favorites! Ted has featured and hosted many times over the last few years and ALWAYS blows me away with his non-stop writing and smooth delivery. So welcome back to each and everyone and as they say, “Laughter is the best medicine“ so what better prescription than a night at Lucy’s Comedy! 

 

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Battle of the Bands Winner JJ Smith Returns to Crystal Lake with Special Guest Jake Racina

Audiences on their feet for One Voice Manilow Tribute.

Raue Center Unveils the Highly-Anticipated Return of William Street Repertory