Julia Weber
Staff Writer
A selection of Chautauqua School of Dance’s most prestigious alumni will grace the stage at 8:15 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater.
The All-Star Alumni Gala kicks off a packed season of dance at the Institution with a selection of the school’s former students flocking back to the grounds to perform an array of classic and newer works.
“We’re just hitting the ground running,” said Sasha Janes, the Bonnefoux McBride Artistic Director of Chautauqua School of Dance.
Janes said the 2025 season is “jam packed” with dance, and Chautauquans may notice the increased dance presence through interdisciplinary collaboration with other arts programs at the Institution during the summer.
Ahead of the gala, Chautauqua Dance Circle will host a preview at 7 p.m. tonight in Smith Wilkes Hall.
The repertoire for tonight’s performance includes perennial favorites such as the “White Swan Pas de Deux” and “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” as well as more recent works like Janes’ “Sketches From Grace,” “Of the Night” and “Lascia la Spina, Cogli la Rosa.” Alumni returning for tonight’s showcase come from all parts of the country and have performed with many of the nation’s most renowned ballet companies. Dancers taking the Amp stage tonight include Isabella LaFreniere, Brooklyn Mack, Brooks Landegger, James Gilmer, Taylor Naturkas, SeHyun Jin, Angelica Generosa and Kali Oliver.
For Janes, one of the most rewarding parts of leading the School of Dance is to watch dancers grow throughout the program and join the professional ranks at top dance companies.
He recounted seeing Oliver perform with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater during a trip to Paris as an example of the rewarding nature of watching students grow professionally and artistically.
“It was really exciting to see her from when she was a little kid to now dancing with Alvin Ailey in Paris,” he said. “It was really touching. ”
Though the All-Star Alumni Gala takes place annually, this year’s event is of particular significance as the School of Dance mourns the loss of former artistic director Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, who died in April. Many of the alumni performing tonight studied under Bonnefoux’s artistic direction, who himself was a pupil of ballet legend George Balanchine. Bonnefoux led the School of Dance for 38 years.
“All of these dancers talk about how special the opportunity to come to Chautauqua was and how, in some cases, it shaped them along with their career,” Janes said. “That’s because of the vision of Jean-Pierre. Without him, there would be no All-Star Gala. He created this magical place.”
