When my friend Nadia (who is, by the way, an exceptional writer at The Ballet Herald) told me how she “posted on social” to help her parents’ school, Vostrikov’s Academy of Ballet, on their search for a Cavalier, I knew I had to share the story with anyone else who would listen.
Sean Rollofson answered his fellow “Flesh and Bone” cast member’s Instagram call (below is the original post that Nadia added to her Stories five weeks ago) and Nadia put him and Melissa Kauffman, Vostrikov’s Academy of Ballet’s current owner and Artistic Director, in touch. Next thing Kauffman knew, she had the school’s first guest artist ever in its four decade history lined up to star in their annual production of The Nutcracker.
Then, when Rollofson, a former BalletMet dancer who now freelances, learned that Vostrikov’s Academy of Ballet’s students are huge fans of ballet star Kathryn Morgan, he reached out to his close friend to see if she was keen on joining him for the gig. As the Spanish say, “el mundo es un pañuelo“.
She said, “Yes”.
So now, Kauffman has two guest artists on her cast list.
“This is what we love to do. We like to go into small towns, to places where you’re making a difference in the ballet world. And we’ve heard through Nadia that this is a special place,” Rollofson expressed.
Winchester, Virginia audiences will have the opportunity to watch Rollofson in all The Nutcracker performances at the Patsy Cline Theatre December 16 and 17; on Saturday with student Summer Salvetti and on Sunday with Morgan.
Yet this unexpected gift of having such renowned professional dancers as part of The Nutcracker this year is not just about adding their names to local media headlines. The opportunity for these aspiring students to have role models sharing the same rehearsal and stage space is an honor, a privilege, and an inspiration.
All thanks to an Instagram post and the goodness of people’s hearts.
Featured Photo of Kathryn Morgan and Sean Rollofson courtesy of Rollofson.
A beautifully told story – thank you for the article. We’re still in a bit of shock to have their talent this weekend. Everyone says how kind Sean and Kathryn are; in addition to being great at their craft, we want our dancers to be kind people. Amazing role models!