Brandon Ballet's Munro Scholarship Awarded to Ashleigh Brossett

NEWS REPORT

The a pre-professional company in residence at The Dance Center, announced that Ashleigh Brossett, 13, has won this year's Richard Munro Memorial Scholarship.

The scholarship of up to $500 is named posthumously for Richard Munro, who spent his life nurturing the art of ballet as a ballet master, artistic director and ballet-academy founder in Kentucky and Texas. Upon moving to Brandon, he spent the last six years of his life teaching, coaching, choreographing and performing for the Brandon Ballet.

Any dancer in the community between the ages 13 and 18 are eligible to receive the scholaship, which is intended to further the recipient's classical ballet education. Selection is based on an audition in March. The recipient may use the scholarship to offset the cost of any summer ballet intensive program to which the recipient is accepted during the year in which the scholarship is awarded.

Brossett is a current company member of Brandon Ballet, and was awarded the scholarship after the company’s March 21 production of the full-length classical ballet, "Cinderella."

The ballet was presented in partnership with the Giving Hope Through Faith Foundation, an organization that aids families with children who have been diagnosed with cancer or other life-threatening diseases. The foundation was started by Valrico residents Sherry and Dirk Tucker, who lost their son Zachary to cancer at a young age.

The performance of "Cinderella" was sold out. It featured professional dancer Kristen Zemina and guest professional artist Christopher Miro, who currently dances with Columbia Classical Ballet in South Carolina.

Brossett has chosen to attend Brandon Ballet’s three-week summer intensive that runs June 11-29. The intensive features international and national guest instructors of a high caliber, teaching classes that may include ballet, pointe, repertoire, variations, pas de deux, character, modern and theatre jazz, and African. For more information, or to schedule an audition, call the Brandon Ballet at 813-684-4282.

Founded in 1993, Brandon Ballet is a nonprofit regional ballet company that develops and promotes opportunities for aspiring young dancers. By offering a superior training program and two major performances each year, the Brandon Ballet helps serious dancers broaden their dance experiences.

From its humble beginnings, the company has grown to include 38 dancers of varying levels. Professional dancers and training dancers call the Brandon Ballet home. The Brandon Ballet provides Brandon and the surrounding communities with an education in the art of dance. The Brandon Ballet serves the community through performances held at public facilities. All company dancers receive the highest caliber of professional training on a weekly basis and are provided the opportunity to learn standard classical repertoire. The Brandon Ballet has and will continue to foster growth and education by bringing guest teachers and choreographers to the community.