You’re a dancer. What’s next after you leave your dance studio? Here’s a chance to see how a dozen Buffalo-trained dancers have answered that question. They have fanned out all over the country in pursuit of the most elusive and demanding, but rewarding, professions in the arts: concert dance.

"Buffalo Gals Bring Home New Works" celebrates the talent and dedication of thirteen young women now entering the professional dance scene, after their graduation from top dance conservatories and colleges throughout the US. These women are coming back home from such places as Boston, New York, and Los Angeles for two very special performances, produced by Pick of the Crop Dance. They take place on Saturday, May 31, 2008, at 8 PM and Sunday, June 1, 2008, at 2 PM, in the Flickinger Theater on the campus of Nichols School in Buffalo. Tickets are $15 general admission, and will be available at the door.

Tickets can be purchased in advance via PayPal by clicking on the links below:

For other information:

"Buffalo Gals" features the following dancers:

Angela Buccinni
Katie Dorn
Raija Gershberg
Alisa Mittin
Makenzi Rasey
Bridget Rochester
Katie Schwartz
Kirsta Sendziak
Mary Grace Sullivan
Bonnie Taylor
Molly Taylor
Brittini Whiting
Jessica Wright

These artists received their early training from a cross section of Buffalo's best dance studios, under a variety of teachers. They have one mentor in common: Artistic Director Elaine Gardner. For many years, Gardner's Summer Intensive dance program broadened and deepened their "home" studio training by exposing them to her singular teaching. The company's spectacular, groundbreaking storybook ballets, which ran from 1996 to 2004, gave them an in-depth experience of the professional world of concert dance. These dancers were also members, at one time or another, of Gardner's apprentice group, The Seedling Company.

"Buffalo Gals Bring Home New Works" showcases the talents of these women -- not only as dancers, but as choreographers. Their dances will appear along with some of Gardner's signature works, as well as pieces by guest choreographers such as Colin Connor, Marcus Schulkind, and Elizabeth Streb.

Pick of the Crop Dance, a concert dance company, has been providing professional performances, training, and education to the western New York area and beyond for the past 25 years. The company is well known for its wide ranging and innovative concert performances integrating dance, music and the visual arts, and projects for children that emphasize their inherent creativity and imagination. Pick of the Crop Dance receives support from the New York State Council on the Arts Dance Program and the New York DanceForce. These performances are sponsored by Phillips Lytle, LLP. For more information on Pick of the Crop Dance, visit www.poc.org.