The Westchester Ballet Company, which celebrated 50 years of dance in the year 2000, is one of the oldest community ballet companies in the United States. In 1950 Iris Merrick, a former student of Michel Fokine and soloist with the English Opera Company, established the Scarborough Children’s Ballet Theatre, which officially became known as The Westchester Ballet Company in 1954. Over the years Merrick’s school developed a fine reputation in the county for artistic discipline and regular professional performances. Under her direction the company’s annual productions of The Nutcracker were staged at the Scarborough School’s Beechwood Theatre and at the County Center in White Plains, NY.
In January 1971 Iris Merrick moved her school out of 1 Spring Street in Ossining into larger studios at 23 Croton Avenue. But four years later, on January 9, 1976, disaster struck: the Company’s Croton Avenue home burned to the ground. Lost in the fire were the rehearsal hall, more than 1,000 costumes, scenery, a comprehensive recording library, and the detailed notes for the twenty-two ballets in the Company’s repertoire.
Thanks to the generosity of our Westchester neighbors — including the Ossining Board of Education, which offered a nominal rent on the third floor of the Washington School, not far from the burned-out studio — the Company recovered and even went on to stage a production of The Nutcracker that same year, at Marymount College in Tarrytown.
Iris Merrick retired in 1980, after 30 years as director, and for six years the Company was led by Gabriela Ionita, a former principal of the Bucharest Opera Ballet Company and a graduate of the Vaganova Academy (Kirov) in Leningrad. This was a difficult period, during which the Washington School was sold and the Company moved to the Clearview School (formerly the Scarborough School). Shortly after Ionita resigned in 1986, Beth Fritz-Logrea and Jean Logrea, both principal dancers with the Graz Opernhaus Ballet, were contacted while in New York. In August 1986 they agreed to take over as artistic directors of The Westchester Ballet Company, were released from their contracts with the Austrian company, moved to the United States, began organizing the Logrea Dance Academy, and started planning the Company’s future performances.
The Logreas have infused the Company with energy and excitement. Our annual Nutcracker performance at the Westchester County Center features a cast of over 125 dancers and guest artists, with exquisite choreography, many special effects, and lavish costumes and scenery. Other ballets in the Company’s repertoire include Peter and the Wolf, Coppelia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pas de Quatre, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball, and Aurora’s Wedding. Our dancers’ dedication, discipline, and artistic expression are acclaimed by audiences of all ages. The Company’s Board of Directors works closely with the artistic directors to provide Westchester audiences with professionally produced ballet performances at an affordable price, and to offer financial support to County students who seek professional training.
