Livonia Civic Ballet

The meeting opened with a warm welcome to our newest member, Russell Bisinger, who received a hardy round of applause. Russel reported that he is two weeks away from obtaining his Masters in Project Management. Welcome to our Rotary Club, Russell!

Tammy Bonifield reminded members to check with the Waze App before you drive out to her cottage to see what the traffic is like. She passed out maps and said she would park her car near the road with the Rotary AM flag attached. Look for the flag as you can not see her road as it is a sharp right turn and then goes down the hill to the lake. Call if you get lost.

Pat Zucal reported that Corrine, the woman whose child died in the tornado that hit Livonia, is now in a wheelchair, and it is believed that she will be able to walk again. She needs extensive rehab and more surgeries.

Bob Carris' happy buck was for closing on his Condo in Canton. Victoria Haltom is happy that she will be attending our Installation Dinner at Tammy's cottage with her daughter. This is her first outing since her surgery.

Rotary Park suffered extensive damage after last week's storm. The Director of Parks & Recreation, Ted Davis, put out a call for help picking up small branches left after the big trees were cut up and removed. Information on this will be sent shortly via email. Dawn Magretta suggested that Schoolcraft College could bring meals for the workers. Stay tuned for information on the park cleanup.

Our club voted to purchase 10 trees to replace some of the downed trees. We will work with Ted Davis on the kind of trees needed. Pat will check where the Club can hold its picnic.

Scott Newell of the Livonia Civic Ballet Company was our speaker.

Scott thanked the Club for its recent donation to the ballet company.

In 1965, Jean Newell (Scott's Mother) opened Livonia's first ballet/dance studio. Through the years, the Ballet Company's focus has changed from performance-driven to educational. The company's roster represents six Livonia dance studios and four from neighboring cities.

Guest instructors come from nationally and regionally recognized companies to give workshops to students. The workshops include ballet, hip hop, jazz, and contemporary.

In 2023 the Livonia Civic Ballet Company joined The Friends of the Arts. They have given scholarships to dancers but have learned that they should give the scholarship money in increments to make sure the funds are used for dance. Scott reported that the only auditorium they can afford is Garden City. Livonia is very expensive.  

Susan Paluchniak