Akron dancer makes most of scholarship, rises to lead role in 'Hansel and Gretel'

Wendy Moreno-Garcia has come a long way from when she was 8 and began learning about the world of classical ballet.

The North High School 15-year-old, a Reach Out and Dance (ROAD) scholarship student for seven years at Nan Klinger Excellence in Dance, has progressed from beginner ballet class at the Cuyahoga Falls studio to its second-highest level. She trains six days a week in nine pre-professional classes plus company rehearsals for Ballet Excel Ohio (BXO).

As one of BXO's top dancers, she's performing a lead role as Hansel in the world premiere ballet "Hansel and Gretel," created by Erich Yetter for the Falls company. As Hansel, Wendy's the first dancer to ever have the esteemed choreographer's dance set on her for this role.

"It was very fun because it was my first time getting a lead and having someone choreograph on me," Wendy said Feb. 23. "I'm just very grateful for the opportunity."

She'll join a cast of 39 on March 11 and 12 performing "Hansel and Gretel" at the Akron Civic Theatre.

"Hansel and Gretel" marks the sixth BXO ballet Wendy has done at the Civic. She played sister Kai two years ago in "The Snow Queen," taking over the role in 2021 after 15 months of delays due to COVID-19.

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"I feel like really grateful for the opportunity to dance here. It's really taught me a lot as a dancer and as a person," said Wendy, daughter of Yeni Garcia and Jose Moreno, who came to the United States from Mexico in 1999 and to Akron 15 years ago. "It's really helped me like not be as shy. It's helped me step out of my comfort zone a little."

Wendy remembers how she felt first dancing with ROAD when the studio's outreach program visited her grade school, Harris Elementary, when she was in second grade.

"I really like that I expressed myself without talking," she said. "I never really liked to talk as a child."

"I wouldn't have thought about ballet if ROAD hadn't come" to her school, Wendy said.

Those are just the kind of kids that ROAD was created to connect with, said Mia Klinger, artistic director for BXO. Her ROAD teachers give scholarships to kids whose interest in dance is clearly sparked.

Wendy is one of 13 Akron dancers currently on full ROAD scholarships at the studio.

"I know this has changed her personality for life. She's very confident. She's beautiful," Klinger said of Wendy, who works hard and takes every class available.

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Wendy, known as the "fouette turn queen," is a leader who, along with best friend and fellow dancer Rebecca Banig from Tallmadge High School, helps build camaraderie among the company members.

Reach Out and Dance

The ROAD outreach program has visited public grade schools for 24 years, giving more than 10,000 local children the opportunity to experience dance.

This year, ROAD teachers have run 10-week dance programs at nine grade schools — including Woodridge Elementary and eight Akron schools — plus the Akron Boys & Girls Club of America. That's enabled 550 second-graders to participate in dance this school year.

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ROAD is an important part of the studio's equity and inclusion mission, Klinger said. She's one of five dance teachers nationwide who works with the School of American Ballet's National Visiting Fellows program in New York, which builds relationships with teachers committed to training students from diverse backgrounds.

"I want to make sure I leave a strong impact with kids that might not ever get that opportunity in their life and open up what greatness can be for them. Whether they become dancers or not, I know that they'll always be professionals," she said.

The story of 'Hansel and Gretel'

The ballet retells the classic 1812 Grimm's fairytale about a brother and sister who wander into a forest where they come across both evil minions and a beautiful Dream Fairy. They're captured by an evil witch who lives in a fantastic gingerbread house.

Good triumphs over evil as the siblings defeat the witch, free other children she baked into gingerbread, and finally reunite with their parents.

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The ballet, for ages 5 and older, incorporates the music of Engelbert Humperdinck from the 1893 "Hansel and Gretel" opera, including his “Fourteen Angels” bedtime prayer.

Yetter, a former Nan Klinger faculty member who now teaches dance at Anderson University in Indiana, set the choreography on the Cuyahoga Falls youth company in August. "Hansel and Gretel" features 18 BXO dancers, 13 studio and adult guest dancers and a group of family members who portray trees.

ROAD success stories

ROAD scholarship dancers have seen success recently: Akron's Jonathan McCray is now in his second year on full scholarship with the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York, associate school of the New York City Ballet.

McCray, 17, who Klinger said "was born this dancer," studies year-round and lives at SAB. He's a junior on scholarship at the Professional Children's School.

Dance students can win ROAD scholarships through the studio's school outreach program or by requesting an audition, which McCray did as a pre-teen at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts.

"I try to keep it open so those schools we don't go to, we don't miss those kids like Jonathan that have a lot of talent," Klinger said.

Also coming up through the ranks is ROAD dancer Carmelo Felding of Akron. The 12-year-old will attend SAB's junior program in New York this summer.

Family support for young dancers is crucial. Wendy's parents are very supportive with her training, Klinger said, and her older sister helps with communication and transportation.

"They encourage me a lot," Wendy said of her parents. "They like that I do ballet because it's made me like a better person. I focus."

Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

Details

Show: Ballet Excel Ohio's "Hansel and Gretel"

When: 2 p.m. March 11, 12

Where: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 S. Main St., Akron

Cost: $25-$35

Information: akroncivic.com, 330-253-2488

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron ballerina relishes lead role in 'Hansel and Gretel'