Triangle Youth Ballet holds third annual fundraiser

The Triangle Youth Ballet worked to continue its tradition of live music at its annual Nutcracker performance at an orchestra fundraiser at University Mall Wednesday evening.

The Weathervane cafe at A Southern Season hosted the event, which featured a special meal with store wine pairings on the cafe’s garden patio, a silent auction for donations and live music from local musicians, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The event, which is in its third year, drew the biggest crowd yet with more than 50 people attending.

Tickets for the dinner and silent auction were $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Donors also purchased puzzle pieces at the event to put together a puzzle display. Proceeds from the purchases will fund the Tchaikovsky Virtuosi 30-piece orchestra.

The funds raised allow the orchestra to continue providing live music of Tchaikovsky’s original score for the ballet’s production of the Nutcracker in December.

Donors can continue to donate money through the ballet’s website, but the group only holds the fundraiser in the fall.

The ballet has performed the Nutcracker for 16 years, and Indigo Sage, a dancer with the company, said they have had live music each time.

But that comes at a cost — and the group had to find a way to cover it.

Audrey Fenske, the Triangle Youth Ballet’s director of community outreach, said the idea for the fundraiser came from the ballet’s artistic director, Lauren Lorentz De Haas, and the orchestra’s conductor, Andrew McAfee.

“The fundraiser is a way to promote the artistic community in the Triangle and show the importance of live music for the ballet,” Fenske said.

Sarah Mackiewicz, special events coordinator for the store, said the Weathervane hosts the event because they think it is important to support the arts.

“We support young children who are trying to develop their talent early, making our community richer,” she said.

Fenske said the dancers attend the fundraiser to speak about the ballet’s tradition of bringing live music to performances.

Dancers with the Triangle Youth Ballet range in age, with several toddler and elementary-aged dancers and some adult dancers. Most of the dancers who attended the event went to nearby high schools.

Sage, a senior at the Durham School of the Arts, said she has been dancing for 13 years and participating in the company’s fundraiser from its start.

“There is always more to learn, and everybody continuously works at getting better,” Sage said.

“We are also one of the last companies to feature a live orchestra, which makes the production even more magical.

“It is amazing to see it come together, and it is amazing to see the instruments and see it all happening.”

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