Feb 05, 2013

NASHVILLE BALLET BRINGS ANNE FRANK TO LIFE IN UPCOMING COLUMBIA STATE PERFORMANCE

Photo Caption: The Nashville Ballet dancers capture the essence of The Diary of Anne Frank through artistic storytelling with choreography, music and period costumes, while providing a creative setting and deeper understanding of Frank's experience.

Performance Free and Open to the Public Monday, Nov. 5

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Oct. 22, 2012) - - - The Nashville Ballet brings to life the story of Anne Frank in a premiere guest appearance at Columbia State Community College on Monday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Cherry Theater. Ann Frank was a thirteen-year-old Jewish teenager coming of age while hiding from the Nazis during the Holocaust of World War II. She chronicled her life in her diary, which survived the war and was published as Anne Frank - The Diary of a Young Girl.
Anne Frank's diary has long been recognized as a moving and honest portrayal of life in the occupied Netherlands, the stress of living in hiding and silence, sharing cramped living space with other families, and the normal teenage turmoil experienced as a part of coming of age.
Artistic Director Paul Vasterling blends the historical reality of the Holocaust, the personal biography of Anne Frank as published in her diary, a sweeping musical score, and contemporary choreography. Period costuming and props help the audience understand the context of that very dark time in world history.
Ultimately, the Frank family's hiding place was betrayed to the Nazis and all eight of the inhabitants, along with the family who cared for and hid them, were arrested and sent to German Concentration Camps. Anne did not survive. In fact, the lone survivor was her father, Otto Frank, who ultimately edited the diary and oversaw its publication.
The Diary of Anne Frank has served as a voice for the more than six million people who were slaughtered by the German army under Hitler's leadership. Hers was an ordinary voice, the voice of a child caught in a world that had turned terrifying. As the diary proceeds, people everywhere are captivated by the ordinariness of much of it and the continual hope that Anne had that her world would someday be righted.
Following the one-hour ballet, the Tennessee Commission on Holocaust Education will lead a discussion and question and answer period. Jimmy Gentry, a World War II veteran who was involved in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp, in the immediate aftermath of the war will lead the discussion.

The ballet is encouraged for students of all ages who want to learn more about the Holocaust and who are interested in the ways that the performing arts can tell a story in the medium of dance and song.
The Cherry Theater is in the Waymon L. Hickman building on the Columbia campus, located at 1665 Hampshire Pike. The performance is free and open to the public.
Photo Caption: Anne Frank writing in her house in Merwedeplein, Amsterdam in 1941.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.