Dance Theatre of W-B presents ‘Our Four Seasons’

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With four of her long-time dance students finishing their last year of high school, artistic director Gina Malsky wanted to feature all of them in her spring production.

So she hit upon using the music of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons,” and decided each of the young women could represent a different time of year — with Lucy Lew as spring, McKenna Granahan as summer, Julia Godfrey as fall and Jordan Medley as winter.

It’s an exciting but bittersweet time, Lucy said, as the senior dancers prepare to take their final curtain call with the Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, in a show set for 6 p.m. Sunday, May 26 at the F.M. Kirby Center in downtown Wilkes-Barre.

Not only have they been dancing together for years, Julia said, but the group spent a lot of time together outside of dance class, with sleepovers and dinners.

“Now we’re separating,” she said.

While Julia plans to study psychology at Penn State, Jordan plans to study sports management at Wilkes University, Mckenna plans to attend Luzerne County Community College while continuing to work at Beyond the Roots hair salon in Pittston, and Lucy plans to study both dance and education at the University of Richmond.

But as a group, they’re taking the lessons “Miss Gina” taught them at the Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, not just how to plié and piroutte and glissade-assemblé but how to be kind and considerate.

“I feel Miss Gina molded me into the person and the dancer I am today,” Julia said.

“She made me very comfortable and calmed me down,” Jordan said. “Even when I was” — here she paused and waved her arms — “going crazy.”

“Miss Gina’s basically my second mom,” Lucy said.

Speaking quietly, McKenna said she was glad Miss Gina showed her how to do a solo.

“Not only as a dancer, but as a person,” Lucy said, “I will forever be grateful for what she’s taught me.”

Wiping her eyes, Lucy added, “I know she’s only a phone call away … this isn’t good-bye; it’s only a see-you-later.”

That seems to be true for several dancers who experienced the milestone of high school graduation but return to help the Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre whenever they can. For this production of “Our Four Seasons,” Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre alums Emma Granahan, Kaitlyn Smith and Justine Buczynski were all part of a recent rehearsal, helping to shepherd the youngest dancers on and off stage and make sure they didn’t miss their cues.

“I love dance so much,” said Justine, 23, who lives in Shavertown and is a recent graduate of Wilkes University’s pharmacy program. “I would like to keep on teaching it. Taking what you learned and passing it on is a very important thing to do.”

Tickets to the Dance Theatre of Wilkes-Barre’s spring production of “Our Four Seasons” are available at the Kirby Center box office.