What happens when you blend together artistic talent, localism and Tampa Bay’s annual pirate extravaganza? You come out with Gaspar: A Pirate Fantasy. The swash-buckling, pirate-reveling, locally crafted ballet that's become an annual tradition and is set for production this upcoming January.
Fantasy is certainly one word to describe Tampa Bay’s original, pirate-filled dance piece. A dream-come-true was the description given by 12-year old Claire Franco during the Gaspar Ballet preview on Oct. 5 at Freefall Theatre.
Franco was cast in the ballet earlier this fall after impressing dance director, Christopher Fleming during a Master Class he was teaching at the St. Petersburg YMCA.
“She stood out to him. When he asked her to do a cartwheel round off, she put her hands on her hips and asked “How many”?" Kelly Marshall, YMCA’s dance instructor, told a handful of non-profit recipients.
Casting local Tampa Bay for the ballet is a shared vision among Richard and Sharon Sanchez. The couple joined forces in 2008 in creating the Sanchez Family Foundation as a Florida Charitable Trust. The foundation’s primary focus is providing benefits and artistic opportunities to underprivileged children in the Tampa Bay area but also providing financial assistance to various non-profit programs throughout Florida.
Most recently, the foundation has supplied the initial funding for the Gaspar Ballet.
“Gasparilla is the perfect event in adding a family-friendly dimension. We believe that dance has a place in telling how the city of Tampa was invaded by the brave, daring private and fell in love” Sanchez stated.
Sharon Sanchez, along with director Christopher Fleming, told a spirited rendition of the ballet’s origin before the ballet’s preview.
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2011.