MANSFIELD — Bobby and Brooke Wesner love dancing.
For the last four years, the couple and dance troupe from NEOS Dance Theatre have showcased that love. On Saturday, July 31, the local dance theater will host its third annual Ballet at the Brickyard at 6 p.m. It’s a fundraising and entertainment event.
Wesner was introduced to the dancing world at a young age when his choir director encouraged him to audition for a local show, where he met a choreographer and mingled with local dancers.
“I got to know the dancers and then got a scholarship to study dancing at Cleveland Ballet. I turned 16 (years-old) that summer,” Wesner remembered.
Ever since, he’s surrounded himself with people of similar interests and slowly worked his way into choreographing his own dances. Throughout the years, he’s performed in the country’s largest cities.
But he chose to stay local. The NEOS Dance Theatre has performed under that name for 10 years, but it officially became a non-profit organization in December 2012.
“Our big drive is to make sure Mansfield doesn’t miss out on a rich art culture,” he said. “It’s easy to dismiss art as an adornment or a decoration. It’s important to do this on a professional level because it’s not being done.”
By industry standard, ticket sales for dance companies similar to NEOS amounts to nearly 30 percent of the respective organization’s revenue.
Comparatively, Wesner said NEOS generates around 15 percent of its yearly revenue from ticket sales. The biggest revenue stream comes from individual donor campaigns, around 40 percent. He said the theater is working to level those out — enter Ballet at the Brickyard.
The event is an effort to connect Richland County to an alternative artistic expression, because, according to Wesner, the dancing culture rounds out the art community, which is in need of edification.
“It’s an alternative for students. If you’re influenced by it, it’s been shown to increase graduation levels, and success rates in college. Traditionally, students in art have done better on SAT and ACT test scores,” he said.
“We’re doing really well, but we’re a little behind. But we’re also still considered a startup.”
Event details
Ballet at the Brickyard will begin Saturday, July 31 at 6 p.m. in downtown Mansfield’s brickyard. Guests will be able to observe local artists and live music.
The VIP tent also opens at 6 p.m., where patrons will be served heavy hors d’oeuvres prepared by Moveable Feast. Kelly Knowlton will also perform.
Pre-show entertainment will begin at 8 p.m., by local artist Cody Nicolas.
NEOS will begin performing on the outdoor stage at 8:45 p.m., accompanied by multi Grammy Award winner Sylvia McNair. The performance is scheduled to end by 11 p.m.
General tickets are available for $25 and VIP tickets are available for $65.
General admission guests are encouraged to bring their own seating.
Upcoming Events
Dec. 8 and 9 — A 1940s Nutcracker at the Mansfield Renaissance
Dec. 16 and 17 — A 1940s Nutcracker in Findlay
Visit the website for more information.
