A Slippery Rock University dance major landed the lead role in the Oil Region Ballet Company’s (ORB) production of Snow White and the Seven Merry Maids.
Morgan Jacoby, 22, senior dance major from Rocky Grove, Pennsylvania will portray the role of Snow White in a performance that re-tells the traditional tale of ‘Snow White’ with a modern twist. She was the only student from SRU to audition for the performance. Jacoby has 19 years of dance experience.
Jill Shull, Assistant Executive Director and Public Relations Chairmain of ORB, said that the dancers in the performance are predominately from Venango, Crawford, and Mercer counties. She said there is also a male dancer who attends Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
“ORB holds auditions annually and dancers are chosen based on their skill level and technique,” Shull said. “Dancers are placed into the following divisions based on the needs of the company, age, and skill: principal dancer, soloists, demi-soloists, corps de ballet, and petite apprentices.”
Shull said that everyone is proud of Jacoby for her hard work and dedication to ORB because Jacoby has been dancing with ORB for seven years.
Deborah Femovich, Artistic and Executive Director of ORB, said that Jacoby was chosen for her finely trained dance abilities.
“[Jacoby] also exhibits the characteristics of the ‘Snow’ character in our ballet story,” Femovich added. “She succeeds against any odds, she always works to her fullest potential and she has the fortitude to never let me down.”
The performance will celebrate the company’s sixth season, as ORB is the region’s first performance ballet company.
ORB has put on performances of ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ ‘Bremen Town Musicians,’ ‘Le Train Bleu,’ ‘Cinderella,’ ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Frog Prince.’
The performance will be Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. at the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin, Pennsylvania, with additional performances on Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Academy Theatre in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Tickets are on sale through the box office now and can also be bought at the door. Student tickets are eight dollars and tickets for the general public are twelve dollars.
