Florida Dance Theatre Celebrates 20th Anniversary | TheLedger.com

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tiffany and co outlet tiffany outlet tiffany jewelry outlet Florida Dance Theatre Celebrates 20th Anniversary tiffany Jermaine Thornton , Molly Ahler and Christina Martin rehearse for Florida Dance Theatre's upcoming performance. ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER By Matt Reinstetle The Ledger Published: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at 5:28 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at 5:28 p.m. tiffany outlet online When Florida Dance Theatre began 20 years ago, it was just a group of talented teens dancing ballet in a small studio space. Facts IF YOU GO cheap tiffany WHAT: Tutus & Tuxes: The 20s for the 20th. WHEN: 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday. LOCATION: Lake Mirror Center, 121 S. Lake Ave., Lakeland. TICKETS: $50 (cash bar), $25 extra for open bar wristband (ages 21 and older). CONTACT: Florida Dance Theatre or 863-802-0399. tiffany Then known as The Lakeland Ballet, Florida Dance Theatre was created by Carol Krajacic Erkes to give an artistic outlet to Polk County kids who wanted to learn more about dance.tiffany outlet store Fast forward to now, and Florida Dance Theatre is a company with salaried professional dancers and a dance academy educating 250 students.tiffany jewelry "It's like going from the Little League to the major league, that's the perfect way to paint it," said Erkes, executive artistic director of Florida Dance Theatre.Florida Dance Theatre is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a fundraiser called Tutus & Tuxes: The 20s for the 20th on Saturday.The event has a 1920s theme that includes a full 1920s-style band and guests are encouraged to dress in era-appropriate clothing.There will also be a group of local celebrities wearing tutus at the event as an additional means to raise money. The more money raised by the local celebrities, the longer they must wear the tutu, similar to the popular jail-and-bail fundraising game.The local celebrities in tutus include Kevin and Tiffany **** from the City of Lakeland; Cynthia Haffey of PlatformArt; Tiffany Osler and Ashley Link of the Junior League of Greater Lakeland; Jack Lowman of Avon Leasing; Lakeland City Commissioner Justin Troller; City Commissioner and mayoral candidate Howard Wiggs; and Terry Worthington of United Way of Central Florida.The local celebrities will also be going out of their way to entertain the crowd. Whichever celeb team raises the most money will be named Prima Ballerina."The dancers are excited (for the event) because this is the first time we're having an event and they get to have fun, enjoy themselves, meet their audience and just really be involved," Erkes said.Before starting Florida Dance Theatre, Erkes worked as a professional dancer for companies based in Cincinnati, Houston and Orlando.Things were small in the beginning, operating out of a 1,000-square-foot studio on Edgewood Drive in Lakeland, then slowly expanding to bigger facilities before landing at its current location on West Main Street in Downtown Lakeland.Florida Dance Theatre operates as a nonprofit organization and has attracted professional dancers as far as Michigan, Arizona, Canada, Columbia and New York City to be a part of the company.Florida Dance Theatre will be part of the Florida Southern College Festival of Fine Arts with "Florida Dance Theatre Presents: An Evening of Dance" on Oct. 8.In addition to operating a professional dance company, they also have The Academy of Florida Dance Theatre, a dance school with classes taught by former or current professional dancers.Erkes contributes the growth of The Academy to the popularity of the annual performances of "The Nutcracker" at the Polk Theatre, happening Dec. 13-15.Funds raised during Tutus & Tuxes will help programs across the board for Florida Dance Theatre -- and organizers hope it becomes an annual event."I think if this is successful, which I think it will be, we would like to do a different theme every year from the '40s and '50s," Erkes said. "I think it would be a hoot to do the '60s with peace signs. I think it would be a riot because it's something different."Matt Reinstetle can be reached at matt.reinstetle@ or 802-7533. Follow Matt on ******* @LedgerMatt. tiffany jewelry tiffany & co