Sheep to Shawl Festival Features Ohman School of Ballet Students

STUDENTS FROM THE OHMAN SCHOOL OF BALLET IN COMMACK PERFORM AT HUNTINGTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY SHEEP TO SHAWL FESTIVAL

Sunday, May 5 at Kissam House on Park Avenue

Performances at 1:30 and 3 pm

Students from the Ohman School of Ballet in Commack will return to the Huntington Historical Society’s annual Sheep to Shawl Festival on Sunday, May 5 performing a traditional Maypole dance choreographed by former New York City Ballet soloist Frank Ohman. Performances are at 1:30 and 3 pm at the Dr. Daniel W. Kissam House Museum property at 434 Park Avenue in Huntington. For more information about the Sheep to Shawl Festival visit https://www.huntingtonhistoricalsociety.org/sheep-to-shawl.html.

The Ohman School of Ballet has long been a part of the Huntington Historical Society’s family events, performing at the Sheep to Shawl Festival and the annual Apple Festival.

For information about classes in all levels of classical ballet in the Balanchine tradition, plus creative movement and adult ballet barre fitness classes, visit www.ohmanballet.org or call 631.462.0964.

About Frank Ohman

Frank Ohman is an internationally known dance professional. His critically acclaimed ballet career began with the San Francisco Ballet in 1959 and in 1962 he joined the New York City Ballet where he was a soloist for twenty-two years. During his distinguished performing career, Mr. Ohman appeared in leading and soloist roles in ballets of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, Antony Tudor, David Lichine, John Taras, and Jacques d’Amboise. He partnered many of the world’s leading ballerinas including Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Gregory, Carol Sumner, Kay Mazzo, and Suki Schorer. He has appeared with the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater, Kennedy Center, Marinsky Theater, Bolshoi Theater, the White House, and Jacob’s Pillow.

Mr. Ohman has been a prolific choreographer, creating over two hundred original ballets, many of which have been performed by his New York Dance Theatre. He has choreographed for the Boston Ballet, Edmonton Ballet, Syracuse Ballet (where he was director), the Cassandra Ballet of Toledo, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Long Island Lyric Opera, the School of American Ballet workshop performance, American Movie Classics, the PAF Playhouse, the Adirondack’s Long Lake Performing Arts Camp, and Indiana University. He assisted in the re-staging of Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” for the 1981 revival of “On Your Toes” and the 1986 New York City Ballet revival.

Mr. Ohman is currently directing his talents towards teaching, choreography and artistic direction. He has been a guest teacher at the Boston Ballet, the School of American Ballet, the St. Louis Ballet, and the National Dance Institute. In 2004, he was invited to be the guest Ballet Master of the Ballet Philippines where he spent three weeks sharing his knowledge and teaching the company in the style of George Balanchine.

When not teaching at the Ohman School of Ballet, guest teaching, choreographing or directing, Mr. Ohman enjoys painting and sculpting.

About the Frank Ohman School of Ballet

The Frank Ohman School of Ballet was founded in 1979 by Frank Ohman, former soloist at New York City Ballet (NYCB) and one of the few remaining direct links to the teaching of George Balanchine. Located in Commack, the school serves as a training ground for promising young dancers and offers aspiring students the opportunity to learn classical ballet in the tradition of George Balanchine. The school is a non-competition, non-recital school, focusing on proper classical ballet technique. A division of the New York Dance Theatre, Inc., the Ohman School has become an integral part of the company and is one of the very few not-for-profit ballet schools in the region. It offers three studios with state-of-the art flooring to Balanchine specifications and a highly qualified teaching staff headed up by artistic director Frank Ohman.