Ballet Arizona celebrated the 2nd anniversary of the Hazel Hare Award of Artistic Excellence.
Established in 2018, it is awarded to a male and female dancer whose spirit echoes the strength, dedication, and passion that Hazel exemplified throughout her entire life.
Hazel was a strong, dedicated woman with a deep passion for ballet. A generous supporter since 1996, she arranged to make a transformational gift to Ballet Arizona through her estate, the Hazel A.S. Hare Charitable Trust, establishing an endowment of more than $4 million. The largest, single gift in Ballet Arizona’s history, the endowment will help to fund the artistry she so deeply loved.
Artistic Director, Ib Andersen presented the awards to Helio Lima and Rochelle Anvik at Ballet Arizona’s annual Dance With Me Gala on January 25, 2019, at Phoenix Art Museum.
Rochelle joined the company in 2012 at the age of 16. Her training began at Jeanne’s School of Dance in Arizona. During the summers, she continued her training at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, The San Francisco Ballet School, and Houston Ballet.
Her repertoire includes George Balanchine’s Emeralds, Serenade, The Four Temperaments, Episodes, Stravinsky Violin Concerto, Western Symphony, Symphony in Three Movements, and Apollo. She has performed soloist and leading roles in Ib Anderson’s Cinderella, Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, and The Nutcracker. Rochelle performed in George Balanchine’s Rubies at The Chicago Dancing Festival with Ballet Arizona, the U.S. premiere of Bournonville’s Napoli, and originated the title role in Ib Andersen’s The Firebird.
Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Helio started dancing at the age of 10. He studied at the Escola de Dança Petite Danse in Rio de Janeiro for nine years. Helio was placed amongst the top ten finalists of the Youth America Grand Prix and received the Sir Logan Campbell ballet award. He was also awarded scholarships to Washington Ballet School, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and the Jerome Robbins Foundation Scholarship, where he studied full time at the New Zealand School of Dance. At the end of 2010, he joined The Western Australian Ballet Company under Ivan Cavallari. Helio was then offered a place with Royal New Zealand Ballet Company under Ethan Stiefel. In 2014, he was offered a contract with the Boston Ballet Company, under Mikko Nissinen.
Helio’s repertoire includes George Balanchine’s Rubies, Emeralds, Square Dance, Symphony in Three Movements, Agon, and La Sonnambula. He performed in the Ballet Arizona premiere of Justin Peck’s In Creases, Nayon Iovino’s Mambaz, and performed leading roles in Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo & Juliet, La Bayadère, Coppélia, and Swan Lake.
The 2018 inaugural Hazel Hare Award of Artistic Excellence winners were Jillian Barrell and Ethan Price.
