Westminster Child Photography – Artistic Portraits by Natascha Lee Studios
Centennial Portrait Photographer: Grandpa and Grandson by Natascha Lee Studios
Yay Denver Summertime, complete with afternoon rains!
I know Grandparents Day isn’t until Sept 7, but I just have to post this one of a lovely Grandpa and Grandson from Centennial.
Look at their matching walk. Beyond adorable!
Just love doing multi-generation portraits.
Broomfield Community Spotlight Series #6: Danse Etoile Ballet (Brought to you by Natascha Lee Studios)
th installment of Community Spotlight is here and this week we are featuring Danse Etoile Ballet located in Broomfield, Colorado
As previous ballet dancers ourselves, we at Natasha Lee Studios are beyond excited to feature a great local company, Danse Etoile Ballet, that puts on amazing performances that cater to both the art lover and families.
To get to know more about Danse Etoile Ballet we talked with founder and owner, Marie-Jose Payannet.
[caption id="attachment_3120" align="aligncenter" width="245"]
Photo Credit: Photo provided by Marie Jose[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_3121" align="aligncenter" width="480"]Can you tell us about Danse Etoile Ballet?
Danse Etoile Ballet is a non-profit dance organization founded by Marie-Jose Payannet. Dedicated to offering artists of all ages a place to refine their talent and an opportunity to perform. Since its first performance in January of 2005, Danse Etoile has produced original story ballets ranging from the classical to the contemporary and folk styles.How did DanseEtoile Ballet get its start?
Incorporated in 2004 in service in 2005 for our first performances at the Dance is for everybody and the dairy center . We didn’t have a studio and rehearsed everywhere sometimes 9pm at night, Sundays, without heat…. Our first class was on an indoor soccer field.When you were practicing on soccer fields and without heat did you think that you would ever be where you are today?
I had no idea. I was just focused on teaching and rehearsing the best I could for our first performance. One day at the time with a vision.
Photo Credit: Macht[/caption]
Interested in becoming a performer, or getting your children involved? Checkout their summer sessions that are now enrolling!How would you describe the mission of Danse Etoile Ballet?
Danse Etoile Ballet is dedicated to producing quality artistic performances, programs, and instruction, which will foster access to, and appreciation of dance and theater for new audiences.What type of classes does Danse Etoile Ballet offer for different ages and skill sets?
By maintaining small class sizes, dancers of all ages are given individual attention and guidance tailored to their specific needs. The family atmosphere at Danse Etoile provides a healthy environment where dancers feel comfortable to push themselves out of their comfort zones and reach new levels of success. The performance opportunities given to our dancers are un-paralleled to any other company. Dancers are not only expected to be technical in their art, but also be professional in their performanceWhy is ballet an important skill to learn?
It is not ballet by itself. It is the all aspect of professional training in a safe, family like environment where students can strive to be their best, learn a hard physical discipline, learn a team effort as well as to be mentally strong when challenged, learn to perform in front of difference audiences and at different venues, volunteer, understand the importance of Arts in the community. Ballet is also a great way to stay in shape and not being bored as it gets challenging very quickly.
[caption id="attachment_3123" align="aligncenter" width="408"]How does Danse Etoile Ballet positively affect the community?
Danse Etoile Ballet strives to produce three full-length performances every season. These performances are funded through local and national grants as well as local businesses. Each performance consist of three to four shows, held over a period of two days. Each show attracts an audience ranging from 150 to 400 people from Boulder, Broomfield and Denver counties. We feel that it is important for our community to be involved in the arts. Every performance we provide discounted and free tickets to organizations like the Girl Scouts, retirement communities, and other local non-profits. By sponsoring a performance, you enable us to continue allowing dance as well as the arts, to be accessible to our community. As well as producing full-length performances, we participate in community events such as the Boulder Creek Festival, Dance is for Everybody and the Broomfield Days. The company also performs in several schools as part of our outreach program. By sponsoring a season you are aiding us in our effort to educate the community on the importance of the arts.
Photo Credit: Provided by Dance Etoile[/caption]
At Natascha Lee Studios we love that Danse Etoile Ballet has performances that are catered to families and young audiences – it is amazing to get to expose kids to the arts, especially in this capacity of talent and entertainment value!Can you tell us a little more about your kid-friendly/family performances? What should a family expect at a show?
All the performances we produced are fun to watch for everyone at different levels. They are colorful, unique, great music and choreography, often with a touch of humor, very lively. The theater is small and you can see well from everywhere, the kids can come and meet with the dancers and be inspired to dance. It is somewhat intimate and you get really caught up in the performance. And the ticket price is cheap so even low income families can enjoy it.
To learn more about Danse Etoile Ballet, click here to visit them online]]>
Toms and Water for People: Moving into Coffee + Water and Sanitation
Water For People – a couple of years ago I volunteered and then worked for them. They have an innovative approach to WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) for developing countries. From their website:
Water for People exists for one purpose, and it’s as simple as our name: we want all people to have safe, continuous water, and when they do, our job will be done. We want water for everyone, forever.My assistant loves TOMS – she wears their shoes every day.
Together, we are super excited about this innovative partnership announced today:
TOMS, known for its One for One shoe and sight ventures, is now entering the coffee market with TOMS Roasting Co. Under the guidance of a master brewer, TOMS Roasting Co. will offer six premium coffee varieties with beans sourced across the globe. For every bag of coffee purchased, TOMS Roasting Co. will work with Water For People to provide sustainable water systems to the countries from which the beans are sourced—Rwanda, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, and Malawi.For more info, click here. Here’s a photo I took a few years ago in Guatemala while I was working with Water for People. Remembering the joy of these schoolchildren still makes me smile:
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Broomfield Ballerina Girls / Young Dancer Friends| Natascha Lee Studios
Love these little ballerinas from Broomfield:
Broomfield, Colorado – Children and Kid Photography
If you are in the Broomfield or surrounding areas (Westminster, Highland, Denver, Golden, Louisville, Lafayette, Boulder) – give me a call if you would like a custom portrait session for your little ballerina!
]]>Broomfield Community Spotlight Series #1 : Usborne Books
Hello! This is Brittany, Natascha’s assistant, and we are so excited to introduce Broomfield Community Spotlight, a new series showcasing small, local businesses in our Broomfield, Colorado community.
Driven by passion, small business owners fearlessly take on the risks associated with working for themselves. In this series we’ll take an intimate look into the lives of these small business owners to see why they are doing what they are – and the impact that they hope to have (and have already had) on our local Broomfield community.
We are thrilled to introduce Lost Lagoon Books, owned by Gail Sawchuk in Broomfield.
Lost Lagoon Books is based out of Broomfield, CO and specializes in selling Usborne Publishing Books. Usborne’s are known for their ability to both educate and entertain young readers- winning the Children’s Publisher of the Year 2012-2013. Usborne has a strong mission of providing education to our children, while embracing family values to have a positive impact on their lives. As an advocate for childhood literacy, Gail started a non-profit, Heroes and Dragon Slayers. Heroes and Dragon Slayers partners with many local community agencies to provide free books and literacy training to those who are at-risk to encourage a love of reading and education at an early age.
[caption id="attachment_2811" align="aligncenter" width="113"]Gail Sawchuk of Lost Lagoon Books in Broomfield, Colorado[/caption]
“Lost Lagoon is dedicated to providing books, tools and resources to parents, teachers, schools, nonprofits, mentors, counselors etc. It is our goal that all children develop into resilient and independent adults with strong characters”
-Gail Sawchuk
Q: Tell me about Lost Lagoon Books.
A: I sell children’s books and promote literacy as an independent consultant with a publishing company called Usborne Books & More.Q: How did you decide to get into this business?
A: I was looking for an opportunity where I could be my own boss. Set my own hours so I could spend time with my boys who are 5 ½ and 4. Make my own decisions and be able to be creative. All of my career has been focused on children and families. I know how vital it is for children to learn to read so they can be successful in school and life but unfortunately, too many do not. Plus, I love children’s books and find so much value in the time I spend reading with my children. Usborne provides a connection of all of this for me.Q: What is your favorite part of owning Lost Lagoon Books?
A: The flexibility and creativity. I love being able to schedule my time so that I can be with my kids. I enjoy exploring all the possibilities and finding the ones that best meet my skills and passions.Q: What prepared you to take on the challenge of owning a small business?
A: Prior to this, I was Executive Director of a non-profit called Parenting Place. That experience provided me with a lot of the skills I needed. However, there I had an amazing staff to help run the day to day operations and programs. Doing this on my own does present challenges. I think the most important lessons I have learned is to start simple with what has been proven to work for others and then when those pieces are working smoothly you can add some creativity and personal flair. It is a constant evaluation of what is working and finding ways to build confidence rather than be discouraged by setbacks.Q: How do Lost Lagoon Books and Usborne positively affect the community?
A: Illiteracy is a huge problem in our country. Nearly 2/3 of fourth graders cannot read at grade level. By providing free books to schools and children I am providing access to books they may not have had. The books are interactive and educational. They inspire a love of reading and learning and give parents tools to engage with their children in that process. Through Home Shows I can talk with parents about the importance of reading to their children and share some of the ways they can get involved with fighting illiteracy with their own children and in the community.Q: In the New Year, where do you see your business heading?
A: I see my business growing. I am looking for enthusiastic people to join my team. There are so many things I want to do bring more books to the schools and children who need them the most but I can only do so much on my own. One piece I plan to focus on more is partnering with local businesses to support their community schools. I would also like to work with local literacy programs to support the amazing work they are doing. Contact Gail via: Lost Lagoon website, or Facebook or her blog with tips and tricks for nurturing a love of books in your family! Every online order helps to support and provide books to a young mothers club in Longmont to spread the knowledge of the importance of reading to children and the impact of literacy can have on children’s futures.]]>Do you have or know any small businesses that would like to be featured here?
Email us at CommunitySpotlight @ NataschaLeeStudios.com
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