Sarasota Ballet visits McNeal

Students at the Sarasota Ballet School brought the ballet May 9, to McNeal Elementary School.

Six students from the Sarsota Ballet School and Margaret Barbieri Conservatory organized and executed the voluntary performance, called Pointe of Cheer.

During the last dance, McNeal students stood up and followed along.

“The school recently had to limit field-trip funding due to budget cuts,” said dancer Marina Masterson, who spearheaded the effort. “Realizing many of these students would never get the chance to be exposed to ballet, we decided to bring the show to them.

“Having attended McNeal Elementary myself six years ago, the chance to return and give back to the school was the greatest feeling,” she said. “More than that, ballet has been my love and passion for the last 12 years of my life, because I was lucky enough to be exposed to it at such a young age.”

Master’s mother, Teresa, is the school nurse at McNeal.

Following the show, McNeal staff also treated dancers to lunch made from vegetables picked from the school’s garden.