Millennium Magazine_5th Ed

41 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine T he art of dance is a remarkable activity that is uplifting just as much as it is addicting. For Heidrun S. Robitshek, dancing was the only thing she ever wanted to spend her days doing. Growing up in Europe, Ms. Robitshek attended a dance school once a week. As time went on, Ms. Robitshek found a way to dance every day and even took classes at a second studio. Ms. Robitshek studied at The Palucca School of Dance in Dresden, Germany, and also at a junior college in Heidelberg, Germany. Upon arrival to the United States in 1966, Ms. Robitshek attended the College of William and Mary, where she took courses in Martha Graham technique and advanced modern dance. Ms. Robitshek has danced professionally with the Richmond Ballet, Norfolk Civic Ballet, Annapolis Ballet, The Common Glory Outdoor Drama, Cumberland Dance Company and the Chamber Ballet of Williamsburg. At the inception of her career, Ms. Robitshek was an assistant dance director and choreographer of “The Common Glory,” and in 1968, she founded her own school, The Ballet Studio, in Williamsburg, Virginia. Ms. Robitshek called training students and seeing them perform in professional productions to be the most rewarding part of her career. Seeing their progression beginning as a young ballerina and morphing into a professional performer is a feeling like no other. From 1976 to 2006, Ms. Robitshek was an instructor of the Chamber Ballet, and since 2006, she has been the artistic director and an instructor of the Virginia Regional Ballet. In this role, Ms. Robitshek produced or choreographed “The Nutcracker,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “La Fille Mal Gardée,” “Les Patineurs,” “The Blue Danube,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Fairy Tale to Fairy Tale,” “The Secret Garden,” “The Magic Flute” and “The Tales of Beatrix Potter.” Despite spearheading her dance career in the United States, Ms. Robitshek still holds deep roots with Germany as she was invited to, and attended, two sessions of The Palucca School of Dance and seven sessions of the International Summer Academy of Dance in Cologne, Germany. HEIDRUN S. ROBITSHEK ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Virginia Regional Ballet Williamsburg, VA ARTS, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT