CCM DANCE SERIES PRESENTS
Inspired by the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen
April 12-14, 2024, Corbett Auditorium
Dance Department Supporter
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
*CCM student
Little Mermaid will run approximately 90 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission
GRAMMY® nominated artist David Arkenstone has established himself as one of the most engaging and prolific contemporary instrumentalists of our time. This visionary continues to create distinctive tracks that inspire the imagination and evoke every emotion, spanning genres from new age to Celtic, neoclassical to ambient, world music to epic orchestral. Since the release of his acclaimed album Valley in the Clouds in 1987, David Arkenstone has received five Grammy® nominations in 2022, 2020, 2004, 2000, and 1992. With over 1.1 billion streams worldwide, 70+ albums, film and TV scores, gaming scores for World of Warcraft, and NBC Sports themes such as The Kentucky Derby, The British Open, and Premier League soccer, David's music is the soundtrack to millions of listeners’ lives, taking fans of all ages on a fantastic musical journey. We invite you to visit David’s official website www.davidarkenstone.com and join the Arkenfans Community on Facebook. You can also visit David's link tree: https://linktr.ee/davidarkenstone.
Jennifer Weatherburn Thiemet is a former principal dancer with AYBT with extended studies at Canada’s National Ballet School where she trained intensely in the Cecchetti Syllabus and attended the teacher’s training program. She has studied with such master teachers as Alexandra Danilova, Margaret Saul, Jurgen Schneider, George Verdak, Gus Giordano, & Luigi. She has performed with Walt Disney productions, Indianapolis Ballet Theatre and was a principal dancer with Lexington Ballet. During her dance career, she performed the leads in such ballets as The Nutcracker, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Raymonda, and Romeo & Juliet. Her musical theater productions include West Side Story, Sugar, Bye Bye Birdie, The King and I, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, and productions with American Cabaret Theater. She was the winner of the Margaret Sear Rosenblith and Carey Rose Winski Scholarship Awards and was accepted to Interlochen Music Camp.
Mrs. Thiemet’s teaching credentials include Anderson Young Ballet Theatre Academy, School of Lexington Ballet, School for the Performing Arts of Kentucky, and National Academy. She is currently on staff with Anderson University Dance Department. She has staged many classical ballets (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Pas De Quatre, Coppelia, Raymonda, Alice in Wonderland, and The Nutcracker) and has co-choreographed two world premieres with AYBT: Little Mermaid & The Legend of MuLan.
Catherine Sparks-Petraits is a graduate of Ball State University with a bachelor’s degree in Dance Performance in 1991. With 37 years of dance training, Catherine danced eight of those years as a professional. She was an apprentice and then resident guest artist with Dance Kaleidoscope from 1993-2000. She also performed with American Cabaret Theater from 1992-1996 and Civic Theater in 2002. As a costumer, Catherine was Assistant Costumer of Dance Kaleidoscope in 1992-1994. Other companies she has designed for were Ball State University, Jordan Academy of Dance at Butler University, Dance Kaleidoscope, and Anderson University. Catherine has continually done costuming for AYBT since 1992. She has staged many classical ballets (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Pas De Quatre, Coppelia, Raymonda, Alice in Wonderland, and The Nutcracker) and has co-choreographed two world premieres with AYBT: Little Mermaid & The Legend of MuLan.
"Little Mermaid" to the original music of David Arkenstone
Act 1
Act 2
^Performs Saturday
+ Performs Friday/Sunday
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August 20, 2026
Experience world-class performances by the next generation of performing and media artists at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). With more than 130 different performances and events, there is something happening nearly every week of the school year!
July 29, 2026
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Louise Dieterle Nippert Trust
Scholarship and Resident Artist Supporter
The Corbett Endowment at CCM
Dance Department Supporter
All-Steinway School Supporter
William L. Gasch Endowment Fund for Dance Excellence
Rachelle Bruno & Stephen Bondurant
Ellen K. Bastron
Dance Department Supporters
J. Brett Offenberger, MD and Mr. Douglas E. Duckett
Bacchus Legacy Fund
Hawks Nest Private Wealth Scholarship Fund
Dr. & Mrs. Carl G. Fischer
Ric Sweeney & David Askew
Ken and Toni Kanter
Henry and Sandy Spitz
Greg Mathein
Jim & Linda Miller
Marty & Anne Pinales
Musical Theatre Department Supporters
GLP German Light Products
Dick & Chris Russell
Upstaging, Inc.
Theater Design & Production Supporter
The Estate of Genevieve Smith
Opera Production Supporter
Rafael and Kimberly de Acha
Opera D’Arte Supporter
The Friedlander Family
Dr. Randolph L. Wadsworth
Judith Schonbach Landgren and Peter Landgren
Mr. & Mrs. Harry H. Santen
Elizabeth C.B. Sittenfeld
Elizabeth Stone
Mrs. Thomas E. Stegman
Mrs. Theodore W. Striker
Mrs. Harry M. Hoffheimer
Ariel Quartet Supporters
The Friedlander Family
Karl Zipser
Chamber Music at CCM
Elizabeth Ann Leman Muennich MD, PhD, in memory of John Leman
Jan Rogers
Willard and Jean Mulford Charitable Fund of the Cambridge Charitable Foundation
Choral Studies Supporters
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Hirschhorn
Philharmonia Supporters
Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation
Starling Pre-Collegiate Supporter
Starling Strings Supporter
Holly Brians Ragusa and Damon Ragusa
Dr. Timothy E. and Janet L. Johnson
Thom Miles and Roberta Gary
Strader Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Dr. Stephen G. Schaeffer
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Keyboard Club of Cincinnati
L. Ried Schott
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Willis Music
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Supporters listed as of August 2026
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The purpose of these performances is educational, and they are part of a University of Cincinnati academic program.