One Weekend Where Time Stood Still
For one weekend in April, it felt as though time stood still inside the halls of the Cultural Center for the Arts.
Former dancers who had not seen one another in decades embraced as if no time had passed at all. Stories resurfaced between laughter and tears as alumni journeyed back to Canton from across the country — from California to Florida to the mountains of Montana — drawn home by the shared experience of growing up inside the studios and backstage wings of Canton Ballet.
More than 70 alumni returned to celebrate Canton Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Gala and performance weekend, marking the largest alumni gathering in the organization’s history.
Canton Ballet 25/26 Company together with 60 years of Canton Ballet alumni
Some arrived from careers in medicine, law, education, and Fortune 500 leadership. Others returned from Broadway, Hollywood, and professional dance careers that carried them around the world. Yet by the end of the weekend, titles and accomplishments mattered very little.
Everyone was simply “one of Sueanne’s dancers.”
Or “Mr. Begg”
Or “Mr. Wilkins”
Or “Ms. Crowley”.
For serious young dancers, Canton Ballet was never simply an extracurricular activity.
It was where they grew up.
Long before the sun came up on school mornings and long after rehearsals ended at night, dancers spent countless hours inside the studios of Canton Ballet — often seeing one another more than they saw their own families during performance seasons. The friendships formed there became something deeper than ordinary childhood friendships. They were built through shared nerves backstage, quick changes in crowded dressing rooms, endless rehearsals, aching feet, sweat, triumphs, and the magic of creating something beautiful together night after night.
And for one weekend, all of it came rushing back.
Zachary Catazaro’s La Follia
Canton Ballet’s Company dancers perform Concerto in Dm
Back to Ballet Class
The 60th Gala Weekend celebration began on Saturday morning, featuring one of the most anticipated events of the reunion: an alumni ballet class taught by Cassandra Crowley herself.
And apparently, muscle memory never disappears.
Within minutes, former dancers slipped back into familiar rhythms — stretching at the barre, laughing through combinations, and instinctively returning to habits formed decades earlier.
For some alumni, it had been years since they stepped into a ballet class.
For others, it felt as though no time had passed at all.
The class became a reminder that while careers, cities, and lives may change, some things remain permanently etched into a dancer’s body and memory.
A Legacy Built Across Generations
The anniversary celebration brought together generations of Canton Ballet history — from founding company dancers like Antonia Andriotto, Joe Gauthier, and Cynthia DiGiantonio, to alumni who trained under Artistic Directors Suanne Ferguson, John Begg, John Wilkins, and Cassandra Crowley, to current students now carrying the organization into its next chapter under Executive Artistic Director Jennifer Catazaro Hayward, herself a Canton Ballet alumna.
Throughout the weekend, memories surfaced constantly.
At Sunday’s alumni brunch in the Wilkof Courtyard at the Canton Museum of Art, conversations drifted effortlessly between decades. One moment, alumni were reminiscing about rehearsals, costume mishaps, and backstage antics; the next, they were revisiting one of the defining moments in Canton Ballet history: the February 18, 1981, fire at First Christian Church in downtown Canton, which housed Canton Ballet at the time.
Alumni Brunch, April 26, 2026 — L to R: Bernie Richards, Jr., Lauren Engleman Jones, Kristy Schaffner, Ashley Bettis, Brad Beggs, Rachel Hoffman Daniel, Dr. Alexander Young, Sarah Ronning Kessler, Allison Campbell Brewer, Brittani McCutcheon Harris, Lindsay McMichael, Khiana Saneshige Donchess
L to R: Canton Ballet Co-Founder, Suanne Ferguson, Lisa Fawcett, Cindy Ferguson, Marylou Miller, Donny Miller Steffy, Francia Kulchar
The fire occurred during Cassandra Crowley’s very first year as Artistic Director.
For many alumni, the memory still felt immediate.
Yet the story eventually became one of resilience. In the years that followed, through the generosity of the Timken Foundation, the Cultural Center for the Arts became Canton Ballet’s permanent home — helping secure the future of the organization for generations of dancers to come.
That sense of perseverance quietly threaded itself throughout the anniversary weekend.
Canton Ballet alumni gather in the Wilkof Courtyard at the Canton Museum of Art on Sunday, April 26, 2026, for the alumni brunch. | Front L to R: Nikkiann Economos Arce, Dr. Anne Shaheen, Holly Chamberlain Getters. | Back L to R: Susan Shaheen and Tommie Earl Jenkins
The Return of Sleeping Bag
The anniversary performance, Greatest of All Time (GOAT), celebrated iconic works spanning Canton Ballet’s six-decade history while honoring the choreographers and artistic leaders who shaped the institution over the years. The evening opened with a special recognition of Canton Ballet’s founding company dancers from the 1965–1966 season, whose early dedication helped lay the foundation for generations of dancers to follow. The celebration also honored longtime resident choreographer and Canton Ballet alumnus Angelo Lemmo, whose works have become deeply woven into the artistic identity of the organization over the past several decades.
Canton Ballet alumni Dr. Alex Young, Ty Neading, Brad Beggs and Bernie Richards, Jr. perform alongside Canton Ballet company dancers in Angelo Lemmo’s Sleeping Bag
One of the evening’s most joyful moments came when alumni Alex Young, Brad Beggs, Ty Neading, and Bernie Richards returned to the stage to reprise roles in Angelo Lemmo’s beloved Sleeping Bag set to the iconic score of Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture.
The performance reflected the weekend perfectly, as generations of dancers shared the stage together, separated by decades yet instantly connected through movement, music, and memory. And while the audience saw polished choreography, there was something undeniably charming about watching alumni slip so naturally back into the rhythm of performance life.
Where the Training Leads
Throughout the weekend, current students had the rare opportunity to interact with alumni whose lives and careers were shaped by their time at Canton Ballet.
Company dancer Ashlyn Wood received corrections and encouragement from Francie Kulchar, who danced for nine years with American Ballet Theatre alongside legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Students also had the opportunity to meet Tommie Earl Jenkins, whose acclaimed career spans Broadway, television, film, and international performance.
Canton Ballet alumnus Tommie Earl Jenkins
For younger dancers, the weekend transformed Canton Ballet’s history from something they had only heard about into something tangible and alive.
L to R front row: Ashley Bettis, Jamie Katusin Armour, Kristy Schaffner, Lauren Engleman Jones, Dr. Carleen Risaliti, Dr. Alexander Young, Noelle Lelakus McClellan, Rachel Hoffman Daniel, Allison Campbell Brewer. | L to R back row: Toby George, Brad Beggs, Heather Hendricks, Sara Steinmetz Randrianasolo, Sarah Ronning Kessler
The alumni network itself reflects the extraordinary range of paths that began inside Canton Ballet’s studios. Alumni have gone on to careers in professional dance, Broadway, Hollywood, medicine, education, law, philanthropy, business leadership, and arts administration.
Yet despite their varied journeys, the shared foundation remained unmistakable:
Discipline.
Creativity.
Resilience.
And an understanding that some of life’s most important lessons are learned under bright stage lights, in rehearsal clothes, surrounded by people who eventually become family.
Tony Quarles and the Discovery Band perform at Canton Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Gala
“I Didn’t Want It to Be Over”
The emotional heart of the weekend may have been best captured in the reflections shared afterward by Lisa Fawcett, daughter of founding Board President Jane Bingham Fawcett.
“On behalf of my mother, Jane Fawcett, and myself, I want to thank you for such a celebratory, heartwarming, beautiful, and meaningful evening,” she wrote following the event. “You embraced every aspect of the last 60 years with such care and thoughtfulness.”
She continued:
“I found being with my cohorts from so long ago exhilarating and more meaningful than I anticipated.”
Lisa also reflected on the joy of seeing generations of Canton Ballet history honored together — including choreographers Suanne Ferguson and John Begg — while celebrating late into the evening with fellow alumni on the dance floor.
L to R: Founding Company member, Cynthia DiGiantonio; Former Assistant Director, Carol Hageman, Artistic Director Emeritus, Cassandra Crowley; Founding Company members, Joe Gauthier and Antonia Andriotto Spicer; alumna Lisa Fawcett and daughter of Co-Founder Jane Fawcett and Co-Founder, Suanne Ferguson
“And then the brunch allowed us to talk in a deeper way,” she wrote.
That sentiment echoed throughout the weekend.
For Francie Kulchar, the reunion ended with a confession many alumni quietly shared.
She admitted she “didn’t want it to be over” and “didn’t want to go back to Florida.”
More Than a Gala
By the close of the weekend, one thing had become abundantly clear:
Canton Ballet’s legacy is not defined solely by productions, performances, or even its 60-year history.
Its greatest legacy may be the people it shaped.
L to R: Canton Ballet alumna Lisa Fawcett, long-time board member Jeanne Coen, and alumna Francia Kulchar Yaffee
Throughout the celebration, alumni stood side-by-side with current students for photographs spanning generations of the organization’s history. In those moments, the distance between past and present seemed to disappear entirely.
Guests mingle at Canton Ballet’s 60th Anniversary VIP reception with Executive Artistic Director Jennifer Catazaro Hayward
Long after the final curtain fell and alumni boarded flights back to California, Florida, Montana, and beyond, the spirit of the weekend lingered.
For one extraordinary weekend, time stood still.
Canton Ballet’s Alumnus Angelo Lemmo is honored at Canton Ballet’s 60th Anniversary Gala
