Hutchison Ballet Dancers Bring Holiday Magic to Life in “The Nutcracker” Productions
If you are planning to attend a production of "The Nutcracker" this holiday season, you might see a Hutchison girl in the performance!
More than 20 Hutchison girls will grace stages across the Memphis area this holiday season as they perform in "The Nutcracker" with various local dance companies.
Our talented dancers will spread holiday cheer as part of productions with Ballet Memphis, Buckman Dance Conservatory, Children’s Ballet Theater, and Performing Arts of Germantown. We are proud to see our girls shine on stage and express themselves through dance!
You can see our girls dance in the following performances:
Ballet Memphis When: Dec. 17 at 7:30 pm, Dec. 18 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm, and Dec. 19 at 2:00 pm Where: Orpheum Theatre Performers: Bailey Wiener ’24, Sofia Frisch ’25, Anna Chiozza ’26, Maggie Miller ’26, Abby Portnoy ’27
Buckman Dance Conservatory When: Dec. 3 at 6:00 pm and Dec. 4 at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm Where: Buckman Arts Center Performer: Caroline Nappier ’23, Grey Adkins ’33, Sienna Rodda ’36
Children’s Ballet Theater When: Dec. 5 at 2:00 pm Where: Cannon Center Performers: Olivia Lester ’24, Sammye Kate Selecman ’26, Isla Jane Campbell ’33, Annie Covington ’33, Katie Cruzen ’33, Reid Dunavant ’33, Ellen Edwards ’33, Maddie Gabriel ’33, Lily Moore ’33, Parker Sones ’33, Lilli Greer Sutton ’33, Gigi Wilson ’33, Elle Wright ’33
Editor's note: the following performance has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Performing Arts of Germantown Performers: Adela Calzada ’24, Sakshi Singh ’24, Gracie Wilkinson ’24
Eleanor Merchant '23 wanted to find a way to help fight the national ongoing blood shortage, so she organized a blood drive at Hutchison. With her efforts over the past two years, blood donations at the Hutchison blood drive could have saved as many as 192 lives.
Allison Blankenship ’12 has committed her 10 years since graduating from Hutchison to working in the political arena, spending the last five years working in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Becca Coopwood ’27 serves as a student ambassador for The Social Institute, an organization that works to empower students to use social media and technology in a positive way. In her role, she helps produce blog posts from the perspective of students.
If you want to see Coach Thomas Jones light up, ask him about Maxine Engel ’21 and her journey from a rising ninth grader with a broken leg to a senior walking away as a State Champion. “You know how most coaches say, ‘I helped a kid?’ Well, she helped me. Helped me grow as a coach.
Seniors had a lot to say about the Tom Lee Park redevelopment after a recent Rogers Scholars excursion. And that's the point of these forays into the community. “They keep us aware of what is happening in our city, ultimately making us more well-rounded citizens,” said Emma Couch ’23.
Meet Katie Davis, one of Hutchison's third grade teachers. Ms. Davis enjoys taking on a challenge in the classroom and the freedom to follow her students' interests. She encourages her students to become lifelong learners.
The College Board has named Antonella Lejwa ’23 a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar, an honor reserved for a select number of outstanding students. She has proven herself through academic achievement and various extracurricular activities.
Middle school teacher Joe Koelsch loves quadratic equations like only a math teacher can. He wants his students to spend time understanding the equations before they rush to solve them. Koelsch, a national expert in Illustrative Math (IM), wrote in a leading blog for educators that IM’s focus on understanding processes, not just the pursuit of a right answer, can be a game-changer for math students.
Solving global issues requires research, critical thinking, proposal crafting, and challenging discussions, and our 7th and 8th graders are honing their diplomacy skills through Model United Nations. The YMCA Middle School Model UN Conference provides an opportunity for students to practice their debate and public speaking skills in a formal setting while encouraging them to find ways to join together as a community to solve current global issues.
Hutchison Lacrosse Head Coach David Gearhardt has been selected as an inductee into the Tennessee Lacrosse Hall of Fame. The longtime Sting coach is in the inaugural class of four, one of a very select group of historically significant contributors to lacrosse in the state of Tennessee.
The career of Berklee Scifres ’23 is only going in one direction – up! Scifres is signing a college scholarship to play basketball at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she also plans to pursue a career in aviation.
Two Hutchison seniors signed to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level and received athletic scholarships after terrific high school careers. Morgan Simmons ’23 and Kolby Cohen ’23 were honored at a signing ceremony held at the new Keras Complex.
Meet Lorraine Gagliano, Hutchison's Latin teacher. Mrs. Gagliano enjoys seeing individual students' English vocabulary and confidence grow. She hopes to spread her passion for the language and culture with her students.
It is a vivid memory for Lynn Witte Rodriguez ’78. She was a sophomore at Hutchison and on a field trip with her biology class, taught by Elsie Yeates, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. “They packed us into this little room to watch hemodialysis,” she recalled. “I was horrified by the experience. The whole thing scared me to pieces. I remember sitting there, and someone told me not to lean on one of those little silver instrument trays they put out. All of a sudden I woke up in another room. I had completely passed out.”