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Arts & Entertainment

Shely Pack Dancers Recognized Locally, Nationally

Teacher and students of Half Moon Bay studio finish year on high note.

Shely Pack-Manning and her students are packing in accomplishments before the year's end.

Studio founder wins award

Pack-Manning, the founder and teacher of the Shely Pack Dancers studio located at Princeton's Harbor Village, was recently named the Arts Educator of the Year by the Peninsula Arts Council.

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The award is one of the Council's Diamond Awards which recognizes "outstanding contributions made by individual artists, educators, volunteers, foundations, corporations, or by government support to the arts in San Mateo County."

Pack-Manning will be honored with other recipients of the Diamond Awards in eight other categories on Feb. 2 at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame.

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Dancer performs with Joffrey Ballet

Shely Pack dancer Carina Brown, a Fremont resident, is performing in the production of the "Nutcracker" performed by the Joffrey Ballet this month in Cleveland.

Brown, who has been training with the Joffrey Ballet Academy in Chicago, will dance to the music of the Cleveland Orchestra in a performance targeted towards children and their families.

 

Dancer joins brother in cast of "Billy Elliot" musical touring nationwide

Shely Pack dancer Lexi Viernes was recently cast alongside younger brother and fellow Shely Pack dancer J.P. Viernes in the production of "Billy Elliot," the musical based on the 2000 film about a boy who discovers a passion for ballet dancing. J.P. has been performing in the musical's starring role.

Lexi began rehearsals earlier this week in Washington D.C. and will make her debut with the production in Minneapolis in 2012.

According to Pack-Manning, J.P. was inspired by his sister to become a dancer.

"When he was eight or nine, he decided he wanted to go for , I think because his sister was doing it," Pack-Manning was quoted as saying in a SF Gate article about J.P. published in August.

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