Jiri Sebastian & Cassandra Voborsky

6/16/2007

Daily at work. Denne v praci.

Both of us, Cassandra and I, work for the ministry of Ballet Magnificat!. We love to go to work each new day together, to face the challenges that arise before our eyes, and also to receive the encouragement and love of our co-workers. We work with such a tremendous team of professionals, both in the studio and out. It is such a joy to experience the true love of God through each friend – brother and sister – who works at “Ballet Mag”. Both Cassandra and I have danced in the secular ballet companies in the past, and so we are grateful to be able to go to work and not have to worry about dealing with struggles of jealousy, envy, competition, and possibly even hatred from other dancers in the company. It is beyond the natural to be daily renewed and encouraged from people who genuinely care about the wellbeing of one another. So the obvious is that the Lord truly inhabits the praises of His people, and His people then pour into the hearts of others. What a glorious thing!! Oba dva z nas, Cassandra i ja, pracujeme pro Ballet Magnificat!. Radi spolu kazdym dnem jdeme tam, kde nas cekaji jak normalni strasti pracovniho dne, tak i uzasne povzbuzeni od vsech nasich spolupracovniku. Pracujeme v kolektivu ohromnych profesionalu, nejen na baletnim sale, ale i mimo nej. Prinasi to obrovskou radost prozit pravou Bozi lasku skrz pratele – bratry a sestry – v souboru. Oba, Cassandra i ja, jsme v minulosti tancili v profesionalnich souborech, a proto jsme moc vdecni ze nyni muzeme jit do prace, kde se nemusime strachovat z moznych pocitu zavisti, zarlivosti, neustaleho soupereni a nekdy i nevrazivosti od ostatnich tanecniku. Je to nadprirozene, ze jsme denne povzbuzeni lidmi, kterym opravdu velice moc zalezi na tech druhych. A tak je jasne a viditelne, ze Pan zehna Jemu vlastnim, a ti pak s radosti vlevaji lasku do srdci dalsich. Jaka uzasna vec!!

6/14/2007

Preview of Ruth

A small glimps of Jiri Sebastian's ballet "Ruth" set on the Alpha company of Ballet Magnificat.

Czech Vacation 2006

Each year we travel to the Czech Republic to visit Benjamin and Maya’s grandmother “Baba” and their great grandmother “the other Baba”, as well as all other family and friends. Each time we go, we try to travel around the country as well as outside of it, to explore the beauty of Europe and all its treasures. Benjamin loves to visit castles (we suppose it goes with his desire of being a knight), where Maya enjoys the playgrounds and parks to play with children.

Each year we are reminded of the spiritual poverty of the Czech nation and pray that our lives would be a bright light pointing towards Jesus Christ. Kazdym rokem navstevujeme Ceskou republiku kam jezdime za Benjaminkovou a Majincinou babickou “Babou” a prababickou “druhou babou”. Vzdy se ale take tesime na vsechny dalsi zname a pratele, kteri ze ziji. Pokazde se snazime udelat si maly vylet po Cechach nebo stredni Evrope a videt zdejsi krasy a poklady. Benjamin miluje hrady (snad proto ze touzi byt rytirem), kde Maje se libe byt v parcich kde si hraji mistni deti. Pokazde kdyz Cechy navstivime, znovu zjistujeme zdejsi duchovni chudobu a modlime se, aby nase zivoty byly malym svetlem ukazujicim k Panu Jezisi Kristu.

He lives

For everything in our lives, we must give glory and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. He bought us with a price too high for us to pay, He placed our feet on the path of righteousness that leads to eternal paradise, He brought us together and has given us such love for Him and one another. We desire to glorify Jesus and lift His name on high. We are also eternally grateful for being rescued from the secular arena of the dance world. When we separately ended up in Jackson, Mississippi, we were not quite sure how this will all work out. But God had a plan - a perfect plan. Ballet Magnificat! is a place where our faith and our talents meet and wonderfully blend together. It was here too, where we met each other and fell in love. As we toured together, sharing the hope of the Gospel of Christ around the United States, Asia, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Central America, Canada, Germany, and Jiri's homeland of the Czech Republic, we felt the pleasure of our Savior upon us, and the whole company. It is without any hesitation that we declare before you today, that the Lord uses those who are submitted to Him and blesses them in the process. The greatest of His blessings given to us are our two beautiful children, Benjamin and Maya, and also our daughter, Cosette Alexandra, who already experiences the glory of her heavenly home. It is when we look into the eyes of our kids that we see the potential for lives being directed towards pursuing Christ in everything they do. May He give us strength to always listen for His gentle voice to encourage them and inspire them to follow Him. May you do the same. In His Strength, Jiri & Cassandra

Jiri Sebastian Voborsky - Artistic Biography

JIRI SEBASTIAN VOBORSKY
Ballet Magnificat! Omega Artistic Director;
Ballet Magnificat! Resident Choreographer;
Trainee Program Co-Director

A native of the Czech Republic, Jiri graduated with honors from the Liberec State Ballet School, where he studied under Professors Gabajova and Rucky. During his academy years, Jiri danced with the ballet company of the F. X. Salda State Theatre in the Czech Republic and Eternia Dance Theatre in Sweden and received a contract from the Opera Ballet of the Moravian National Theatre in Brno in the Czech Republic for the 1993 – 1994 season. Jiri came to the United States in July of 1993 and began touring with Ballet Magnificat! in January 1994. During his twelve years of touring with the company, Jiri danced in many roles, in over fourty states, Hawaii, Europe, Asia and Central America. Besides dancing, Jiri was the lighting designer and served as one of the technical directors for Ballet Magnificat!. It was in his early twenties when Jiri started to do small choreographies for the company and from there grew a passion for an artistic expression to His Savior in the ballets that were to come. In January 2001, he choreographed his first full-length ballet, Deliver Us. In the fall of the same year he created two pieces for Belhaven College Dance Department, and in 2003 choreographed a modern ballet work for Ad Deum Dance Company, based in Houston, TX. Jiri has been a guest instructor at ArtReach Dance Intensive and has conducted ballet technique master classes throughout the United States, Singapore, Costa Rica, The Netherlands, as well as Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. Jiri married company soloist Cassandra in April 2000. During Ballet Magnificat's 2003 Singapore Tour, together they modeled for German Braun Buffel Company in its worldwide advertisement promotion. In 2003, he choreographed his second full-length ballet, Journey of the Prodigal Son, in 2005 finished his third major work, Ruth. In 2006, Jiri choreographed a full length ballet based on the life of Corrie ten Boom – Hiding Place. In 2007 Jiri was invited to set a piece on the Ballet Prague Junior - a company of the Dance Center Conservatory in Prague called "No More Tears" premiered at the Estates Theatre in Prague. During the 2007 Ballet Magnificat European Tour, Jiri was invited to conduct Master Classes for the ballet company of the State Opera in Prague. In the following year (2008) Jiri finished his latest story ballet "The Scarlet Cord" inspired by the story of Rahab but placed into the communist era of the Soviet Union, as well as his newest ballet "Before His Throne" set on the Ballet Magnificat! Omega company. Samples of Jiri's choreographies were featured at the USA International Ballet Competition Gala performances in Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi. In 2006, Jiri was invited to join the faculty of the Dance Department of Belhaven College as an adjunct professor and in the same year started to teach on semi regular bases at the Dance Center Conservatory in Prague, the Czech Republic. Jiri is honored to serve the Lord with his wife as a Trainee Program Director in addition to holding the posts of the Artistic Director of Ballet Magnificat! Omega Company and of the Resident Choreographer for Ballet Magnificat!

Cassandra Voborsky - Artistic Biography

CASSANDRA VOBORSKY Trainee Program Co-Director Trainee Faculty - Ballet Technique, Pointe, Rehearsals Cassandra received training from Pamela Lauer, the Peabody Conservatory, the Harford Ballet, the Washington School of Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Washington Ballet, and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Her performing experience includes The Nutcracker, Coppelia, contemporary modern and jazz works with Harford Dance Theater, and classical repertoire such as Swan Lake with The Washington Ballet’s Young Dancers. Her final year of high school was spent with her family in Oldenburg, West Germany, where she had the opportunity to work with a professional company at the Oldenburgishes Staatstheater. In January 1992, Cassandra joined Ballet Magnificat!. She became a member of the touring company in 1993 and toured for over twelve years both nationally and internationally. Together with Jiri, Cassandra served as one of the technical directors on the road. Cassandra retired from her professional carrier as a dancer in December 2004 during the annual Christmas gala performances of Ballet Magnificat! in Thalia Mara Hall in Jackson, Mississippi and currently works as the co-director of the Trainee Program of Ballet Magnificat!. Cassandra has conducted ballet technique Master classes all over the Unites States, as well as Singapore, Greece, Belgium, and most recently at the Dance Center Conservatory in Prague, the Czech Republic. Cassandra was featured in the Braun Buffel world-wide ad campaign, shot in Singapore during the 2003 Ballet Magnificat! tour.

Jiří Sebastian Voborský - Česká Biografie

Jiří Sebastian Voborský ~ Umělecký Ředitel Omega souboru Balletu Magnificat! ~ Hlavní Choreograf Balletu Magnificat! Narozen v České republice, Jiří vystudoval Taneční školu pod Státním divadlem F.X.Šaldy v Liberci ve třídě profesorky Gabajové a profesora Ruckého. Během studií spolupracoval se souborem baletu Divadla F. X. Šaldy a s Eternia Dance Theatre ve Švédsku. Jiří přicestoval do Spojených států v roce 1993 a v lednu 1994 začal své angažmá v Balletu Magnificat!. Zde byl v roce 1995 povýšen na sólistu a v roce 2000 na prvního sólistu souboru. S Balletem Magnificat! pak během své kariery odtančil přes tisíc koncertů v divadlech, operách, arénách, sborech, univerzitách, katedrálách, a stadionech po celých Spojených státech, v Kanadě, České republice, Belgii, Řecku, Singapůru, Kosta Rice, Holandsku, Německu, a dalších. Mimo své taneční činnosti také pracoval jako jeden z technických šéfů a byl designerem jevištního osvětlení pro turné Balletu Magnificat!. V lednu 2001 schoreografoval svůj první celovečerní balet, Faraon. Na podzim stejného roku pak vytvořil dvě kratší práce pro taneční oddělení Belhaven College v Jacksonu, a v roce 2003 byl pozván uměleckým ředitelem Dance ad Deum, Randy Flinnem, jako hostujicí choreograf do Houstonu v Texasu. Jiří byl také jedním z pedagogů na ArtReach Semináři v Houstonu, a vedl nesčetné množství baletních “master classes” ve 48 státech USA, na Havaji, v Singapůru, České republice, Kosta Rice, a také v Moskvĕ a Petrohradu. Jiří se oženil se sólistkou souboru, Cassandrou Piotrowskou, v dubnu roku 2000. Během asijského turné pak spolu v roce 2003 sloužili v modelingu pro světovou kampaň Singapůrské pobočky německé společnosti Braun Buffel. V témže roce Jiří schoreografoval svůj druhý celovečerní balet – Putování Marnotratného syna, a v roce 2005 dokončil své třetí dílo – Ruth. Části Jiřího choreografií byli uvedeny na galakoncertech Mezinárodní baletní soutěže (USA International Ballet Competition) v letech 2004 a 2005. V roce 2004 bylo vydáno Jiřího první DVD zaměřené na kondiční přípravu klasických I moderních tanečníků. V roce 2006 byla v Kalifornii uvedena světová premiera Jiřího dalšího celovečerního baletu “Hiding place” (Místo ukrytí) jehož děj je inspirován příběhem holandské spisovatelky Corrie Ten Boom v době druhé světové války. V lednu 2006 se stal Jiří externím profesorem tanečního oddělení Fakulty Jevištních Umění Belhaven College v Jacksonu, Mississippi. Od téhož roku také spolupracuje s Tanečním Centrem Konzervatoří v Praze, kde externĕ učí a staví choreografie pro studenty školy. První delší práci pro tuto konzervatoř, nazvanou “Bez Slz”, pak postavil v roce 2007. V témže roce poprvé uvedl “Master Classes” pro baletní soubor Státní Opery v Praze. V roce 2008 pak Jiří dokončil svůj pátý celovečerní balet “The Scarlet Cord” inspirovaný Biblickým příběhem ale situovaným do 70-tých let komunistického Sovětského svazu, a balet “Before His Throne” (Před Jeho Trůnem) postavený pro Omega soubor Baletu Magnificat. Jiří je poctěn sloužit Pánu po boku své manželky Cassandry jako ředitel Trainee Programu Balletu Magnificat!. Mimo toho také drží funkci uměleckého ředitele druhého souboru Balletu Magnificat!. Spolu s Cassandrou mají dvě děti – Benjamína, narozeného v květnu 2002 a Máju Terezku narozenou v roce 2005.