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LA Brand Collaborators 2024/2025 Season / LA Brand Collaborators / Los Angeles Ballet is launching an exciting new partnership opportunity for Season 19! If you are a luxury brand seeking to bridge and advance the art forms of design and dance, please consider joining our LAB Brand Collaborators . We’re looking to expand our corporate circle and increase support for LAB by elevating our special events to the highest caliber through collaboration, in-kind product donations, and one-of-a-kind experiences. In return, we offer client hospitality services, premium tickets to performances, including backstage meet & greets with our dancers, and exclusive marketing visibility in promotional materials and fundraising events throughout the season. Current Partners Crustacean Beverly Hills Sézane Giorgio Armani Sacred River Wines Sponsorship Levels Trendsetter Corporate Dues (In-Kind Only): Gift Certificate of $2,500 or above to be included in our Gala 2025 Silent Auction In-store Shopping Event on a date of your choosing. 5% of daily proceeds to benefit Los Angeles Ballet or a donate feature at check out Vendor Pop-up Booth at our Nutcracker Tea! 2024 Holiday fundraiser. The perfect venue and exposure to our high-end clientele for a mini trunk show to kick off the holiday shopping season with 5% of daily proceeds to benefit LAB. Partnership Perks: Prominent logo placement in Season 19 print and digital marketing materials including Playbill, postcards, and LAB Website Promotional emails to ticket buyers Access to high-level donor clientele Early invitation to all special events 5 premium tickets to a Season 19 performance of your choosing with exclusive backstage experience Influencer Corporate Dues (In-Kind plus $10,000 sponsorship) Gift Certificate of $2,500 or above to be included in our Gala 2025 Silent Auction In-store Shopping Event on a date of your choosing. 5% of daily proceeds to benefit Los Angeles Ballet or a donate feature at check out Vendor Pop-up Booth at our Nutcracker Tea! 2024 Holiday fundraiser. The perfect venue and exposure to our high-end clientele for a mini trunk show to kick off the holiday shopping season with 5% of daily proceeds to benefit LAB. Sponsor a $5,000 package at Nutcracker Tea! 2024 (5 seats) Sponsor a $5,000 Gala 2025 package (5 seats) Partnership Perks: Prominent logo placement in Season 19 print and digital marketing materials including Playbill, postcards, and LAB Website Promotional emails to ticket buyers Access to high-level donor clientele Early invitation to all special events 10 premium tickets to a Season 19 performance of your choosing with an exclusive backstage experience Inclusion in all Nutcracker Tea! 2024 or Gala 2025 promotional materials Inclusion on Nutcracker Tea! 2024 Step & Repeat Icon Corporate Dues (In-Kind plus $20,000 Sponsorship): Gift Certificate of $2,500 or above to be included in our Gala 2025 Silent Auction In-store Shopping Event on a date of your choosing. 5% of daily proceeds to benefit Los Angeles Ballet or a donate feature at check out Vendor Pop-up Booth at our Nutcracker Tea! 2024 Holiday fundraiser. The perfect venue and exposure to our high-end clientele for a mini trunk show to kick off the holiday shopping season with 5% of daily proceeds to benefit LAB. Sponsor a $10,000 table at Nutcracker Tea! 2024 (10 seats) Sponsor a $10,000 Gala 2025 table (10 seats) Partnership Perks: Prominent logo placement in Season 19 print and digital marketing materials including Playbill, postcards, and LAB Website Promotional emails to ticket buyers Access to high-level donor clientele Early invitation to all special events 20 premium tickets to a Season 19 performance of your choosing with an exclusive backstage experience Inclusion in all Nutcracker Tea! 2024 and Gala 2025 promotional materials Inclusion on Nutcracker Tea! 2024 and Gala 2025 Step & Repeat If you are interested in becoming an LAB Brand Collaborator, please contact Lindsay Rosenboom, LAB Assistant Director of Development and Director of Special Events, at lrosenboom@losangelesballet.org or (310) 477-7411 x 2001. About LAB’s Signature Events LAB’s Gala LAB’s Gala is our annual benefit at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, which honors leaders and influencers who elevate the art and practice of ballet. Over the last decade, LAB’s Gala has grown into a beloved event to celebrate the modern elegance that ballet brings to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles while raising critical funds for LAB’s bold artistic programming and mission-driven community offerings. Guests enjoy a seated 4-course dinner and are treated to live performances by Los Angeles Ballet dancers. Nutcracker Tea! LAB’s signature holiday fundraiser supporting our Outreach and Education Programs is an immersive afternoon tea party experience for guests of all ages! Enter into a magical Winter Wonderland and explore all the joys the season has to offer! In true Holiday fashion, you are treated to High Tea sweets and savories while awaiting a special performance of excerpts from LAB’s The Nutcracker . Sparkling crafts and holiday goodies are just the beginning! Even dance with Clara & her doll friends as they come to life and invite you into their world. Shop for holiday gifts at luxury pop-up shops and the LAB Nutcracker Boutique, and pose for a keepsake photo with Santa, perfect as gifts for loved ones throughout the season. The Nutcracker Tea! hosts an audience of 400-500 guests across a weekend of four tea seatings at the iconic Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills. Originally intended as an accessible Nutcracker experience for those with little ones more inclined to an abridged performance, it has become a beloved tradition for guests far and wide. With several activities and activation points, the Tea provides an exciting and engaging experience for families, while dazzling with luxury, style, and seasonal festivities, perfect for kicking off the Holidays Top Photo by Shutterstock; All Other Photos by Adam Sheridan-Taylor

LA Ballet Opens Fifth Season with Exuberant 'Nutcracker' December 16, 2010 Culturespot LA by Penny Orloff In an era of catastrophic personal belt tightening and calamitous corporate downsizing, too many promising arts organizations have fallen face-first into the chasm of disappearing dollars. When even an established, respected old organization like the Pasadena Playhouse had to close its doors for a time, it is beyond astonishing that a new classical ballet troupe not only survives, but thrives. Since the debut of its original production of “The Nutcracker” in November 2006, the Los Angeles Ballet has been met with critical and commercial success, nearly doubling its budget over five seasons without a penny of government support. “Considering the colossal events of the last five years – Katrina, the tsunami in Indonesia, the financial collapse and subsequent recession, the Haiti earthquake – LAB’s steady growth from $900,000 to $1,624,000 is nothing short of a miracle,” says Julie Whittaker, the company’s executive director. The central ingredient in LAB’s success is the consistent high quality of the product. Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary are clearly the stars of this enterprise. Their uncanny selection and inspired mentoring of some of America’s finest young dancers have resulted in a world-class corps de ballet and several important break-out soloists. Their vision and tireless dedication to the work have produced a large and reliable fan base, and ever-increasing ticket sales. LAB’s “Nutcracker” – playing in venues around LA County this month – is proof of the company’s stature as a game-changing force in the realm of international ballet. The original choreography by Christensen and Neary is fresh and exhilarating, demonstrating the technical skill, individual virtuosity, and razor-sharp precision ensemble work that distinguish this young company. After several reports, I am running out of superlatives to describe the exemplary work of the women’s corps de ballet in the Dance of the Snowflakes and the Waltz of the Flowers, two highlights of the production. Other highlights of this season’s LAB “Nutcracker” include the annual appearance of guest artist Sergey Kheylik as the Cossack Doll. The ecstatic cheers greeting his Act I entrance escalated to a roar as he flung himself into impossible leaps and turns. He was joined in Act II by LAB newcomers Aaron Bahadursingh and Christopher Revels, who matched Kheylik vault for astonishing vault. The off-the-charts athleticism of this Russian Dance whipped the audience into a prolonged, ear-splitting demonstration, literally stopping the show. Returning as Marie (Sugarplum Fairy), Monica Pelfrey remained serene and confident through the long and demanding pas de deux. Her dancing showed off clean stepwork, lovely ports des bras, and marvelous balance. She was partnered by Zheng Hua Li, her cavalier in last season’s Balanchine “Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2.” Li’s emotional physicality contrasts beautifully with Pelfrey’s cool elegance, creating a wonderful chemistry. The audience rewarded his big, floating jetees and effortless lifts with ample appreciation. Making her LAB debut in the Arabian Dance, Julia Cinquemani’s jaw-dropping beauty managed to stun a fairly demonstrative crowd into pin-drop silence. Wrapping her supple, snakelike torso in coils around her partner, newcomer Alexander Castillo, she mesmerized adults and children alike. The breathless silence was broken by an extended, vociferous ovation. Also new this season is Allyssa Bross as the Rose in the Waltz of the Flowers. This young ballerina clearly won over the crowd, her incandescent smile radiating throughout her performance. Thirteen-year-old Helena Thordal-Christensen plays Clara with fragile beauty and dramatic intensity. Having danced the role for the first time last season, this year she exhibits complete confidence and authority. Her long, slender legs extend forever, making an event of each arabesque. She has an arresting innocence about her, a lack of artifice which made her nightmare scene all the more harrowing as she darted, terrified, around the vast stage of Glendale’s Alex Theatre. Perhaps the most moving moment in the performance, for me, came when Clara’s mother – played by Thordal Christensen’s real-life mother, the great Balanchine ballerina, Colleen Neary – kissed the little girl before walking off the stage, a symbolic passing of the torch from the past to the future. Clara’s Nutcracker-turned-Prince is 18-year-old Jordan Veit of the Pacific Northwest Ballet School’s Professional Division. Dancing with strength and ease, and resembling a young Leonardo Di Caprio, this young man exudes charm. The long line of infatuated little girls waiting to meet him after the performance may be the harbinger of good things to come for Veit. Fans in search of guaranteed holiday magic have several chances remaining for performances of LAB’s “Nutcracker” in venues around LA: UCLA’s Royce Hall, Dec. 18 at 1 and 5 p.m., and Dec. 19 at 1 and 5 p.m.; and at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Dec. 24 at 2 pm., and Dec. 26 at 1 and 5 p.m.. Tickets and information are available at (310) 998-7782, or at www.LosAngelesBallet.org . DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Ghada Irani to be Honored at LAB Gala 2015 January 1, 2015 Company News from the Staff at LAB Los Angeles Ballet's Gala 2015 will honor philanthropist Ghada Irani. In her capacity as a member of the Los Angeles Ballet Board of Directors, Mrs. Irani has been a generous supporter of not only its ballet programs, but also its outreach programs for children, families, low-income seniors, veterans and disabled persons. In addition, she she served as Co-Chair for the Los Angeles Ballet Gala in 2012 and has been a member of the Event Planning Committee for LAB Galas since their inception in 2011. The Los Angeles Ballet Gala 2015 will take place May 7, 2015 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and is chaired by Dina Leeds and Jeanette Trepp. The evening will include cocktails, dining, and a preview performance of master choreographer Jírí Kylián’s Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) Home / News / New Item

L.A. Ballet finds the poetry in 1955 version of 'Romeo and Juliet' May 9, 2016 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal While Los Angeles has become a world-class cultural capital with top-notch museums, galleries, opera, symphony orchestra and theaters, it has lagged in one important area - ballet. Despite herculean efforts over the years, ballet companies have struggled and ultimately failed to gain a foothold in Southern California. But all that has changed with the emergence over the past decade of the Los Angeles Ballet company, under the leadership of Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and Executive Director Julie Whittaker. Operating on a shoestring budget and performing without a permanent home, LA Ballet has managed through dedication and careful planning to establish itself as a vibrant, energetic and professional company on the national ballet scene. By carefully building a talented company over the past ten years, and relying on a core of supporters, LAB has emerged as a bright light of the performing arts in Los Angeles. Its most recent production of Don Quixote, originally choreographed by Marius Pepita for the Bolshoi in 1869 and repurposed by Alexander Gorsky in 1900, was performed for sold-out audiences in various venues around Southern California. As with its other ballet productions, Don Quixote showcased the talented ensemble company at its best, along with several promising soloists who highlighted this engaging ballet. Julia Cinquemani, playing the role of Kitri, is dazzling and charismatic, and her partner Kenta Shimizu is strong and solid in the role of Basilio. Other standout performances included Allyssa Bross, Bianca Bulle, Kate Highstrete and Erik Thordal-Christensen. Directors Neary and Christensen choreograph the piece with precision and grace, lifting both soloists and the corps to a high level of achievement. While Los Angeles Ballet still has work to do in attracting both money and talent to its company, it has wisely stuck to the basics of building a company from the ground up, carefully grooming its performers and engaging an audience for the future. It is already well on its way to fulfilling the mission of creating a world-class ballet company. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

The New Troupe Learns From 'Nutcracker' and Forges Bravely Ahead with Balanchine and Bournonville January 1, 2007 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Los Angeles Ballet gave its final performance of "Nutcracker" on Saturday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale: a rite of passage, for the next time we see this brand-new company it won't be dancing a homemade version of the Christmas kiddie classic but rather grown-up masterworks from the international repertory. That's a big step — one that dozens of Southland companies that present annual "Nutcracker" performances never take. It was brave of artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary to launch LAB with a ballet presented by virtually every classical school or troupe in the whole region plus visiting ensembles from Russia and Korea. And it's braver still to schedule serious Balanchine and buoyant Bournonville for the company's first 2007 performances in March. There's no place to hide in that kind of rep, and though guest artists will again ensure high standards in principal roles, the challenge will be to develop a company style beyond the well-drilled but essentially faceless corps dancing that "Nutcracker" provided. If that statement sounds cruel, consider that American Ballet Theatre — our nation's classical behemoth — seldom achieves anything beyond well-drilled and faceless corps dancing nowadays. But ABT doesn't dance Balanchine's super-refined "Concerto Barocco," and maybe that's just as well. "Nutcracker" looked better organized on Saturday than it had early in December, though the party scene again proved confused and there seemed no sense of purpose — dramatic or choreographic — in the battle between the toy soldiers and the mice. The important scenic and character transformations on view lacked magic. And it would have helped if the Nutcracker (Erik Thordal-Christensen, son of the artistic directors) actually looked like a nutcracker and not just another toy soldier. Act 2 confirmed the classical prowess and personal star power of Oleg Gorboulev and Corina Gill in the Arabian dance, provided a flashy showpiece for the 14-year-old wunderkind Lilit Hogtanian as Clara and allowed Maria Kowroski and Stephen Hanna (guests from New York City Ballet) to display formidable mastery in supported adagio intricacies. You could regret that their solos were moved earlier than Tchaikovsky intended and that the Mirlitons divertissement was cut, but the score was again given loving care by conductor Eimear Noone and her musicians. And, happily, the Alex Theatre offered more space for Catherine Kanner's scenic vistas than the cramped Wilshire Theatre stage allowed when this "Nutcracker" premiered. That's one lesson LAB learned in 2006 — that Southern California has many midsize theaters that look great from the seats but, because they are converted movie houses, have no room on the stage for elaborate scenery or large-scale choreographies. Another lesson — that the ballet public isn't interested in 5 p.m. shows — helped cause a cutback from 12 "Nutcracker" performances to nine. "We will consider everything we've discovered from this first run," the directors said in a statement, "and make necessary adjustments for our upcoming season." Necessary adjustments may be one key to LAB's survival in a ballet landscape haunted by memories of companies that started strongly and even flourished, for a time, without enlisting the longterm support of the public that flocks to touring attractions. There are always plenty of people who say they want someone to start a local ballet company with major artistic ambitions — but too many really mean they want ABT to relocate. Los Angeles Ballet estimates that it danced for more than 6,000 ticket-holders in December. That's a start, but not nearly a large enough audience base to sustain a year-round professional institution. If Christensen and Neary can't rely on the balletomanes in our community who yammer about homegrown classicism but don't show up at the ticket window, developing a new, loyal audience is the key to their future. And that will take more energy and imagination than everything they've done so far. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Previous Artistic Staff Design Director Catherine Kanner Catherine Kanner worked as a founding Board Member and Design Director for Los Angeles Ballet from 2005 to 2022. During that period she oversaw and provided all promotional materials for Los Angeles Ballet. For more about Catherine Kanner catherinekanner.com Home / Staff / Artistic Staff

'The Nutcracker' Opens LA Ballet Sixth Season December 15, 2011 CultureSpotLA by Penny Orloff LA County’s resident classical ballet company, Los Angeles Ballet opens a sixth season with Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary’s original staging of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” This sweet holiday treat is currently making its annual three-week tour from Glendale’s landmark Alex Theatre to UCLA’s Royce Hall to the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The ballet opens on sumptuous storybook sets designed by LA artist Catherine Kanner. As a festive Christmas party gets underway at the Steinbaum house, young Clara – danced by Mia Katz – and her friends play with their favorite dolls. New to the role last year, Katz shows a deepening dramatic and technical rtistry. Clara’s bratty brother, Franz, is played with devilish glee by Aidan Merchel-Zoric. Sweeping into the party, the children’s Uncle Drosselmeyer brings mechanical dancing dolls to entertain the guests. Revealing himself as a fine dramatic dancer in last season’s Sonya Tayeh world premiere, the charismatic Nicolas de la Vega commands the stage in his first performances as the wizardly uncle. Sparkling Isabel Vondermuhll repeats last year’s spicy performance as the commedia dell’arte Columbine Doll, partnered by Angel Lopez in a bravura company debut as Harlequin. Following his electrifying performance as Hilarion in last year’s acclaimed “Giselle,” Chehon Wespi-Tschopp brings the audience to a screaming frenzy with the virtuoso leaps and turns of Drosselmeyer’s Cossack Doll. Eighteen-year-old Pacific Northwest Ballet guest artist Nathaniel Solis guides his compact frame through perfect double tours en l’air and grands jetés with flashing eyes and a brilliant smile. This handsome young man is clearly one to watch. The midnight battle between the brave toy soldiers and menacing mice is delightful, led by Zheng Hua Li as the high-leaping, hilarious Mouse King. As ever, the women’s corps de ballet presents a breathtaking Dance of the Snowflakes to end Act I. Act II begins in the Palace of the Dolls, all brought to life by magical Uncle Drosselmeyer. Allyssa Bross and Christopher Revels made auspicious LAB debuts as presiding dolls Marie and her Cavalier in last season’s “Nutcracker.” In the short year since – which included their partnering in both “Giselle” and Balanchine’s “Raymonda Variations” – Bross has developed a confident insouciance to go along with her perfect technique and superb balance, flirting shamelessly with her adoring audience during the fiendish variations of a long and arduous Pas de Deux. One year ago, Revels made an indelible impression with his ebullient, sky-high leaps and enormous strength and stamina. Now only 20 years old, he exhibits an authority and refinement rare in so young a premier danseur. The fortuitous partnership between these two young artists, carefully and wisely mentored by Christensen and Neary, brings out the best in both of them. Newly named company principals, they exude considerable star quality, which has created a national flurry of anticipation for their pairing in LAB’s upcoming “Swan Lake.” In alternate performances, the Cavalier is danced by returning guest artist Kenta Shimizu, who has parlayed his spectacular jumps, turns, and enormous lifts into a blossoming international career. Second-act highlights included a sizzling, Flamenco-flavored Spanish Dance, featuring passion and precision from soloists Kate Allynn Noelle as The Rose Photo: Reed Hutchinson Highstrete, Kelly Ann Sloan, Alexander Forck and Zheng Hua Li. Lithe and lovely Julia Cinquemani and majestic Alexander Castillo repeated their mesmerizing Arabian pas de deux from last year. Wespi-Tschopp vaulted through a show-stopping Russian Dance, joined by buoyant and acrobatic Christopher McDaniel and Tian Tan. Always enchanting, the Waltz of the Flowers is especially striking with Allynne Noelle as The Rose. Her strong debut as Queen of the Wilis in last season’s “Giselle” marked her as a brilliant addition to LAB’s impressive roster of soloists. This season Noelle and Bross share performances as Marie and The Rose. The children’s corps de ballet offers disciplined and precise step-work, and a rollicking sense of fun throughout the evening – no doubt inspiring the throng of young audience members, who can be seen whirling and leaping through the lobby after the show. For five years, LAB has presented every one of its productions in at least three locations. A recipient of large grants from LA County Arts Commission and the Schubert Foundation, the company has announced two additional performance venues – in Long Beach and Northridge – for its production of “Swan Lake” in March. “The Nutcracker” plays at UCLA’s Royce Hall on Saturday, Dec. 17, and Sunday, Dec. 18, at 1 and 5 p.m.; and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Dec. 22, and Friday, Dec. 23, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 24, at 1 p.m. For tickets and information, please visit www.losangelesballet.org . —Penny Orloff, Culture Spot LA DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

LAB Nutcracker – Sweet! December 23, 2008 FineArtsLA.com by Penny Orloff The press releases screamed, “Los Angeles Ballet Soars into 3rd Season with World-Class Production of ‘The Nutcracker.’" Soars. World-Class. I forgave the publicist’s hyperbole. Having seen two LAB dance programs during the fledgling company’s 2nd season, I expected a credible, competent, wellrehearsed performance by promising young dancers, enhanced by the presence of a few Guest Artists. Jaded and disappointed by decades of failed attempts at establishing a real ballet company in Los Angeles, nothing had prepared me for the Christmas miracle on the stage of Royce Hall Sunday night. (http://www.losangelesballet.org ) It’s difficult to select outstanding elements from so uniformly excellent a production. First and foremost, however, is this company’s corps de ballet. Guest artists and flashy soloists are available to any company with the shekels to hire them. What makes or breaks a ballet company is the group precision and perfection on display in LAB’s Dance of the Snowflakes. Just as I was getting all teary-eyed with joy, the five-year-old on her mom’s lap behind me whispered, “Mommy, I love this!” Even more extraordinary is the fact that ballet mistress Colleen Neary was rehearsing two new dancers into this very piece fifteen minutes before curtain. Executive Director Julie Whittaker tells me that, after the matinee, one of the corps was taken seriously ill and rushed to the hospital, while a second dancer nursed a badly swollen ankle. Among a plethora of highlights: Prodigy ballerina Lilit Hogtanian, as Clara, whose every gesture is a poem. At sixteen, she exhibits an arresting Star Quality. One can’t begin to guess what she will be in ten years. Melissa Barak performs the role of Marie (Sugarplum Fairy in other productions) with cool elegance and precision, marvelous balance and clarity of line. Her partner, Peter Snow, dazzles with gorgeous jetees, pirouettes, and lifts, after an off-center landing of a difficult aerial turn early in Act 2. Guest artist Sergey Kheylik astonishes with impossible leaps and turns. Kheylik and company dancers Li Chen and Tian Tan elicit startled gasps and prolonged cheering in the Act 2 Russian Dance. The exquisite Corinna Gill, ably partnered by new LAB soloist Drew Grant, offers a molten, sinuous Arabian Dance. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KdqPmQziQw) Her breathtaking extensions and lyrical ports des bras sear every phrase into memory. Soaring and world-class, indeed. Kudos to Jonathan Sharp as Drosselmeyer, Craig Hall and Annia Hildalgo as Harlequin and Columbine Dolls, Andrew Brader as the Mouse King, and to the well-rehearsed children’s corps. The Colleen Neary-Thordal Christensen choreography brings a theatrical freshness to the oft-told story of a little girl who dreams that her Christmas toys come alive. Their Christmas Party scene opening the ballet, for example, is the most engrossing and fun among dozens of ‘Nutcrackers’ I’ve seen during my long life. A show curtain painted in colorful Mexican style with two angels (City of the Angels – get it?) greets the audience, rising to reveal lovely storybook sets by LA designer Catherine Kanner. Opulent costumes by Danish designer Mikael Melbye reinforce the fantasy. My companion of the evening – a classical ballet-hater, whose sole enticement for agreeing to be dragged to this performance was the prospect of ogling exceptionally fit young women cavorting in revealing costumes – turned to me at intermission to say, “I’m beyond impressed - I’m entertained.” LA area residents have three more chances to enjoy this magical production, at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Dec. 27 at 2 and 7:30, and Dec. 28 at 2. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Romeo and Juliet 2016 Alyssa Bross LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Colleen Neary & Thordal Christensen LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & Luke Schaufuss Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu Joshua Brown, Alyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Kenta Shimizu & Zheng Hua Li Zheng Hua Li Colleen Neary & Thordal Christensen Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross Joshua Brown & Allyssa Bross Allyssa Bross, Erik Thordal-Christensen & Thordal Christensen LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary & Allyssa Bross Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Alyssa Bross LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Colleen Neary & Thordal Christensen LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & Luke Schaufuss Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu Joshua Brown, Alyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Kenta Shimizu & Zheng Hua Li Zheng Hua Li Colleen Neary & Thordal Christensen Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross Joshua Brown & Allyssa Bross Allyssa Bross, Erik Thordal-Christensen & Thordal Christensen LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary & Allyssa Bross Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Sir Frederick Ashton/Prokofiev Previous Gallery Next Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation.

LAB Co-Artistic Directors Receive Lifetime Achievement Award November 1, 2012 McCallum Theatre ​ Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Directors Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen have been honored with the McCallum Theatre Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. Previous recipients of this award include Julie McDonald, of MSA Agency, Nigel Lythgoe, and Lula Washington. The award will be presented at the 15th Annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival on Saturday, November 10, 2012. To attend the Festival and learn more, visit McCallum Theatre's website. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Best of 2007 Listings December 16, 2007 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Co-artistic director Colleen Neary, a former New York City Ballet principal, made a formidable Madge, only gradually revealing her malevolent powers. It was easy to laugh at her mumbo-jumbo antics with her four witch friends around the black cauldron at the start of Act 2. But nobody was laughing at the end of the ballet. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Celebrating Season 10 July 1, 2015 ​ LAB Public Relations 2015-2016 Season Opens on October 3, 2015 Los Angeles, xx, 2015 - Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary celebrate the Great Romantics for LAB’s tenth season. The 2015-2016 season includes four full-length story ballets - Giselle, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. The season will include new productions of Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet and the return of the company’s critically-acclaimed productions of Giselle and The Nutcracker. With the exception of Romeo and Juliet, all are choreographed by Artistic Directors Christensen and Neary. Christensen and Neary have chosen Frederick Ashton’s Romeo and Juliet, which will be a Los Angeles premiere. Continuing LAB’s mission to offer world-class professional ballet to greater Los Angeles, its programs are performed at LAB’s home theaters: UCLA’s Royce Hall, Glendale’s Alex Theatre, Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. “As we embark upon our tenth season and to celebrate this milestone, we thought that this was the perfect time to share the Romantics with the city,” said Christensen, LAB’s co-artistic director. “Thanks to the support of our patrons, the company has seen thrilling growth over the last nine years. Our dancers have grown artistically and technically, and our audience has grown across the city,” said Neary, LAB’s co-artistic director. LAB opens the season with Giselle (October/November 2015). Premiered by Los Angeles Ballet in 2011, this ethereal and haunting masterwork is the embodiment of the Romantic ideal. The holidays welcome back LAB’s popular The Nutcracker set in 1913 Los Angeles (December 2015), with additional matinees offering more opportunities to see this family favorite and enjoy Tchaikovsky’s beloved music. Don Quixote, based on Cervantes' iconic Spanish novel and choreographed by Los Angeles Ballet's Christensen and Neary (after Petipa), weaves a splendid tapestry of love, illusion, daring and adventure. Gypsies, matadors, and windmills result in a profusion of excitement, humor, and family fun. To close the season, Los Angeles Ballet makes history as the first American company to present the great choreographer Frederick Ashton's Romeo and Juliet. "We are thrilled to be the first American company to perform this tremendous piece, a work of classical genius," says Christensen. Shakespeare's timeless tragedy of star-crossed lovers is unforgettably expressed in dance, drama, and Prokofiev's timeless score. About Los Angeles Ballet Founded in 2004 by Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and Executive Director Julie Whittaker, Los Angeles Ballet is known for its superb stagings of the Balanchine repertory, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, and its commitment to new works. LAB has become recognized as a world-class ballet company in nine seasons, presenting 28 productions encompassing 50 works, including 15 commissioned world premieres. Los Angeles Ballet ‘tours’ throughout LA County, regularly appearing at four venues. Since its inception in 2006, LAB’s Power of Performance (POP!) program has provided thousands of free tickets to underserved or disadvantaged children, seniors, veterans, and their families. LAB's A Chance to Dance Community Days outreach program was launched in October 2012. About Thordal Christensen Among Thordal Christensen’s many credentials are an impressive performing career, successful leadership of one of the world's major ballet companies, critically applauded original choreography, and a proven commitment to dance education. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Christensen received his ballet training at The Royal Danish Ballet School and at the School of American Ballet in New York City before a performance career that included the Royal Danish Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Christensen then returned to Denmark where he was Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet. This blend of Bournonville and Balanchine tradition is one of the defining themes of his career, and has shaped the unique artistic vision that Christensen, along with his wife Colleen Neary, bring to Los Angeles Ballet. In 2002, he was made Knight of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. About Colleen Neary Colleen Neary brings to Los Angeles Ballet the benefits of her vast experience as one of George Balanchine's quintessential ballerinas. In her experience as a dancer, teacher, and ballet mistress, she also worked closely with other luminaries of 20th century dance, including Rudolf Nureyev, Maurice Béjart, and Jiří Kylián. Born in Miami, Florida and trained at The School of American Ballet, Neary danced in New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine, then for Maurice Béjart's Ballet du XXième Siecle, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Neary was personally selected by Balanchine to teach his choreography to major companies all over the world as a repetiteur for The George Balanchine Trust. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item