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629eb535-9fea-4fa2-972e-993e1a79127e 2024-2025 Season / Ticket Information / Terms and Conditions of Sales Terms and Conditions of Sales Before purchasing tickets, please carefully review the Terms and Conditions of Sale. 1. Refund and Exchange Policy Pre COVID-19 there were No Refunds and No Exchanges. All Tickets sales were final. However COVID-19 has impacted Refunds and Exchanges. Please read the COVID-19 Ticketing Policy for updates. 2. Reserved Seating This purchase is for tickets in designated seats at a designated price level, as chosen and/or approved by you as the ticket purchaser. Please be sure you are happy with your seat selection before finalizing your purchase. 3. Confirmation Number Please be sure to record/save your confirmation number, as this is required for replacing lost tickets and locating reservations. The confirmation page is NOT a ticket. 4. Mail Delivery The standard mailing fee is $1.50 per order for regular ticket purchases and $3 per order for group sales. If you choose to have your tickets mailed to you they will arrive within 7-10 business days. If your tickets have not arrived within one week of the performance date, please call the Los Angeles Ballet Box Office at 310.998.7782. Please have your confirmation number available. 5. Will Call Will Call opens at all venue box offices one hour prior to each performance and remains open until the performance begins. Identification is required for Will Call pick-up. 6. Lost Tickets Lost tickets will be replaced provided you have your confirmation number available. Please call the Los Angeles Ballet Box Office at 310.998.7782 to request replacement tickets. 7. Performance Cancellation or Date/Time Change Policy If a performance is cancelled for any reason other than “force majeure,” (see Clause 7a below), Los Angeles Ballet will refund the face value of tickets purchased. Delivery charges are non-refundable. A performance is not considered “cancelled” if it is stopped at any point after Act 2 has begun, in which case Los Angeles Ballet is not required to refund the value of any tickets purchased for said performance. Los Angeles Ballet will accommodate you at subsequent performances when possible. Los Angeles Ballet reserves the right to change the date and/or time of any performance no later than 5 weeks before the originally scheduled date of the performance. If a change occurs, patrons will be notified immediately and alternate accommodations or reimbursements will be arranged, as necessary. 7a. Force Majeure Los Angeles Ballet does not guarantee a refund or exchange on tickets purchased for a performance that is cancelled, or is rescheduled less than 5 weeks before the original performance date/time, as a result of “force majeure.” “Force majeure” means any event which Los Angeles Ballet could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside Los Angeles Ballet’s control. In the event of a cancellation or rescheduling due to “force majeure,” Los Angeles Ballet will accommodate you at subsequent shows when possible. 8. Late Seating Policy Arriving late to a performance can be extremely disturbing to the artists and your fellow audience members. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the house staff at an appropriate pause in the program. 9. Reselling Policy Tickets may not be resold or offered for resale. Tickets may not be used for advertising, promotion, or other commercial purposes except with the express written consent of Los Angeles Ballet, Inc. Los Angeles Ballet reserves the right to refuse entry to any customer who has purchased tickets and resold them, or to any person attempting to attend a performance with such tickets. 10. Reproduction Policy It is unlawful to reproduce any tickets in any form. In the event of reproduction, Los Angeles Ballet reserves the right to refuse entry to the original purchaser as well as any person attempting to attend a performance with reproduced tickets. 11. Review Upon Receipt Please review your tickets and confirmation upon receipt. If any detail of your order is incorrect, please contact the Los Angeles Ballet Box Office immediately at 310.998.7782. Los Angeles Ballet will not be responsible for any discrepancies if you do not contact the box office within 24 hours after receiving your tickets. 12. Agreement Submitting a ticket order indicates your AGREEMENT to these terms and conditions. For questions and support, please contact the Box Office at (310) 998-7782 to purchase by phone, Monday through Friday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm. In-person Ticket Sales Group Sales Venues Accessibility Gift Certificates Tax-Deductibe Donations Terms & Conditions of Sales In-house Policies Privacy Policy

It takes commitment, nerve, and ridiculous sums of money to build a successful ballet company. And that’s just the kindling. Home / News / New Item Returning in Full Force Los Angeles Ballet Kicks Off Its Third Season March 9, 2009 Los Angeles Times by Laura Bleiburg It takes commitment, nerve, and ridiculous sums of money to build a successful ballet company. And that’s just the kindling. To get a real blaze going, it helps to have the high-powered dance connections of Los Angeles Ballet’s co-directors, Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary. For their fl edgling company’s third repertory season, launched Saturday at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Christensen and Neary brought out their big-gun friends and family, and there was noticeably more heat onstage. Colleen’s sister Patricia Neary, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, staged the George Balanchine-Sergei Prokofi ev 1929 masterpiece “Prodigal Son.” One of that ballet’s greatest interpreters of the title part, Miami City Ballet director Edward Villella, loaned them costumes and sets (modeled on Georges Rouault’s originals). Karin von Aroldingen, another former City Ballet powerhouse, was brought in to help stage “Stravinsky Violin Concerto” (1972), one of Balanchine’s neoclassical gems. Finally, there was a snazzy premiere, “An American Camelot” by Jennifer Backhaus, with party costumes by Franco Martinez and hanging light shades by Tony Kudner. “Prodigal” requires an oversized acting style of another era, yet the L.A. Ballet dancers managed it and the dance’s quirky athleticism fl awlessly. This century-old ballet, based on the biblical parable, crackled with freshness. L.A. Ballet shares Cuban-born leading-man dancer Eddy Tovar with Orlando Ballet, and thank them very much. Tovar has dark good looks, not to mention that classic, unfussy Cuban technique. He inscribes beautiful, open shapes with his etched, muscular body. His son took us on a believable journey, leaving home full of insolent bravura and crawling back a repentant, broken man. Ballerina Melissa Barak, coached also by Westside Ballet’s Yvonne Mounsey, came to inhabit the Siren’s wily personality more slowly. She had the moves and an exacting style. Barak wrapped the Siren’s red cape seductively around her thigh and unfurled her turned-out legs in high sideways kicks and those provocative lunges. Barak more fully became the temptress in her pas de deux with Tovar. In one pretzel coupling after another, Barak emotionally reeled Tovar in, and when she became his, her raised hand signaled triumph. The L.A. Ballet men made a notable transformation as the grotesque Drinking Companions. Flopping and rollicking about the stage, they took to this weirdness with all-out freedom. Backhaus’ “An American Camelot” was her second piece for L.A. Ballet. The fi rst work misfi red so badly (last season’s “she said/he said”) that the latest commission came as a surprise. This time, Backhaus and the six couples she cast were on much fi rmer ground. “An American Camelot” advocates dancing through your troubles, and Backhaus’ loose, hip choreography was persuasive. How can you go wrong with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie and Eartha Kitt, singing “Bal Petite Bal”? (The night’s music was taped.) The choreographer melded jitterbug, jazz and classic steps in six sections. Male dancers were given virile leaps and push-ups. The women did the Charleston -- never comfortable in toe shoes -- but pointe work too. The tall and loose-limbed Andrew Brader was in his element as leading man. “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” on the other hand, was occasionally effortful. But the corps de ballet held heads high, and that deer-in-the-headlights expression everyone used to wear has vanished. Hallelujah. Barak and Peter Snow made a complementary match in the fi rst duet. Paired with Brader in the second duet, Corina Gill was a shining light of newfound strength and complexity. Her continued growth and onstage joy were infectious. That’s the fun of having a local ballet company -- watching it grow and develop. Experience it yourself. -- Laura Bleiberg READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE

Chehon Wespi-Tschopp was an intense Hilarion, a villager also in love with Giselle. His prestissimo spins to his death at the hands of the Wilis were terrific. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Featured in Dance Magazine - August 2010 Issue August 1, 2010 Dance Magazine Chehon Wespi-Tschopp was an intense Hilarion, a villager also in love with Giselle. His prestissimo spins to his death at the hands of the Wilis were terrific. The company tours the greater LA area each season, performing at Glendale's Alex Theatre Performing Arts & Entertainment Center, Royce Hall at UCLA Live, the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica, and-new this season-the Richard & Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach and the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge. "It's important we establish [ourselves in] LA first, before we tour anywhere else," says Christensen. The Nutcracker, this season's festive opening ballet, is "very important to present around the holidays," says Neary. "Kids love it; the dancers love it, and so do we."

Los Angeles Ballet’s The Nutcracker is LA’s holiday tradition. Set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score, with surprises, this production stays true to the holiday story and is set in 1912 Los Angeles. With choreography by Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, the production tours to venues across the city: Alex Theatre, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Royce Hall UCLA, and Dolby Theatre. Dolby performances are presented with a live orchestra. 2025/2026 Season / The Nutcracker / The Nutcracker, December 14 , 2pm / Tickets

An elite group of artists called “repetiteurs “ carry on the works of one of the greatest choreographic masters of all time, George Balanchine. For 30 years since his death on April 30, 1983, these human “style guides” for the Balanchine aesthetic have served as guardians of his expansive repertoire of nearly 400 works, and storytellers of his legacy. Home / News / New Item Passing the Balanchine Baton May 15, 2013 KCET by AC Remler An elite group of artists called “repetiteurs “ carry on the works of one of the greatest choreographic masters of all time, George Balanchine. For 30 years since his death on April 30, 1983, these human “style guides” for the Balanchine aesthetic have served as guardians of his expansive repertoire of nearly 400 works, and storytellers of his legacy. Many have danced the roles themselves under his tutelage, such as Colleen Neary, co-artistic director of Los Angeles Ballet. She, along with about 30 other New York City Ballet disciples -- the acclaimed ballet company that he founded in 1948 -- have the stamp of approval from the Balanchine Trust to stage the choreographer’s works. As such, they travel the world ensuring that professional ballet companies who present Balanchine on their playbill, perform it, just so. “There was always a style and way of dancing the role that was very important to him,” Neary says. “He gave you the freedom to do what you wanted but not to the extreme where it took the piece another direction. And we grew up around that style - we saw what he wanted. We all respect each other but we all have differences in the years we danced with Balanchine and for versions we danced in. When I danced “Rubies” and “Symphony in C” in the same roles as my sister, [Patricia Neary for whom many roles were created by Balanchine], she was a decade before me, and he may have changed it for me, or changed his mind on certain timings. He changed as he went along. We always say ‘Before Death.’ Those are the years we look at. And after he died, things kept changing, so we try to keep it as tight as we can,” she says. Noelle “Rubies” Neary danced as a soloist from 1969 to 1979 in The New York City Ballet under the direction of Balanchine. Like her sister, she also had numerous roles created for her by Balanchine, as well as by other acclaimed choreographers such as Peter Martins, Jacques d’Amboise and others, throughout her career. Now Neary is poised to pass the Balanchine baton to a new generation of dancers at her own company, which she founded nine years ago with husband and former Royal Danish Ballet and New York City Ballet dancer Thordal Christensen. To commemorate Mr. B’s death (as he’s called fondly) and to celebrate his work, Los Angeles Ballet recently launched a Balanchine Festival 2013. Having just wrapped “Balanchine Gold” in March and April, Los Angeles Ballet recently launched part two of the series, “Balanchine Red” across Southern California that runs through June 9. Balanchine Red features his works, “Agon,” “La Valse,” and “Rubies.” The next performance takes place Saturday, May 18 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, followed by a night at the Valley Performing Arts Center May 25, an afternoon at the Alex Theatre May 26 and ending at Royce Hall June 9. Each performance is accompanied by lectures prior to curtain by experts in Balanchine’s work, including Kent Stowell, Francia Russell, Lewis Segal, Victoria Loos leaf, and of course, Neary herself. One of Los Angeles Ballet’s principal dancers is Southern California native Allynne Noelle. A tall, lithe figure who crackles on stage, Noelle has been with the company since 2011, coming from Miami City Ballet where she also performed Balanchine under the direction of Eddie Villella, another former principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Kenta, Noelle, “TchaiPas” “I like ‘Rubies’ ‘Tall Girl.’ LOVE Jewels as a whole ballet. Oh, and ‘Tchai Pas’ is fun (that’s ballet slang for 1960’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux),” she says, ticking off her favorite Balanchine ballets similar to how someone of a different milieu might rattle off pop music hits. “I really like “Apollo” too, but I’ve never performed it.” In Los Angeles Ballet’s “Balanchine Festival Red,” Noelle will dance the Pas de Deux in the notoriously challenging Agon (1957) an abstract masterpiece in which nary a note is lost on movement; and she will revisit “Tall Girl” in Rubies (1967). The fact that Neary has coached her in a masterpiece that Neary herself has danced for the master is clearly not lost on her. “I was a little scared at first because I know [Neary] has done the role,” she says. “Colleen gives me the freedom to do what I want with the role as an artist, but if there’s a step that isn’t right she lets me know. Even though it’s crazy hard technically, it’s artistically freeing.” Neary is quick to dispel any notion that she expects a cookie cutter interpretation of how she performed the part. “It’s perfect for Allynne. I give her feedback as to how I did it, but I don’t like to say: ‘This is MY role!’; even though you might feel like it’s your role. I want to train the next generation who are dancing the Balanchine ballets and dancing them well so eventually The Balanchine Trust might approve them to stage the ballets. The Balanchine Trust is very tight with [its] mechanism, and typically, they come from New York City Ballet. But I think it’s important for those of us who are with other companies to train the next generation to be able to rehearse his work,” she says. Mr. B, Pat, Colleen. Meanwhile Neary’s next repetiteur “gig” will be with the Paris Opera Ballet staging the original “Symphony in C” called “Palais de Cristal.” Neary also invites other repetiteurs to Los Angeles to stage Balanchine on Los Angeles Ballet dancers. “It’s good for the dancers to work with someone different. Although sometimes it’s hard for me to keep my mouth shut,” she laughs. Noelle, a self-proclaimed repetiteur in waiting, is one of six dancers with Los Angeles Ballet from Southern California. Noelle grew up in Huntington Beach and began classical ballet training at age 5. She remembers limited exposure to professional productions beyond seeing New York-based companies like New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and “the occasional Russian company” breeze through to perform. “The cultural growth (in Southern California) has been exponential since then,” Noelle says. “I’m so happy to be back here dancing in a company that offers the opportunity to perform such great ballets. Last time I was on stage performing ‘Tchai Pas’ I thought, ‘Wow, this is my job. Should I really be having this much fun?’” DOWNLOAD PDF

Available Shortly Home / Staff / Administrator Naomi Shapira Robinow Physical Therapist Available Shortly

Seranade 2019 Balanchine / Tchaikovsky LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Eris Nezha Petra Conti & Eris Nezha & LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti & Jeongkon Kim Jeongkon Kim & Jasmine Perry Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti, Jasmine Perry & Jeongkon Kim Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Eris Nezha Petra Conti & Eris Nezha & LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti & Jeongkon Kim Jeongkon Kim & Jasmine Perry Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti, Jasmine Perry & Jeongkon Kim Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Eris Nezha Petra Conti & Eris Nezha & LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti & Jeongkon Kim Jeongkon Kim & Jasmine Perry Bianca Bulle, Petra Conti, Jasmine Perry & Jeongkon Kim Petra Conti & LAB Ensemble Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

Until now, that is. The Los Angeles Ballet (LAB), which kicks off its sixth season Decemeber 3 with The Nutcracker, has slowly evolved into LA's official resident company, renowned for its high-caliber dancers and next-generation repertoire- a mix of old chestnuts and original works by innovative young choreographers. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Awarded Grant from LA County Arts Commission August 1, 2011 Company News from the Staff at LAB Los Angeles Ballet was awarded its first Los Angeles County Arts Commission grant, in support of its 2012 production of Swan Lake. LAB is grateful to LACAC staff, and LA County Supervisors Gloria Molina, Zev Yaroslavsky, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Don Knabe, and Michael D. Antonovich, Mayor.

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. Home / News / New Item 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

Maleficent isn’t the only witch in town. Madge, the evildoer in August Bournonville’s 1836 Romantic ballet “La Sylphide” also has been creating misery (and laughs). Home / News / New Item Review: Los Angeles Ballet floats with 'La Sylphide and Serenade' June 9, 2014 Los Angeles Times by Victoria Looseleaf Maleficent isn’t the only witch in town. Madge, the evildoer in August Bournonville’s 1836 Romantic ballet “La Sylphide” also has been creating misery (and laughs). As devilishly portrayed by Los Angeles Ballet’s co-artistic director Colleen Neary and choreographed by her co-director husband, Thordal Christensen (after Bournonville), this witch is only one element that gave “La Sylphide” its wings Saturday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. The program, which also presented George Balanchine’s 1934 classic “Serenade,” featured about three dozen dancers breathing life into these difficult, alluring works. One performer in particular proved unstoppable. Allyssa Bross danced the lead in both numbers on little notice, replacing an ailing Allynne Noelle in “Sylphide.” The pair alternates in the role, so Bross knew her stuff; the question was stamina. But Bross brought insouciance, grace and technique to burn in a sumptuous production last presented by the troupe in 2009. What man wouldn’t fall for her? Set in Scotland to taped music by Herman Severin Løvenskjold, “La Sylphide” told the story of the kilt-clad James as he succumbed to this exquisite creature’s charms. Kenta Shimizu as James offered powerful leaps and turns — pesky sporran aside — as well as quicksilver, precise beats. Alas, he already was betrothed to Effy, articulately danced by Chelsea Paige Johnston, with their wedding scheduled that day. James’ cottage teemed with people, including best pal Gurn (a wonderful Zheng Hua Li), a semi-buffoon who winds up marrying Effy after James disappears, as well as a corps of tartaned-out friends, six children and a pair of bagpipers. But wedded bliss wasn’t meant to be. After James offended the witch, Madge was out for blood — or at least death by sylph wing-removal. Act II’s forest scene had Madge and four crones hexing it up around a caldron to make a poisoned scarf. Neary, a former New York City Ballet principal, dove into Madge with glee, adding luster to this production that’s originally from the Royal Danish Ballet, a company Christensen once headed. The sylphs were also out in fairy force, with lovely, airy dancing by Bianca Bulle, Julia Cinquemani and Paige Johnston, a fine corps abetting them. But after James gifted the Sylph (Bross) that scarf, she began her death spiral. Yes, the ballet ends badly: James crumpled in grief; seeing his dead fairy float up to heaven, he’d lost everything. “Serenade,” set to taped Tchaikovsky and staged by Neary, could also be seen as a work about loss. A poetic vision of yearning, 17 women in diaphanous dresses filled the stage with intricate patterns and circlings. There were also off-balance arabesque lunges, legs scissoring in lifts and an impassioned waltz; hair streamed loose, and several men came and went. Bross was stunning as lead ballerina, sharing the stage at first with a capable Ulrik Birkkjaer, then the able Alexander Castillo, as well as a divine Cinquemani and a thin Kate Highstrete. And, of course, there was the corps, among whom crisp footwork and floating arms were paramount. The ballet had the love-disillusioned-by-destiny theme of Balanchine’s later neo-Romantic works, but its propulsive energy and beauty came from the pure movement patterns that continually introduced new motifs and variations. Los Angeles Ballet, on a roll, made the old new again. calendar@latimes.com ------------ Los Angeles Ballet What: “La Sylphide” and “Serenade” When and where: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach; also 7:30 p.m. June 21 at Royce Hall, UCLA Tickets: $24-$95 Information: (310) 998-7782, losangelesballet.org READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE

In July of this year co-artistic director Colleen Neary was in St. Petersburg, Russia, staging George Balanchine’s Symphony in C on the acclaimed Kirov Ballet as part of the city’s White Nights Festival. Home / News / New Item Colleen Neary Travels to St. Petersberg July 1, 2008 Company News from the Staff at LAB As danced Saturday by Eddy Tovar, a permanent LAB guest from Orlando Ballet, James was a bewildered dreamer, torn between the Sylph and Effie. He was also impulsive, flaring into outraged anger upon seeing Madge warming herself by the fire. A handsome, compact dancer, Tovar had the strength and style to execute Bournonville’s demanding foot beats with speed and clarity.

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. 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