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Continuing her global work as a member of the George Balanchine Trust, Colleen Neary has just returned from Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet where she staged and rehearsed Symphony in C. Next she is off to Portland, Oregon to restage Rubies, a work she originally set there in 2003. Home / News / New Item Colleen Neary travels to Portland & Moscow January 1, 2008 Company News from the Staff at LAB The ballet ends with a terrible image. Madge pulls the fallen James up by the hair to see his beloved but dead Sylph float up into the heavens. With insouciant flicks of her wrists, Madge then dismisses James’ lifeless form. All in a day’s work, she seems to say, and easy work at that. Final curtain.

With the addition of “The Sleeping Beauty” to its repertory, the Los Angeles Ballet rounds out its Tchaikovsky trilogy, having launched the company with “The Nutcracker” in 2006 and staged “Swan Lake in 2011.” Taking on these three touchstones of classical ballet is a considerable achievement for any company but especially one only 9 years old. Home / News / New Item L.A. Ballet rounds out Tchaikovsky trilogy with 'The Sleeping Beauty' February 26, 2015 Los Angeles Times by Susan Reiter With the addition of “The Sleeping Beauty” to its repertory, the Los Angeles Ballet rounds out its Tchaikovsky trilogy, having launched the company with “The Nutcracker” in 2006 and staged “Swan Lake in 2011.” Taking on these three touchstones of classical ballet is a considerable achievement for any company but especially one only 9 years old. “We consider ourselves a classical company. We’re trying to shape the repertory so that we include everything that will also make the dancers that much better,” company co-artistic director Colleen Neary said recently by phone with Thordal Christensen, the other artistic director, and her husband. “It really is wonderful to see the growth within the company with this repertoire.” She and Christensen choreographed this premiere “after Petipa,” blending their own choreography with the well-known touchstones of French ballet master and choreographer Marius Petipa that have been passed down through ballet generations since 1890. They both had experience performing in — as well as staging — the work with the Royal Danish Ballet, which Christensen directed, while Neary worked as principal ballet mistress. “It’s the quintessential classical ballet,” Neary said. The duo researched other productions and made choices based on their specific approach and on what worked best for their 37-member company. The expansive ballet calls upon the full roster, with most dancers taking on multiple roles. “We tried to tell the story in an organic, magical way — tried to keep it fairly light,” Christensen said. “‘Sleeping Beauty’ can sometimes have a tendency to be very heavy in its storytelling. I think we tried to lighten it a little bit.” Christensen, a Dane, and Neary, an American whose extensive performing career began with New York City Ballet, recognize the important role that mime plays in the ballet. “You have to be true to the tradition of Petipa, but you’re not telling the mime in an old-fashioned way. It is very real in its storytelling,” said Neary, who performs the crucial character role of Carabosse, the irate fairy whose vengeful spell sets the plot in motion. Their new “Sleeping Beauty,” being presented in four Los Angeles-area venues, features sets and costumes designed by David Walker, originally for a 1977 Royal Ballet production. Neary emphasizes that the Los Angeles Ballet’s intention is “to bring ourselves to the communities of L.A.” “That’s what we have been about for the past nine years,” she adds. “It’s been a recipe that has worked extremely well, and we have really developed our audiences in all these venues. We’re very excited to bring a piece that’s this big and this wonderful to these audiences.” READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE

Los Angeles Ballet artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary watch dancers rehearse "The Evangelist," which the company will be begin performing later this month. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet meets “The Evangelist” April 1, 2008 Los Angeles Times by Lynne Heffley Los Angeles Ballet artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary watch dancers rehearse "The Evangelist," which the company will be begin performing later this month. The 2-year-old company readies a program that includes a piece first danced by its artistic directors and inspired by the life of Aimee Semple McPherson. In a warehouse space on a no-frills Westside industrial street, Thordal Christensen, co-artistic director of Los Angeles Ballet, points to a rickety little table. "Welcome to my office," he jokes. "We've been in here four months, so it's still a work in progress." The unfinished but spacious digs are another step forward for 2-year-old LAB, the city's latest hope for home-based premier classical ballet. Half of the interior is a jumble of racks of costumes, stacks of Marley flooring -- a special sprung surface carted to venues for the dancers' use -- and utilitarian furniture. But in the expansive, mirrored studio space on the other side of a partition, with loading dock doors rolled open for ventilation, several of the company's 26 young dancers are warming up in motley practice gear. Christensen and Colleen Neary, his wife and fellow artistic director, are about to revisit a work that was choreographed for them 16 years ago: "The Evangelist," a spiritual duet inspired by 1920s charismatic preacher Aimee Semple McPherson, set to the music of Charles Ives. It will tour to four venues in April and May, beginning Friday and Saturday at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, as part of a varied program that includes "he said/she said," a world premiere by Jennifer Backhaus of the Orange County-based Backhausdance; George Balanchine's "Allegro Brillante"; and August Bournonville's "Napoli/Pas de Six" and "Tarantella." Balanchine's "Who Cares?" will replace the Bournonville pieces for the company's Irvine Barclay Theatre performance May 17. Appearing with the company as guest artist will be Orlando Ballet’s Eddy Tovar. 'The Evangelist' Created by choreographer Lar Lubovitch when Christensen and Neary were principals with Pacific Northwest Ballet, "The Evangelist" was the critical highlight of Lubovitch's ballet "American Gesture" at its 1992 Kennedy Center premiere. A meld of classical form and Grahamesque force, it depicts a male penitent's struggle toward redemption, guided by a powerful female figure. "It's always nice to work on something that you've done yourself," Christensen says. "At the same time, you have to make sure it becomes the dancer's piece, because it's really about getting them to find . . . " "Themselves in it," interjects Neary. "And the spirit of the piece," Christensen finishes. For the next 30 minutes, the couple, dancer-fit themselves, take to the floor by turns to demonstrate a lift or position, coaching the pairs who will alternate in the work (and wear Christensen and Neary's original costumes): Peter Snow and Melissa Barak, and Andrew Brader and Kelly Ann Sloan. The intensity of emotion the dancers must express in arching bends and high lifts, extreme gestures and moments of muscular rigidity is clear when they take a break, panting and dripping with sweat. Christensen and Neary next take five couples through Balanchine's demanding and lyrical "Allegro Brillante," set to Tchaikovsky, correcting a step here, a line there. "We call it a dancer's ballet," Neary says later, "because dancers love to do it. It's a full-length ballet in 17 minutes -- there are that many steps." "Is it fun, or is it death?" Neary asks the breathless company when rehearsal ends. The consensus: "It's fun." Taking the next step With their international careers as dancers behind them, Christensen, former artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, and Neary, a New York City Ballet alumna and authoritative Balanchine choreographer, say they don't mind being out of the spotlight. "When you're onstage, it's such an incredible feeling, but being offstage and seeing somebody else do what you're giving them is even more fulfilling," Neary says. Dancing is a short-lived career, Christensen adds, "and we're fortunate to have the opportunity to give it to the next generation." New work is key to the growth of Los Angeles Ballet, he says. The company launched with a familiar repertoire that included Balanchine masterworks and its own "Nutcracker" in order to "excite the audience and create a company style. Now it's important to bring in outside choreographers to show the dancers' range." "In the end, that's going to define who we are," says Neary, noting that the piece commissioned from Backhaus, a Lester Horton Award-winning, cutting-edge contemporary choreographer, is "extremely different" from anything the dancers have done. In the work, created for the full ensemble, "there's more gravity, more weight, more things that are off-balance," Backhaus explains later by phone. "I was toying with the idea of making the dance on pointe, but I wanted to challenge their dynamic sensibility a bit. They're a great group of dancers, and they've been really open to trying new things." Backhaus is enthusiastic about LAB's chances for success in a city where others on the same mission have failed. "They're on the right track," she says. "I think this is the best shot we've had." lynne.heffley@latimes.com DOWNLOAD ARTICLE (PDF)

4b5457fd-90e1-4bec-8706-9e8f86d0494e 2024-2025 Season / Ticket Information / In-Person Ticket Sales In-Person Ticket Sales Tickets may be purchased in advance at Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Central Ticket Office at UCLA for Royce Hall, the Wallis in Beverly Hills, and Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Ticket information for Destination Crenshaw’s Sankofa Park performances will be available soon. Please visit venue websites directly for box office hours. The LAB Box Office at all venues will be open 90 minutes before the performance. No in-person purchases at LAB Offices at this time. 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

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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

The Nutcracker 2017 Prodigal Son – Balanchine / Prokofiev Mackenzie Moser LAB Ensemble Petra Conti LAB Ensemble Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & Joshua Brown LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Tigran Sargsyan Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble Mackenzie Moser LAB Ensemble Petra Conti LAB Ensemble Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & Joshua Brown LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Tigran Sargsyan Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble Mackenzie Moser LAB Ensemble Petra Conti LAB Ensemble Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Jasmine Perry & Joshua Brown LAB Ensemble LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti & Tigran Sargsyan Mackenzie Moser & LAB Ensemble Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

Los Angeles Ballet Continues to Celebrate the Great Romantics in its Tenth Season with a Captivating New Production of Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet ContinuesTenth Season with a Captivating New Production of Don Quixote February 1, 2016 LAB Public Relations Performances February 20th, 27th & March 26th, 2016 Los Angeles, xx, 2016 – Miguel de Cervante's imaginative hero Don Quixote is brought to life in this vibrant world premiere production by Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary for Los Angeles Ballet, after Marius Pepita's classic staging. The stage glistens with exuberance and celebration in this ballet set in 17th century Spain. Don Quixote is a joyous ballet filled with the dreams of the Don, the love between Kitri and Basil, and the fantastical quests that inhabit this epic tale. Christensen and Neary’s Don Quixote is a special version for Los Angeles Ballet, true to its history, utilizing the talent and virtuosity of LAB’s dancers. It is a wondrous “pièce de résistance” with something for everyone: humor, romance, adventure and beauty. Following the success Giselle and The Nutcracker , the highly anticipated Don Quixote is LAB’s latest production in a hugely successful 10th season featuring creative retellings of classic favorites. Romeo and Juliet will be the final production of the season. According to Neary, when asked why the Great Romantics theme was chosen: “Celebrating ten years calls for big, beautiful ballets, and what else can that mean but love, passion, and relationships? On a literal note, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, and Romeo and Juliet are very different stories, but of course share the universal theme of love.” Continuing LAB’s mission to offer world-class professional ballet to greater Los Angeles, Don Quixote will be performed at LAB’s home theaters: UCLA’s Royce Hall, Glendale’s Alex Theatre, and the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. DOWNLOAD PDF

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Marcos Ramirez Hometown Trinidad, Cuba Seasons with LAB 5 Seasons with LAB Marcos joined the National Ballet of Cuba at the age of 17. He joined LAB in 2020 and has performed the roles of Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Prince in Cinderella, The Cavalier Prince in The Nutcracker, Gustave in Lady of the Camellias, and other leading roles in pieces by Balanchine, Justin Peck, Christopher Wheeldon and Anabel López Ochoa. He has also performed in international Galas in Italy, Cuba, and the United States. Marcos was awarded 1st and 2nd place in international competitions in Cuba and 1st place in YAGP Philadelphia.

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Akimitsu Yahata Hometown Tokyo, Japan Schools New National Ballet School, School of Tokyo City Ballet, Kiyoko Ishii Ballet Studio Companies National Ballet of Japan Los Angeles Ballet 6th Season

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Nick Sedano Hometown Orange County, CA Seasons with LAB 1 Season with LAB Nick began his professional training at Maple Conservatory of Dance in Irvine, California. He was trained by Charles Maple (former soloist with American Ballet Theatre), Patrick Frantz (former principal with Paris Opera Ballet), Kristin Hakala (former principal with Ballet West) and Tong Wang (former principal with Shanghai Ballet and Ballet West). He has danced in such festivals as Regional Dance America , The Ballet Alliance , and East Meets West: International Dance Festival . Nick attended Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Summer Intensive in 2019, and he was invited into their Professional Division Program on full scholarship the same year. He has danced as a freelance artist with Ballet Project OC, and has performed with SoCal Ballet Scene as a guest artist.