Search LAB

Try summing up the themes of August Bournonville’s romantic 1836 ballet, “La Sylphide.” You might get a list something like this: Dreams, illusions, ideals versus reality and worse — irrational, implacable evil. No wonder the ballet survives, not only to entertain but to trouble, even deeply disturb. LA Ballet Presents La Sylphide June 3, 2009 CultureSpotLA by Penny Orloff Try summing up the themes of August Bournonville’s romantic 1836 ballet, “La Sylphide.” You might get a list something like this: Dreams, illusions, ideals versus reality and worse — irrational, implacable evil. No wonder the ballet survives, not only to entertain but to trouble, even deeply disturb. Los Angeles Ballet, founded in 2006, marked its latest stage of artistic growth by mounting a handsome production of “La Sylphide” Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, with period sets and costumes borrowed from the Houston Ballet. (Performances continue over the next two weekends at other venues.) (Freud Playhouse, UCLA, May 23 and 24, and at the Alex Theater in Glendale, May 30.) The story is simple. James, a Scottish highlander, dreams of a magical, otherworldly creature, the Sylph, on the very day of his wedding to his beloved Effie. Suddenly incarnate, the Sylph lures James away from the wedding and into the forest. There, she inexplicably appears and disappears at will, always managing to stay just out of his grasp. James and the Sylph soon meet their destruction, however. James has deeply though mindlessly offended the witch Madge earlier during the wedding day. Now, seeking to bring his ideal Sylph into his arms, he drapes a veil he doesn’t know has been poisoned by Madge over the Sylph’s shoulders and winds it around her arms. The Sylph immediately loses her wings, comes to earth and quickly dies. James is stunned and collapses in grief. 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. Corina Gill was the poised, ethereal Sylph, balancing lightly and cleanly in high extensions. Her most arresting moments, however, came in her death scene, where she seemed to lose the power of sight as well as of flight. The other plum role, of course, is the evil Madge. She is first discovered cowering by James’ fire but is last seen towering triumphantly above his body. Why did she wreck such evil, so out of proportion to the original offense? Her answer is a drumming of her fingers on her chest. “I,” “I,” “I,” she gestures, because James offended her. 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. 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. In other roles, Grace McLoughlin danced Effie with sweet innocence. James Li was Gurn, James’ best friend, a naïf who winds up marrying Effie after James’ disappearance. (Peter Snow will take over the role in two of the three remaining performances.) Andrew Brader and Drew Grant were the friends. The corps, including the children, danced strongly. Melissa Barak, the First Sylph, gave notice of incipient major Sylph duties. The ballet, staged by co-artistic director Thordal Christensen, a former principal with the Royal Danish Ballet, was danced to pre-recorded music. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Symphony in C, which will re-premiere in October. Ms. Neary originally set this piece on the company in 2003. Colleen Neary is invited to Korea and Norway September 1, 2006 Company News from the Staff at LAB Symphony in C, which will re-premiere in October. Ms. Neary originally set this piece on the company in 2003. In October Ms. Neary will be working with the Norwegian National Ballet, also rehearsing Symphony in C, which will have its re-premiere in November, 2006. This will be the first time Ms.Neary has worked with the Norwegian National Ballet. Home / News / New Item

The final bill of Los Angeles Ballet's sixth season, “NextWave LA” is the company's annual new works program (known previously as “New Wave LA”), featuring area choreographers. Colony adds shine to Los Angeles Ballet's 'Next Wave LA' May 16, 2012 Los Angeles Times by Jean Lenihan The final bill of Los Angeles Ballet's sixth season, “NextWave LA” is the company's annual new works program (known previously as “New Wave LA”), featuring area choreographers. It’s where you can count on loud amplifiers, the shedding of tutus and hair clips, and the sight of the selfsame ballerina you saw comporting like a regal queen in “Swan Lake” or “The Nutcracker” now writhing in extreme throes. This year’s contemporary bill -- featuring premieres by TV veterans Sonya Tayeh and Stacey Tookey (“So You Think You Can Dance") plus established choreographers Josie Walsh and Kitty McNamee -- may feel to be even more of a stark and risky contrast than previous years since for the first time an L.A. Ballet season has offered only story ballets and no Balanchine. Besides smoothing the distance between classical serenity and stark abstraction, Balanchine ballets also deftly convey the rigorous design and rehearsal values that should bridge both worlds. Yet thanks to McNamee’s opener, a mature and mysterious Euro-style group work called “colony,” the company looks lustrous. The debut came Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center; the program moves next to Glendale’s Alex Theatre, then the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Set to Anna Clyne’s electronica and cello, “colony” features the metamorphoses of a mostly female brethren as one individualist (retiring dancer Kelly Ann Sloan) makes a break. Outfitted in Kanique Thomas’ ceremonial black coats and silhouetted in chill, harsh light by designer Ben Pilat, the group begins an eerie circling blizzard that morphs into many new geometries. McNamee’s ensemble pointe work here is mesmerizingly chilly -- inscribing arcs, measuring distances, the dancers’ precise feet move like the points and arms of drafting compasses. Meanwhile, the port de bras are kept minimalist and meaningful. Fresh and original, surely “colony” belongs in L.A. Ballet's permanent repertory, alongside Balanchine and Lar Lubovitch. Though well danced, sadly the bill falls off from here. Set to Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds, Tayeh’s “Duets in the act of...” features four obvious couples -- “cold desperation” (Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li), “artificial seduction” (Julia Cinquemani, Vincent S. Adams), “fleeting nostalgia” (Kate Highstrete, Nicolas de la Vega) and “false ego” (Allynne Noelle, Alexander Castillo). Fleeting moments when Tayeh layered the duos, suggesting links between the differing motivations, signaled the stronger piece that might have been. Josie Walsh’s “Sirens,” scored by her husband Paul Rivera Jr., is yet another retelling of the Odysseus myth of sailors battling watery enchantresses. Men cover their ears, shaking their heads; women bourrée en pointe with undulating arms. One expects the likes of Rihanna to emerge from a trap door to hasten “Sirens”’ to its end. The final work, “Be Still,” with choreography by Tookey to a score featuring Matthew Banks (Blue Man group) and Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, is a subtle, dynamic group piece about time that is currently overwhelmed by its emphatic, confusing design (again by Thomas and Pilat). Why a piece about time’s echoes and waves occurs in fringed two-piece suits -- with white-hot spotlights-- distracts to an impossible degree. “NextWave LA” Los Angeles Ballet, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Alex Theatre, Glendale; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. May 26, 2 p.m. May 27, the Broad Stage, Santa Monica. $30-$95. (310) 998-7782 or www.losangelesballet.org DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

In her capacity as a Répétiteur for The George Balanchine Trust, Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Director, Colleen Neary traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia to rehearse with The Kirov Colleen Neary Stages Balanchine at The Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg June 1, 2011 Company News from the Staff at LAB In her capacity as a Répétiteur for The George Balanchine Trust, Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Director, Colleen Neary traveled to Saint Petersburg, Russia to rehearse with The Kirov, now known as The Mariinsky Ballet, in June 2011. She worked with the company for 2 weeks on Balanchine's Ballet Imperial and Symphony in C which she staged for them in 2004 and 2008. The works were performed in the annual White Nights Festival, and on tour in London. This is Colleen's third trip to Saint Petersburg to work with the Mariinsky Ballet. Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles’ own professional ballet company will premiere Swan Lake, choreographed by the Artistic Directors, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Los Angeles Ballet Sixth Season to Feature Swan Lake August 11, 2011 LAB Public Relations 2011-2012 Season Kicks Off with The Nutcracker Carpenter and Valley Performing Arts Centers Added to Venue Line-up (Los Angeles, CA) Los Angeles Ballet Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary are pleased to announce LAB’s sixth season. Los Angeles’ own professional ballet company will premiere Swan Lake , choreographed by the Artistic Directors, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Continuing to reach out to new audiences, LAB will offer performances at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach and the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge for the very first time. Once again LAB will kick off its season with the Neary-Christensen choreographed production of The Nutcracker , the city's most enduring holiday tradition. Swan Lake, the company’s fourth full length ballet, (after The Nutcracker , La Sylphide , and Giselle ), will be presented in March 2012, and the 2011-2012 season will conclude in May with NextWave LA , featuring four World Premieres created specifically for LAB by Sonya Tayeh, Josie Walsh, and Stacey Tookey, and one other choreographer to be announced. “Our sixth season reflects LAB’s on-going commitment to celebrating classic ballet as well as showcasing exciting new choreography,” said Christensen. “We are particularly pleased to be extending our audience reach with performances of Swan Lake in Long Beach and Northridge.” “This season will also feature LAB’s first principal dancers, Allyssa Bross and Christopher Revels, and the return of many outstanding members of our company,” added Neary. “We continue to advance the quality of dancing, which is what enables us to present productions ranging from Swan Lake to Next Wave LA .” Los Angeles Ballet is also pleased to announce the formation of Young Professionals, a group of early to mid-career individuals who actively participate in the Los Angeles arts environment through support of Los Angeles Ballet. Young Professionals was launched on July 29th with a social mixer at the Duncan Miller Gallery in West LA. Attendees enjoyed an exhibit of Kim Weston’s new work based on his silver gelatin photographs of ballerinas. A number of LAB dancers were in attendance and a percentage of the gallery’s sales benefitted Los Angeles Ballet. LAB continues to build a repertoire that underscores the creative leadership of its artistic directors, presenting timeless classics as well as innovative choreography from today’s contemporary artists. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

In January and February of this year, Colleen Neary is traveling by invitation to Orlando, Florida to set George Balanchine’s Agon and stage his Serenade and Who Cares? for Orlando Ballet. Colleen Neary in Orlando January 31, 2007 Company News from the Staff at LAB In January and February of this year, Colleen Neary is traveling by invitation to Orlando, Florida to set George Balanchine’s Agon and stage his Serenade and Who Cares? for Orlando Ballet. Home / News / New Item

Guests came from the worlds of entertainment, finance, healthcare and other industries to a gala at the Bel-Air home of Stephanie Murray in support of Los Angeles Ballet. Supporting Los Angeles Ballet October 1, 2009 Company News from the Staff at LAB Guests came from the worlds of entertainment, finance, healthcare and other industries to a gala at the Bel-Air home of Stephanie Murray in support of Los Angeles Ballet. Guests enjoyed dinner in the garden and a performance of "The Evangelist," originally created for Neary and Christensen, and selections from the great choreographer George Balanchine. Home / News / New Item

Download this article The Curtain Rises for L.A. Ballet November 22, 2006 Palisadian-Post by Libby Motika Download this article DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet has grown to become a world-class ballet company known for its classical ballets, innovative performances and a repertory inspired by George Balanchine. Here, Colleen Neary takes us behind the scenes. Behind the Scenes of Los Angeles Ballet November 21, 2021 Dorchester Collection READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet Celebrates The Great Romantics for its Tenth Season with Productions of Giselle, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet 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

Nipper has had an admittedly stunted childhood. By age 5, he had enjoyed only the first halves of "Peter Pan," "Annie" and "Dr. Doolittle." The short set: baby's first 'Nutcracker' December 13, 2007 Los Angeles Times by Los Angeles Times Nipper has had an admittedly stunted childhood. By age 5, he had enjoyed only the first halves of "Peter Pan," "Annie" and "Dr. Doolittle." One day he'll discover there's more to these popular stage musicals, maybe learn a little something about closure, but during his fidgety post-toddler years I had no qualms about bursting into applause as the curtain came down for intermission, gleefully exclaiming, "Wasn't that great?!" and then hurrying both of us to the exit. But he's 6 now, so I decided it was time to test his limits with "The Nutcracker." We went with the Los Angeles Ballet, mounting its well-received "Nutcracker" (pictured) for the second year. Would we make it to intermission without the boredom squirmies? Was there a chance of seeing an actual ending? Between the youngsters in Victorian costumes, flamboyant Uncle Drosselmeyer and a lissome Clara, Nipper was transfixed until intermission. (Full disclosure: A scrumptious $2 brownie bridged the gap.) Act 2 held new wonderments, including a Mother Giger perched atop her movable gingerbread house like a cheery Bride of Frankenstein, and fine displays of athletic prowess by the Spanish, Arabian and Russian dancers. When Nipper finally witnessed his first true ending, he applauded like he was related to the Sugarplum Fairy. "I want to see it every year until I'm a skeleton" came his review from the back seat on the drive home. His favorite part? "The fight between the Mouse King and the Nutcracker." His least favorite part: "When it ended." On the car stereo came Emerson Lake & Palmer's overwrought, manic prog-rock version of the Nutcracker theme. Nipper was appalled. "Turn that off!" he ordered. "That's not what Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wanted us to hear!" Ilyich? Guess the kid is all grown up. For the Nutcracker mother lode, go to theguide.latimes.com. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

It’s all shiny and assured good news for Los Angeles Ballet — as well as the evolving character of Princess Aurora — in the lean, deftly satisfying production of “The Sleeping Beauty” that L.A. Ballet founders Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary have been debuting this winter in four different SoCal theaters. Los Angeles Ballet’s Notable “The Sleeping Beauty” March 2, 2015 artsjournal.com by Jean Lenihan It’s all shiny and assured good news for Los Angeles Ballet — as well as the evolving character of Princess Aurora — in the lean, deftly satisfying production of “The Sleeping Beauty” that L.A. Ballet founders Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary have been debuting this winter in four different SoCal theaters. The third concert in L.A.B.’s year-long Tchaikovsky Trilogy — “Swan Lake” and “Nutcracker” preceded it — this convincing after-Petipa “Sleeping Beauty” is both a great ticket and a heartwarming achievement in a city that is currently a century late in securing a lasting indigenous ballet company. Under Christensen and Neary, the 9-year-old Los Angeles Ballet operates on a crafty, 21st-century model — a sleek company of 37 or so travels with taped music bringing great Balanchine repertory and full-blown story ballets to audiences in their neighborhood theaters. The nomadism is certainly building unshakeable and sophisticated dancers as the years go by, as well as developing convivial, cozy audiences. Last weekend at the handsome Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge, the 2nd of four “Sleeping Beauty” tour stops, L.A.B.’s company principals comfortably nailed the deviously exposing Petipa feats — multiple turns, brutal balances, leaping jumps, fish dives, et al — while the audience’s relaxed energy organically grew to high enthusiasm. Together, it seemed, mutual energies heated over the 3-act ballet — exactly what should be happening for a young hometown team that’s proving to be a winner. Matching Tchaikovsky’s dreamy score with strong production values goes a long way to cue this fairy tale, and the opulent sets and costumes by David Walker, originally created for a 1977 Royal Ballet production, provide the right note of layered enchantment. Marbled halls and sylvan depths are unfurled, inhabited by a royal court plumed in white wigs and bejeweled velvets, celebrating the arrival of the royal princess. The fairies arrive to the christening in perfect dinner-plate tutus, quirky and courtly spell casters in an ever pleasing array of florals. Though there’s no sustained darkness in this production — the ensuing fights with evil, overlooked Carabosse (Colleen Neary) are settled quickly — the inventive flying-monkey henchman that support the angered fairy, along with Neary’s steely cursing pantomime, provides a successfully sharp and pointed dynamic (not unlike the later, fateful pinprick). After five or more seasons with the troupe, the core of featured principals on Saturday night — Allyssa Bross (Aurora), Allynne Noelle (Lilac Fairy) and Kenta Shimizu (Prince Désiré) — delivered a nucleus of dancing rigor that grounded and carried nearly-three-hours worth of ballet. Without the technical prowess and emotive fire of the two women, in particular, L.A.B’s cheery, streamlined version of the Sleeping Princess story might have looked thin. With their confident skills — Brosse playing up the fancy in a flicked wrist; Noelle using slow port de bras to convey healing benevolence — the simple scenarios were rendered as smart and elegant. The new little touches that Christensen and Neary built into the choreography, like a blind’s man bluff game elaborated with riding crops, are enjoyable, but it’s surely the bountiful evocation of traditional phrases that Neary and Christensen coached from both the principals and the terrific young ensemble dancers that linger in the memory. On Saturday, Brosse’s lilting Aurora hit every pivotal mark: gathering four blooms from her suitors in the famed Rose Adagio with perfect balance, as if we were watching all the blessings she’d received in infancy take flower inside of her. Raising her back leg more and more firmly in attitude as she went on, she was so elevated with power and success by the end that the fast little beat she delivered to her ankle before freezing into her final pose of the scene was like a hat toss in the air. At the next two theaters, the Alex Theatre in Glendale and UCLA’s Royce Hall, Alleynne Noelle and Julia Cinquemani will each take a turn as Aurora, and Brosse will perform as the Lilac Fairy. Shimizu is the only scheduled Prince. After watching this Tchaikovsky Trilogy year — a season of memorable, home-run principal performances in big ballets — audiences will surely, undoubtedly, start to cheer their favorite L.A.B. lead dancers loudly, right out the gate, by next year. The caliber of musicality and interpretation in this evolving company is so good, its starting to throw its taped musical accompaniment into sharp relief. What to tell the young German college student, paying his first-ever visit to Los Angeles, who walked beside me, sharing appreciative smiles for the show as we exited, who said: “This was very good — but excuse me for my question.” He paused with a quizzical expression. “Is there always taped music for this ballet?” “The Sleeping Beauty” continues at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday March 21 and Royce Hall, UCLA, on Saturday and Sunday March 28-29. For information and tickets:http://losangelesballet.org/. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item