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For all the opening-night jitters and imperfections, Los Angeles Ballet gave a credible, even moving, performance of “Giselle” on Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The essential Giselle experience remained intact: Love survives the grave, bestows forgiveness on an unworthy bad boy and transforms him into a decent human being. Los Angeles Ballet Dances 'Giselle' May 15, 2011 Los Angeles Times by Chris Pasles For all the opening-night jitters and imperfections, Los Angeles Ballet gave a credible, even moving, performance of “Giselle” on Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The essential Giselle experience remained intact: Love survives the grave, bestows forgiveness on an unworthy bad boy and transforms him into a decent human being. Hmm. Sounds like the plot of a movie or two, or a dozen. Giselle is a village girl courted by a prince disguised as a peasant. She falls in love with him, but when she finds out his identity -- and that he’s engaged to someone else -- she loses her mind and dies. End of ballet? Not by a long shot. In Act 2, she appears as a spirit newly enrolled in the ranks of the Wilis, night creatures that wreak vengeance on perjured suitors. Giselle resists her new duties and saves her prince. Allyssa Bross danced the title role with appealing sweetness and vulnerability. She made her mad scene nuanced and sparked with creepiness, and if she had some unsteadiness in her ghostly extended balances, she more than compensated elsewhere with poise. Giselle’s character is straightforward, but that of Prince Albrecht is ambiguous. Is he merely dallying, really in love, torn between court and country? Unfortunately, Christopher Revels gave no clear take on the prince’s motives, although his repentance and sense of loss at the end looked genuine. Revels danced with princely bearing, partnered with consideration, and executed his second act marathon challenges with strength, though he looked more on the edge of real rather than dramatic exhaustion. 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. Kate Highstrete made Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, an other-worldly creature of pitiless steel. The Peasant Pas de Deux was danced by Allynne Noelle and Zheng Hua Li (who alternates in the role of Prince Albrecht). Noelle was sunny and graceful. Li had crisp, flashing legwork, but tended to land badly. The corps looked well-schooled, although earthbound. The company danced to pre-recorded music. The production was from the Louisville Ballet. Ben Pilat provided the dramatic lighting. L.A. Ballet company co-director Thordal Christensen tweaked the traditional Coralli-Perrot-Petipa choreography, cutting some virtuosic demands, adding some mime, and inventing a poor couple who provide their cottage as the prince’s local digs. Christensen’s wife and company co-director, Colleen Neary, enacted Giselle’s mother, Berthe, with fuss and worry. With this touchstone Romantic ballet, LAB closes its fifth season with a stronger than ever claim for community support. Performances continue Saturday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and the following weekend at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary announced the promotion of Zheng Hua Li to Principal Dancer and the promotion of Bianca Bulle, Alexander Castillo, Julia Cinquemani, and Chelsea Paige Johnston to Soloists. Five Dancers Promoted March 7, 2013 LAB Public Relations Los Angeles Ballet annnounces the promotion of five dances featured in the three-month Balanchine Festival beginning March 9, 2013 Los Angeles Ballet artistic directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary announced the promotion of Zheng Hua Li to Principal Dancer and the promotion of Bianca Bulle, Alexander Castillo, Julia Cinquemani, and Chelsea Paige Johnston to Soloists. All five dancers will be featured in Balanchine Festival GOLD, opening Sat., March 9, 2013, and Balanchine Festival RED, opening Sat., May 11, 2013. Each program will be performed at Los Angeles Ballet’s five home theaters: Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Royce Hall/UCLA, Valley Performing Arts Center, Alex Theatre, and Carpenter Performing Arts Center. Zheng Hua Li was born and trained in Shen Yang, China. He danced with Guangzhou Ballet before joining Los Angeles Ballet. This is his fourth season with Los Angeles Ballet. During the upcoming Balanchine Festival GOLD, Mr. Li will dance the Poet in La Sonnambula and the lead in Phlegmatic in The Four Temperaments. Since joining LAB, Mr. Li has danced featured roles including the Cavalier in The Nutcracker, the Pas de Trois in Swan Lake and danced in LAB’s world premiere programs NewWaveLA and NextWaveLA in choreography by Sonya Tayeh, Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, and Stacy Tookey. Li joins current principal dancers Allyssa Bross, Allynne Noelle, Christopher Revels and Kenta Shimizu. Bianca Bulle was born in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia where she trained at Ransley Ballet and Dance Centre before training at New York’s School of American Ballet. This is her second season with Los Angeles Ballet. During Balanchine Festival GOLD Ms. Bulle will dance the second lead (2nd Violin) in Concerto Barocco, and Second Theme in The Four Temperaments. Ms. Bulle has danced featured roles in The Nutcracker including Rose in Waltz of the Flowers and Marie (Sugar Plum Fairy), as well as in LAB’s world premiere program NextWaveLA in choreography by Kitty McNamee and Josie Walsh. Alexander Castillo was born in Bayside, New York and trained at Ballet Academy East, Boston Ballet, and School of American Ballet. This is Mr. Castillo’s third season with Los Angeles Ballet. During Balanchine Festival GOLD Mr. Castillo will dance the male lead in Concerto Barocco and Third Theme in The Four Temperaments. He has been featured in the Arabian dance in The Nutcracker, and the Pas de Trois in Swan Lake, as well in LAB’s world premiere program NextWaveLA in choreography by Sonya Tayeh and Stacey Tookey. Julia Cinquemani was born in Dallas, Texas and trained at the Dallas Ballet Center, Pacific Northwest Ballet and School of American Ballet. This is her third season with Los Angeles Ballet. During Balanchine Festival GOLD, Ms. Cinquemani will dance Third Theme in The Four Temperaments and the lead (1st Violin) in Concerto Barocco. Ms. Cinquemani has been featured in the Pas de Trois and the Russian dance in Swan Lake, as the Arabian and Marie (Sugar Plum) in The Nutcracker, as well as in LAB’s world premieres program NextWaveLA in choreography by Sonya Tayeh and Josie Walsh. Chelsea Paige Johnston was born in Carlsbad, California and trained with San Elijo Dance and Music Academy, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School and UC Irvine. She danced with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Milwaukee Ballet II before joining Los Angeles Ballet. This is her fourth season with Los Angeles Ballet. During Balanchine Festival GOLD, Ms. Johnston will dance The Sleepwalker in La Sonnambula. Since joining Los Angeles Ballet she has danced the title role in Giselle, the Russian dance in Swan Lake, Marie (Sugar Plum) in The Nutcracker, and was featured in LAB’s world premiere programs NewWaveLA and NextWaveLA in choreography by Mandy Moore, Travis Wall, Kitty McNamee, and Josie Walsh. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Still, it seemed some local dance fans remained wary of the new company, which had adopted the same moniker as so many other upstarts that showed promise, but quickly fizzled out. BCBGMAXAZRIA and Los Angeles Ballet Partner for an Exclusive Event December 30, 2010 Company News from the Staff at LAB Allyssa Bross danced the title role with appealing sweetness and vulnerability. She made her mad scene nuanced and sparked with creepiness, and if she had some unsteadiness in her ghostly extended balances, she more than compensated elsewhere with poise. Home / News / New Item

The mission of LABG is to provide a vital link between Los Angeles Ballet, its artistic and executive leadership, its board of directors, and the Southern California community. Los Angeles Ballet announces the formation of the Los Angeles Ballet Guild September 1, 2009 Company News from the Staff at LAB The mission of LABG is to provide a vital link between Los Angeles Ballet, its artistic and executive leadership, its board of directors, and the Southern California community. It exists to support the mission of Los Angeles Ballet and provide the necessary assistance to organize all performances. Through its activities and fundraising, the Guild is by nature philanthropic, creative, entrepreneurial, and industrious. LABG is the major support group of LAB. Home / News / New Item

For dance-world insiders, it may not come as a surprise that the company is flourishing. LAB's husband-and-wife artistic directors and cofounders, Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, are both former principal dancers and veteran balet instructors (and, in Christensen's case, artistic director) with decades of experience at some of the most venerated ballet companies in the world. Los Angeles Ballet Presents 'Giselle' May 26, 2011 CultureSpotLA by Penny Orloff For dance-world insiders, it may not come as a surprise that the company is flourishing. LAB's husband-and-wife artistic directors and cofounders, Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, are both former principal dancers and veteran balet instructors (and, in Christensen's case, artistic director) with decades of experience at some of the most venerated ballet companies in the world. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet's first Spring Gala, hosted by LAB Board member Vicki Neuman, was a bright, elegant and rewarding evening. Spring Gala for Los Angeles Ballet April 1, 2007 Company News from the Staff at LAB Los Angeles Ballet's first Spring Gala, hosted by LAB Board member Vicki Neuman, was a bright, elegant and rewarding evening. The event included a silent auction, dinner, and performances of Napoli and Agon by Los Angeles Ballet dancers Corina Gill, Oleg Gorboulev, Erica Bandy, Kelly Ann Sloan, Erin Rivera-Brennand, and Peter Snow. Funds raised at this event support Los Angeles Ballet and its future performances. Home / News / New Item

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. 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. Home / News / New Item

On Wednesday the Los Angeles Ballet announced that its Board of Directors has appointed dancer and choreographer Melissa Barak as the company’s artistic director. For the first time, Los Angeles Ballet will have one artistic director: Melissa Barak August 24, 2022 Los Angeles Times Jessica Gelt READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Read the full article. Visions of Nutcrackers November 23, 2006 Los Angeles Daily News by Vicki Smith Paluch READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary present classical and contemporary productions and honor the legacies of August Bournonville and George Balanchine for LAB’s eleventh season. 11th Season Opening September 1, 2016 LAB Public Relations Productions include Modernists/Ballet Visionaries, The Nutcracker and Balanchine/Master of the Dance Pre-performance Discussions to enhance the Season Los Angeles, September 7, 2016 - Los Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary present classical and contemporary productions and honor the legacies of August Bournonville and George Balanchine for LAB’s eleventh season. 2016-2017 includes two mixed bill programs, Modernists/Ballet Visionaries and Balanchine/Master of the Dance , and of course the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker . Season 11 will also reintroduce pre-performance discussions, hosted by LAB’s Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary and their guests (at select performances). After a history-making tenth season that included Los Angeles Ballet being the first American company to present famed choreographer’s Frederick Ashton’s Romeo and Juliet , plus sold-out productions and critical acclaim, Los Angeles Ballet’s eleventh season celebrates the masters, and introduces LA to a new choreographer that is changing the dance landscape. LAB opens the season with Modernists/Ballet Visionaries (October 2016) featuring works of three icons of their time: August Bournonville, 1805-79, creator of the Danish Bournonville style of ballet, still vibrant today; George Balanchine, 1904-82, Master choreographer who transformed American dance and created modern American ballet; Aszure Barton, contemporary choreographer who is leading ballet into rich, new territory. The program includes Bournonville’s Napoli Pas de Six and Tarantella , Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto and the Los Angeles Ballet Premiere of Barton’s Untouched (2010) . LAB has a strong history with Bournonville and Balanchine - Christensen is the only artistic director (and dancer) in Los Angeles who is an authority on the Bournonville style, and 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. The holidays welcome back LAB’s popular The Nutcracker (December 2016), set in 1913 Los Angeles. This year LAB offers special Christmas Eve matinees, providing more opportunities to see this family favorite and to enjoy Tchaikovsky’s beloved music. To close the season, Los Angeles Ballet presents Balanchine/Master of the Dance (March 2017). In a Los Angeles Ballet premiere Balanchine captures Mozart in the crystalline Divertimento No. 15 . The program also includes the hauntingly beautiful Prodigal Son (Prokofiev) and the playful Who Cares? (Gershwin). “We are proud to present such a diverse program this season,” said Christensen and Neary, LAB’s Co- Artistic Directors. “With masters Balanchine and Bournonville, the holiday favorite The Nutcracker , and introducing our audience to Barton, a contemporary choreographer, we offer a smorgasbord of delights.” 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, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, and the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. 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 ten seasons, presenting 32 productions encompassing 54 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

Dancers who were new to every role gave the challenging three-part program by Los Angeles Ballet on Saturday the thrills of a high-wire act without a net. Would anyone fall? Balanchine Casts a Spell March 13, 2017 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Dancers who were new to every role gave the challenging three-part program by Los Angeles Ballet on Saturday the thrills of a high-wire act without a net. Would anyone fall? (Yes, once.) Would anyone succeed brilliantly? (Yes, more than once.) Emergency casting added another edge to the experience at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. An injury to principal dancer Allyssa Bross caused the company to fly in Lia Cirio to take on major roles in two ballets. A principal with Boston Ballet, Cirio not only displayed refined technique but an ability to give herself to the music that took you deeply into the choreography. Since all of the choreography was created by George Balanchine, the stakes were high indeed. It was a shrewd programming ploy to include on the same bill Balanchine’s 1956 “Divertimento No. 15” and his 1970 “Who Cares?” Though radically different in style, these plotless showpieces share structural similarities and, especially, a string of complex, effervescent women’s solos. “Divertimento” is danced to Mozart and seems to belong in an 18th-century royal court; “Who Cares?” is danced to Gershwin and seems to belong on a 20th-century Broadway stage. Cirio appeared perfectly at home in both environments — as did the regal Bianca Bulle and the lyrical Julia Cinquemani. A company premiere, “Divertimento” will need more performances to erase the sense of strain periodically evident on Saturday. But Madison McDonough brought ease and refinement to some exceptionally difficult steps in her variation. What’s more, the staging by company co-director Colleen Neary kept the fabled musicality of the ballet firmly in focus. Although the company has programmed “Who Cares?” before, the new cast and Neary’s staging enforced elegance as well as pizzazz. As the resident dreamboat wooing all the principal women, Tigran Sargsyan was clearly working through some of the intricate partnering issues, but eventually his remarkable generosity as a dancer came into view. He had a tough night: Along with Kenta Shimizu and Dustin True, he also danced strongly in “Divertimento” and “Prodigal Son.” True’s stellar breakthrough came earlier this season in “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” and on Saturday his cautious diligence occasionally yielded to moments where he again really inhabited the choreography and made it personal. As for Shimizu, he remained faultless as a cavalier in “Divertimento” (no surprise there) but displayed unexpected dramatic powers in the title role of “Prodigal Son.” Impeccably staged by Patricia Neary (Colleen Neary’s sister), this 1929 story ballet set to music by Prokofiev had a cohesion and surety on Saturday that made you relax and fall under its spell. Debut performances? Who could guess, when Shimizu claimed the role at full intensity? There’s a dimension of ironic comedy here that remains to be discovered — and perhaps Shimizu externalized the character’s pain too overtly in the final scene. But his interaction with the impossibly glamorous Elizabeth Claire Walker as the Siren overcame a minefield of technical hazards with no loss to his character’s helpless confusion or her over-the-top hauteur. The seductive, greedy Siren was always as much a living cliché as the stern but forgiving Father (Zheng Hua Li). But Balanchine used these stereotypes to define in the shortest possible time the prodigal’s all-too-human arc from rebellion to contrition. And the dancers exploited their opportunities skillfully. In the 1920s, the Russian ballet world considered Balanchine a radical, and “Prodigal Son” has plenty of evidence: experimental gymnastics, realistic pantomime, bizarre character dancing and plenty of sex. The academic classical vocabulary for which he’s celebrated can be found if you look for it, but a couple years shy of its 90th birthday, the work still looks newly minted — and now one of the great Los Angeles Ballet triumphs. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Los Angeles Ballet’s ‘Balanchine — Master of the Dance’ When: 7:30 p.m. March 18 at Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach. Also 2 p.m. March 26 at Royce Hall, UCLA, 340 Royce Drive Tickets: $31-$99 Information: (310) 998-7782, www.losangelesballet.org Follow The Times’ arts team @culturemonster. ALSO Spring preview: What to see in dance, theater, art, classical and more Alvin Ailey translates MLK speeches into dance 'Runway' finalist’s costumes create character for Jessica Lang Dance Movement as bleak theater, with some terrific Pharrell music too READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Ballet in Los Angeles has had a rocky history. Marred by countless false starts, the city's classical dance scene has historically had trouble supporting a to-tier professional troupe-promoting iconic director/choreographer George Balanchine to famously proclaim there was "no hope" for ballet in L.A. Hottest Ticket: On Their Toes Los Angeles Ballet...Pirouetting its Way to Top Honors December 1, 2011 LA Confidential by Emili Vesilind Ballet in Los Angeles has had a rocky history. Marred by countless false starts, the City's classical dance scene has historically had trouble supporting a to-tier professional troupe-promoting iconic director/choreographer George Balachine to famously proclaim there was "no hope" for ballet in L.A. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item