Choreography by Christensen/Neary, Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Home / Video Gallery / Video The Nutcracker 2019 Choreography by Christensen/Neary, Music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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. Home / News / New Item 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

Los Angeles Ballet aimed high with the final program of its inaugural season. In the first of four Southland performances, the company danced three masterworks by George Balanchine at UCLA's Freud Playhouse on Thursday. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Braves the Balanchine Test May 26, 2007 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Los Angeles Ballet aimed high with the final program of its inaugural season. In the first of four Southland performances, the company danced three masterworks by George Balanchine at UCLA's Freud Playhouse on Thursday. There's no place to hide in this repertory — you can't charm or fake your way through the steps. And everyone would notice if you tried. Familiar to local ballet audiences, "Apollo," "Serenade" and "Rubies" each requires a different attack — a different mediation between technical and expressive challenges — and many of the dancers on view were new to their roles. Inevitably, the results proved imperfect, but also entertaining, instructive, even redemptive. Certainly Colleen Neary's authoritative staging of "Apollo" made a stronger case for this historic 1928 collaboration between Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky than the wrongheaded, cutesy-poo Joffrey Ballet production recently danced at the Music Center. Oleg Gorboulev hadn't yet pulled together all the facets of the title role on Thursday, but his nobility of bearing and partnering skills sustained him even when interpretive issues became unfocused. Melissa Barak and Erin Rivera-Brennand easily outclassed their Joffrey counterparts as Polyhymnia and Calliope — and, as Terpsichore, Corina Gill scored the first of her two Balanchine/Stravinsky triumphs on Thursday. In staging Balanchine, Neary has to decide which versions of the choreography to adopt, sometimes opting to include passages that Balanchine deleted late in his lifetime (the birth scene in "Apollo," for example), but elsewhere incorporating the revisions he made (as in "Serenade"). Her sense of the dynamic contrasts within a work always yield maximum interest — the playoff between sharp footwork and floating arms in the crucial "Serenade" corps passages being especially artful. This 1935 creation to music by Tchaikovsky also benefited from Lauren Toole's varied, sympathetic portrayal of the central ballerina in distress — yearning for a connection with Gorboulev but preempted by the mysterious Elizabeth Claire Walker. Dancing a buoyant interlude with the technically accomplished guest artist Brooklyn Mack, the fleet, vibrant Kelly Ann Sloan offered further evidence of the company's careful casting and coaching. The playful virtuosity of "Rubies" (more Balanchine/Stravinsky, this time from 1967) found Toole a little too passive as a kind of classical showgirl but Gill positively radiant, untroubled by every hazard in the galvanic pas de deux and solos. Opposite her, Sergey Kheylik again demonstrated his ability to turn choreography into a passionate personal statement, a spontaneous act of affirmation. Sometimes the outcome can look impossibly willful — ragamuffin neoclassicism in this case. But it's never unsure or half-hearted, even when he ends the ballet and the whole evening one count behind everyone else. After the final repeat of this program on June 2, Los Angeles Ballet has scheduled no more performances until "Nutcracker" time nearly half a year from now. Plans for 2008 are pending. This first season has clearly been a learning experience for artistic directors Neary and her husband, Thordal Christensen. The number of performances was cut back from initial announcements, live music abandoned in favor of tape and the use of guest dancers curtailed. But Neary and Christensen delivered consistently fine dancing on every program, with the corps and the principals always matched stylistically (a virtue often missing in long-established, star-laden companies) and the prowess of leads such as Gill, Barak and Gorboulev something to cheer about. They've proved that they can give Los Angeles a classical company worth supporting in its growth from an underfunded 31- dancer ensemble offering sporadic performances to the kind of large-scale, year-round institutions that are the source of local pride in cities such as Houston, Boston, Seattle, Miami and San Francisco. They've done their job and so have the dancers. The rest is up to Los Angeles itself. lewis.segal@latimes.com DOWNLOAD PDF

La Sylphide 2014 Balanchine / Tchaikovsky Ulrik Birkkjaer & Allynne Noelle LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary, Ashley Millar & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle, Ulrik Birkkjaer & LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allynne Noelle & Ulrik Birkkjaer Allyssa Bross, Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary Ulrik Birkkjaer & Allynne Noelle LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary, Ashley Millar & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle, Ulrik Birkkjaer & LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allynne Noelle & Ulrik Birkkjaer Allyssa Bross, Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary Ulrik Birkkjaer & Allynne Noelle LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary, Ashley Millar & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle, Ulrik Birkkjaer & LAB Ensemble Allyssa Bross & Kenta Shimizu Allynne Noelle & Ulrik Birkkjaer Allyssa Bross, Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Colleen Neary Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

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

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Los Angeles Ballet offers two subscription opportunities for the 2021/2022 Season: Full-Season Subscription and Choose-2 Subscription. Patrons receive the best pricing and best seating of the Season offered before single tickets are on-sale. Become a Subscriber / DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE Become a Subscriber Thank you for your request to Subscribe to the 2026/2027 Season. Please provide the following information and the Los Angeles Ballet Box Office will contact you to assist you with your Subscription details. Please select the Subscription Included a ticket to The Nutcracker, Bloom and The Sleeping Beauty First Name Last Name Email Phone Number Address Choose 2 Subscription Select Bloom The Sleeping Beauty What Section of the House are you interested in?  Section A – Center Orchestra Section B – Front Orchestra, Prime Balcony Section C – Main Orchestra, Balcony Circle Section D – Orchestra Ring, Balcony Center Section E – Balcony Side, Rear Balcony, Rear Orchestra Undecided Number of Adults Number of Children Please include any additional information and any special accommodations such as wheelchair seating. SUBMIT Full Season Subscription

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? Home / News / New Item 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

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.

Select your Serie subscription and enjoy all the benefits of being a Los Angeles Ballet Subscriber. Select Your Serie / Select Your Serie (Available Shortly) Select Subscription Type Select Venue Refresh Filter Series A S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec. 1, 2023 – 8:00 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Next Steps Mar. 22, 2024 – 7:30 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 11, 2024 – 7:30 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Series B S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec. 2, 2023 – 6:00 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Next Steps Mar. 23, 2024 – 7:30 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 11, 2024 – 7:30 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Series C S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec. 9, 2023 – 5 PM Royce Hall Next Steps Mar. 23, 2024 – 7:30 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade June 1, 2024 – 7:30 PM Royce Hall Series D S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 16, 2023 – 5:00 PM Redondo Beach PAC Next Steps Mar 23, 2024 – 7:30 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 25, 2024 – 7:30 PM Redondo Beach PAC Series E S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec. 23, 2023 – 7:30 PM Dolby Theatre * Next Steps Mar. 23, 2024 – 7:30 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 11, 2024 – 7:30 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Series F S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 3, 2023 – 2 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Next Steps Mar 24, 2024 – 2 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May, 12 2024 – 2 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Series G S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 9, 2023 – 12 PM Royce Hall Next Steps Mar 23, 2024 – 2 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade Jun 1, 2024 – 2 PM Royce Hall Series H S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 16, 2023 – 12 PM Redondo Beach PAC Next Steps Mar 23, 2024 – 2 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 25, 2024 – 2 PM Redondo Beach PAC Series I S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 23, 2023 – 2 PM Dolby Theatre * Next Steps Mar 23, 2024 – 2 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 11, 2024 – 2 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium Series J S E L E C T The Nutcracker Dec 24, 2023 – 2 PM Dolby Theatre * Next Steps Mar 24, 2024 – 2 PM The Broad Stage Firebird & Serenade May 12, 2024 – 2 PM Pasadena Civic Auditorium

Quartet 2014 Return to a Strange Land – Kylián / Janácek, Beneath One's Dignity – Tayeh / Sigurðsson, Cipher – Stowell / Agruss,Stars and Stripes – Balanchine / Kay after Sousa Allynne Noelle, Christopher Revels & Alexander Castillo Allynne Noelle & Alexander Castillo Allynne Noelle & Alexander Castillo Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Julia Cinquemani, Kate Highstrete, Chelsea Paige Johnston, Alyssa Bross & Bianca Bulle LAB Ensemble Chelsea Paige Johnston, Alexander Castillo & Zheng Hua Li Alexander Castillo & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle & Dustin True Allynne Noelle & Dustin True Chloe Sherman & Robert Mulvey Julia Cinquemani & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani Bianca Bulle Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross, Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle, Christopher Revels & Alexander Castillo Allynne Noelle & Alexander Castillo Allynne Noelle & Alexander Castillo Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Allyssa Bross, Zheng Hua Li & Dustin True Julia Cinquemani, Kate Highstrete, Chelsea Paige Johnston, Alyssa Bross & Bianca Bulle LAB Ensemble Chelsea Paige Johnston, Alexander Castillo & Zheng Hua Li Alexander Castillo & LAB Ensemble Allynne Noelle & Dustin True Allynne Noelle & Dustin True Chloe Sherman & Robert Mulvey Julia Cinquemani & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani Bianca Bulle Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu Kenta Shimizu Allyssa Bross, Kenta Shimizu & LAB Ensemble Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery