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This page will list the various auditions and job openings that the Los Angeles Ballet hosts and has available. Employment Home / Employment / Major Gifts Officer DOWNLOAD JOB DETAILS Director of Development DOWNLOAD JOB DETAILS Open Positions Click to view details. Director of Development DOWNLOAD JOB DETAILS Audition Guidelines The audition submission should begin with a short technical demonstration at the barre and center. At the barre the student must include plies, tendues, ronde de jambe, passé and adagio developpe en croix. In the center the dancers must include adagio, pirouettes, petite and grand allegro. Please also include a classical variation, (on pointe for women) one to two minutes in length. If the dancer does not have a variation prepared, please include a pointe combination for ladies and a combination with jumps (both double tour en l’air and saut de basque) for men. A contemporary solo may also be submitted, but is not a requirement Girls should wear a black leotard and either pink ballet shoes with pink tights or flesh-toned ballet shoes and tights. Boys should wear tights, shoes, and a fitted shirt light-colored preferably in a light color (white or grey) or contrasting color to the surrounding environment. Please no warm-ups, skirts, or baggy clothing. LOS ANGELES BALLET Repertoire Learn about the comprehensive and varied seasons of Los Angeles Ballet since its debut in 2006. Repertoire includes stunning classical ballets, exceptional stagings of Balanchine repertory, and relevant works by many of today’s most innovative dance-makers. VIEW REPERTOIRE 2024/2025 SEASON Dancers Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. Learn about each of LAB’s dance artists. LEARN MORE

The Nutcracker 2016 SarahAnne Perel, Zheng Hua Li & LAB Ensemble SarahAnne Perel & Javier Moya Romero Bianca Bulle, Dustin True & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani Joshua Brown SarahAnne Perel Elizabeth Claire Walker & LAB Ensemble Robert Mulvey, Jeongkon Kim & Samuel Akins Julia Cinquemani & Tigran Sargsyan Allyssa Bross & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu SarahAnne Perel, Zheng Hua Li & LAB Ensemble SarahAnne Perel & Javier Moya Romero Bianca Bulle, Dustin True & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani Joshua Brown SarahAnne Perel Elizabeth Claire Walker & LAB Ensemble Robert Mulvey, Jeongkon Kim & Samuel Akins Julia Cinquemani & Tigran Sargsyan Allyssa Bross & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu SarahAnne Perel, Zheng Hua Li & LAB Ensemble SarahAnne Perel & Javier Moya Romero Bianca Bulle, Dustin True & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani Joshua Brown SarahAnne Perel Elizabeth Claire Walker & LAB Ensemble Robert Mulvey, Jeongkon Kim & Samuel Akins Julia Cinquemani & Tigran Sargsyan Allyssa Bross & LAB Ensemble Julia Cinquemani & Kenta Shimizu Who Cares? – Balanchine / Gershwin Previous Gallery Next Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation.

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Despite a rocky arts landscape, Los Angeles Ballet has managed to not only survive but also prosper. What’s needed now is more attention from the local community to this admirable, and creative, company. Commentary: Los Angeles Ballet on upswing in its fifth year December 5, 2010 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Despite a rocky arts landscape, Los Angeles Ballet has managed to not only survive but also prosper. What’s needed now is more attention from the local community to this admirable, and creative, company. Congratulations are in order — and maybe a sigh of relief. With its “Nutcracker” performances this weekend at the Alex Theatre in Glendale (plus repeats through the month in two other Southland venues), Los Angeles Ballet entered its fifth season as a resident professional company. Season 5 and counting: not exactly a golden anniversary but definitely a hard-won benchmark. It’s been a turbulent demi-decade for all arts organizations, one in which long-established companies such as Orange County’s Ballet Pacifica vanished from the landscape. And that was before the recession took its toll in radically diminished institutional and governmental funding for the arts. But Los Angeles Ballet hasn’t merely survived for five seasons; it’s increased the operating budget some 80%, from $900,000 in 2006-07 to $1,624,000 in 2010-11. And there are other signs of growth: increased ticket sales (up 12% last season), a new school and company center in West Los Angeles, a reconstituted board of directors, expanded support staff and audience development activities. So celebration is justified, but not complacency. After all, John Clifford’s attempt at a company of the same name in the 1970s existed for more than 10 years before it folded: a casualty of consistently under-rehearsed dancing, relentlessly mediocre home-grown choreography and the erosion of its support base. In contrast, the dancing in the new, millennial Los Angeles Ballet has always been meticulously professional and the new choreography varied and often exciting — though you can’t really measure the quality of any company from its “Nutcracker.” Clifford, however, had a knack for making his troupe seem omnipresent, a major player in local dance, while the excellences of the new company have achieved little impact or even visibility on the L.A. arts scene. Yes, it appeared as a guest on the popular “So You Think You Can Dance” reality show. And it publicized its “Nutcracker” by offering tickets on the Groupon discount site. But such innovations produced no buzz in the local community. And if you looked at the winners of the annual Lester Horton Dance Awards — an index of peer-group recognition in Southland dance — you’d scarcely know Los Angeles Ballet existed. Yet season after season, the company gives admirable performances of challenging neoclassical masterworks by George Balanchine, staged by co-artistic director Colleen Neary. The rep this March includes two highly accessible Balanchine staples: “Raymonda Variations” and “Western Symphony,” the first a tribute to the choreographer’s imperial Russian heritage, the second an expression of his enjoyment of the cowboy culture in his adopted homeland. But Balanchine isn’t the company’s sole choreographic asset. Indeed, co-artistic director Thordal Christensen’s 2009 staging of August Bournonville’s full-length “La Sylphide” easily outclassed the badly deteriorated American Ballet Theatre version and the crude approximation by the Bolshoi Ballet. The company’s first attempt at a genuine 19th century story ballet, it proved conclusively that Los Angeles Ballet can switch styles with no loss of authority. On the schedule for May: “Giselle,” another foray into the Romantic era, which Christensen previously staged for the Royal Danish Ballet. Creative partners A husband-and-wife team, Christensen and Neary danced, respectively, in Bournonville’s and Balanchine’s home companies along with other national and international ensembles. Besides their expertise on stage and in the studio, they have explored business strategies that initially seemed promising but sometimes proved counterproductive. Wisely, they quickly abandoned the notion of making Los Angeles Ballet a backup ensemble for guest stars, a practice that sells tickets but generates no company loyalty. However, their very brief repertory seasons (typically four performances) leave dancers little time to develop a personal spin on roles — to own them by an individual interpretation. So the performances often look strongly cast, coached and executed but not indelible. Worse, the directors have divided those seasons into weekend engagements in Westwood, Glendale, Redondo Beach and sometimes Santa Monica, which requires everyone to remain rehearsed at maximum firepower for nearly a month with only a performance or two in each venue as payoff. The concept of touring greater L.A. is sound in terms of audience development, for virtually every poll says that the public doesn’t want to travel more than half an hour to cultural events. But the strain on the dancers has caused Los Angeles Ballet to lose some of its most distinctive soloists to companies with longer seasons. And high-profile principals are a major reason that people keep coming back to ballet. Christensen and Neary have also had to contend with the very daunting conditions of sustaining art in Southern California — a place famed for welcoming every kind of creative expression without supporting anything for long. As far as ballet is concerned, the Los Angeles audience is highly isolated, almost never seeing the reigning international stars and classical companies that appear regularly down the 405 on the well-subsidized dance series at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. As a result, American Ballet Theatre has become the sole standard-bearer for the ballet audience in L.A., though, ironically, the company’s reputation in New York largely depends on those very same international stars who are seldom booked for its engagements at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. As the insular, old-guard ballet audience here ages and shrinks, only ABT and ABT offshoots turn up regularly on the Music Center’s classical lineup — and then only for split weeks — while widely acclaimed (and arguably better) companies such as San Francisco Ballet are increasingly unseen or undersold. So where does that leave the newbies? With a clean slate, that’s where. To survive, Christensen and Neary must build an audience from scratch — not just for Los Angeles Ballet but for the art in general — an audience that knows what it’s seeing and will still be around by the time the company celebrates its next five-year benchmark. In the works In February, the directors are scheduled to present a plan for the future to their board. A draft of that plan reveals projected budget increases that should reach $2,460,848 by the 2015-16 season. “Swan Lake” is penciled in for Season 6 or 7, and the recently inaugurated Choreographic Workshop — in which local dance-makers created works for the company — will become an annual event. A season of five productions instead of the current three will expand the dancers’ 24-week period of employment. Additional venues (Pasadena? Northridge? Orange County?) are also under consideration. But live music is not on the horizon, according to executive director Julie Whittaker (much too costly), and all this hoped-for growth will take place in an economy that experts warn may languish through the company’s 10th anniversary and beyond. Caution is warranted, but so is pride. A company founded with the highest possible standards at the worst possible time is not only news, it’s inspiring. Christensen and Neary took a chance on Los Angeles and produced the kind of art that helps us get through times like these. Isn’t it high time that Los Angeles stops ignoring the evidence and takes a chance on them? Formerly the dance critic at The Times, Segal is a freelance arts writer based in Hollywood and Barcelona. calendar@latimes.com Copyright © 2010, Los Angeles Times DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary’s, wonderfully refreshing Los Angeles Ballet opened their 2018/19 season at the Alex Theatre on Saturday, October 6, with the prolific and brilliant Aszure Barton’s Les Chambres des Jacques. A Wonderfully Refreshing Los Angeles Ballet Performs at The Alex Theatre October 10, 2018 LA Dance Chronicle by Joanne DiVito Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary’s, wonderfully refreshing Los Angeles Ballet opened their 2018/19 season at the Alex Theatre on Saturday, October 6, with the prolific and brilliant Aszure Barton’s Les Chambres des Jacques . Barton is an eclectic inventive artist and choreographic activist, who in this piece combines Québécois folk rhythms and voice of Gilles Vigneault, and Les Yeux Noire, which were then soothed with the lush beauty of Vivaldi, and the humanity of the Cracow Klezmer Band. The cadences and pulse-like heartbeat, so beautifully executed by the now seasoned dancers of Los Angeles Ballet, was not only splendidly performed but enchanting to experience. The intelligent and courageous leadership of Christensen and Neary, L.A. Ballet’s Artistic Directors, and Julie Whittaker, Executive Director, is insistent that Los Angeles have their own ballet company…and succeed they have, as was revealed on Saturday. Tobin Del Cuore staged Barton’s signature choreography with devotional zeal, making sure, as Barton would, that every part of the body was addressed down to the eyes, face, mouth, and fingers. The breadth of the work was eloquently executed by the dancers Joshua Brown, Laura Chachich, Magnus Christoffersen, Dallas Finley, Madeline Houk, Leah McCall, Costache Mihai, Jasmine Perry; with special mention of Clay Murray’s surprising, wonderfully loose and rhythmic opening that mesmerized the audience with dance which came deeply from inside him. Another highlight was the wonderful pas de quatre, danced by Petra Conti, Tigran Sargsyan, Bianca Bulle, and Kenta Shimizu which delighted us with their unusual playfulness that moved shoulders, hips and bodies rolling together and apart with unanticipated changes. And with that, an amazing, subtle and soulful solo by Sargsyan to the Cracow Klezmer Band which harkened back to the shtetles of Eastern Europe as though it was clear to him the feeling of a heritage long gone. As if this were not dessert enough for us all, we were then treated to Alejandro Cerrudo’s sensual stand out piece, Lickety-split, which examined the dynamics of three couples, their interplay between each other and the group as a whole. Jasmine Perry, so beautifully partnered by Dallas Finley, was exquisite in her seamless interplay, her smooth transitions, and effortless soulful relationship with her partner done to the quiet sometimes raspy tones of Devendra Banhart, Equally langorous, was the smooth movements, as if on ice, drawn by the facile partnership of Tigran Sargsyan, and Bianca Bulle, Joshua Brown and Leah McCall. A kind of Greek chorus on the floor followed the scintillating Dallas Finley’s expressive and impassioned solo. Both the Barton and Cerrudo pieces alone would be a gift of creativity and brilliance, yet the last thank you by the entire company doing Balanchine, the Western Symphony, happily ended our joyous evening. This piece requires strength, endurance, charm, technique and…fun! It appears quaint and classic, yet a gift of another time, when cowboys and dancing girls were an accepted part of the American West in the mind of Mr. B. Restaged by Colleen Neary, who clearly understands the work of George Balanchine, having worked closely with this Master during some of his most prolific years. It is through Neary we get the essence of his work and his legacy. The corps did a fine job of creating superb energy as towns-folk, all the way to the rousing finale. In the first coupling we’re delighted by strong and lyrical Laura Chachich. She shares the stage with the talented, technically marvelous dancer, Eris Nesha, who charmed the audience with his sense of play, his strong presence and engaging charm, which was quite reminiscent of the young Edward Villella. In the second movement, the wonderful Petra Conti, and Tigran Sargsyan, took the lead in their engaging, pas de deux, with Bianca Bulle and Kenta Shimizu’s sparkling and flirtatious third movement. Bianca Bulle leads us through the iconic diagonal in competition with her partner to lead the entire company into the iconic pirouettes from fifth as the curtain goes down on the continuing dance which appears to go on forever. My hope is that it will go on forever with the grand legacy of the growing and thriving Los Angeles Ballet. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

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

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. Isabel Bugacov Hometown Seasons with LAB 2024/2025 Bio Available Shortly

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. Tickets 2023/2024 Season > The Nutcracker > Need Assistance? tickets@losangelesballet.org / (310) 998-7782 Login

Los Angeles Ballet’s Jasmine Perry on her effortlessly cool looks in an out of the studio. Point Magazine features LAB Dancer Jasmine Perry February 27, 2018 Point Magazine by Candice Thompson Los Angeles Ballet’s Jasmine Perry on her effortlessly cool looks in an out of the studio. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

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. 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. Home / News / New Item

KTLA filmed children attending The Nutcracker audition at Dolby Theatre, hoping to obtain a role in children's scenes of this holiday tradition in LA. LAB's Open Children's Audition for The Nutcracker September 19, 2022 Los Angeles Ballet held open auditions for children who want to be part of the 2022/2023 Season production of “The Nutcracker” on Sunday. The event at the Dolby Theatre was attended by children ages 6 to 13. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet is a non-profit 501-c3 performing arts organization which relies on Individual and Corporate support to ensure the finest of classical and contemporary dance will continue to be an integral part of Southern California’s arts culture. Giving to LAB 2024/2025 Season / Giving to LAB / Individual & Family Giving GIVE NOW As a Los Angeles Ballet donor, you join a community of people who help us to bring exceptional ballets to the stage and support the transcendent art form of ballet so that it can be shared with, and enjoyed by, as many people as possible. Corporate Sponsorships LAB offers extensive opportunities for Corporate Sponsors looking to reach an affluent, educated, influential and arts savvy audience. Custom-tailored Sponsorship packages are available at every level offering extensive benefits throughout the season. For Corporate inquiries: Contact Donna Wieczorkowski Development Coordinator at 310.477.7411 x 2001 or dwieczorkowski@losangelesballet.org Non-profit 501 c3 Tax ID #20-1819852 LOS ANGELES BALLET Dancers Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. Learn about each of LAB’s dance artists. LEARN MORE LOS ANGELES BALLET 2024/2025 Season This season includes a beloved fairy tale Cinderella , an experimental outdoor artist collaboration, the return of a critically acclaimed original by LAB Artistic Director Melissa Barak, and the Los Angeles holiday favorite, The Nutcracker . Subscriptions and Single Tickets on Sale Now! DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE