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Los Angeles Ballet's Rubies Gala 2013, chaired by Kirsten Sarkisian and Lori Milken, was held on April 20, 2013 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and was a stunning success. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Rubies Gala April 1, 2013 Company News from the Staff at LAB Los Angeles Ballet's Rubies Gala 2013, chaired by Kirsten Sarkisian and Lori Milken, was held on April 20, 2013 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and was a stunning success. Attended by more than 350 guests, the black tie event honored Linda Duttenhaver and Nigel Lythgoe. Ms. Duttenhaver received the inaugural Angel Award, while Mr. Lythgoe was honored with the inaugural Global Impact Award. The evening ended with guests dancing to the music of JT and California Dreamin'. The event raised more than $600,000 for Los Angeles Ballet. LEARN MORE

Choose a standard subscription or a themed series and enjoy all the benefits of being a Los Angeles Ballet Subscriber. Subscribe 2025/2026 Season / Subscribe / Subscribe Now is the perfect time to secure your seats for the season! With a subscription, you’ll lock in your pricing and enjoy exclusive benefits. Full Season Subscription 3 Shows | Any Venue | Any Date The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or The Dolby Rubies/Bridge/Barak | The Wallis Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre FULL SEASON SUBSCRIPTION Choose-2 Subscription 2 Shows | Any Venue | Any Date The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or Dolby Theatre Celebrating 20 Years: Rubies/Bridge/Barak | The Wallis CHOOSE TWO - OPTION 1 The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or Dolby Theatre Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre CHOOSE TWO - OPTION 2 Celebrating 20 Years: Rubies/Bridge/Barak | The Wallis Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre CHOOSE TWO - OPTION 3 The Box Office will confirm your seat locations soon. You’ll receive the best available seating within the section and price level you select. Renewing Subscribers receive priority seating. New Subscribers receive priority over single-ticket buyers when ordering before the public on-sale. Series Packages Interested in a Themed Series? We’d love to help you find the perfect fit! Choose from our themed series below, then connect with the LAB Box Office—our team is here to make the process simple and easy. Opening Night Series 3 Shows | First Performance of Each The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or The Dolby Celebrating 20 Years: Rubies/Bridge/Barak | The Wallis Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre Saturday Night Series 3 Shows | Saturday Nights The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or The Dolby Celebrating 20 Years: Rubies/Bridge/Barak | The Wallis Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre 2-Show Matinee Series 2 Shows | Sat or Sun Matinees (includes Wed, Dec 24 Nutcracker matinee) The Nutcracker | Royce Hall or The Dolby Giselle | The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre Call or Email Us Today! (310) 998-7782 (option 1) tickets@losangelesballet.org Box Office Hours: Mon–Fri, 12pm–5pm Subscriber Benefits Bring a Friend Introduce someone for only $25 Free Exchanges Unlimited within the same production See It Again Attend another performance for only $40 Keep Your Seat Retain your seats for subsequent seasons Priority Seating First choice of venue seating Arts Patron Invitations Access cultural partner events Subscriber Standby Attend next show if you missed yours Seat Upgrade Free upgrade for one production per season Need More Tickets? 10% off single tickets Ballet Boutique Discount Save 15% on performance merchandise LOS ANGELES BALLET Repertoire Learn about the comprehensive and varied seasons of Los Angeles Ballet since its debut in 2006. Repertoire includes Balanchine masterworks, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, commissioned and contemporary works by renowned local and international choreographers. VIEW REPERTOIRE LOS ANGELES BALLET History Read the history of the company from the premiere performances of LAB’s original production of The Nutcracker in 2006. Learn about LAB’s Leadership, Mission, Outreach initiatives, commissions of original works and more. LAB HISTORY

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. Home / News / New Item 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

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

29432b53-8c5b-4b33-9af2-a7596679beae 2024-2025 Season / Ticket Information / Tax-Deductible Donations Tax-Deductible Donations Los Angeles Ballet welcomes your tax-deductible donation. Your gift will support and sustain Los Angeles Ballet dancers and productions, as well as new works and outreach programs. Los Angeles Ballet’s Tax ID #20-1819852 Learn more about donating to Los Angeles Ballet. Thank you. For questions and support, please contact the Box Office at (310) 998-7782 to purchase by phone, Monday through Friday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm. In-person Ticket Sales Group Sales Venues Accessibility Gift Certificates Tax-Deductibe Donations Terms & Conditions of Sales In-house Policies Privacy Policy

Season 2012-2013 Christensen/Neary Mia Katz & Nicolas de la Vega in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Bianca Bulle in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Zheng Hua Li in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Snowflakes Ensemble in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Helena Thordal-Christensen, David Block & Nicholas de la Vega in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Julia Cinquemani & Alexander Castillo in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Allynne Noelle & Ulrik Birkkjaer in 'The Nutcracker' by Christensen/Neary Allynne Noelle & Zheng Hua Li and Ensemble in George Balanchine's 'La Sonnambula' Allynne Noelle & Zheng Hua Li in George Balanchine's 'La Sonnambula' Chelsea Paige Johnstin & Zheng Hua Li in George Balanchine's 'La Sonnambula' Chelsea Paige Johnstin & Zheng Hua Li in George Balanchine's 'La Sonnambula' Julia Cinquemani & Alyssa Bross and Ensemble in George Balanchine's 'Concerto Barocco' Julia Cinquemani & Alexander Castillo and Ensemble in George Balanchine's 'Concerto Barocco' Allynne Noelle & Kenta Shimizu in George Balanchine's 'Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux' Allyssa Bross & Ulrik Birkkjaer in George Balanchine's 'Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux' Ulrik Birkkjaer in George Balanchine's 'Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux' Kenta Shimizu & Ensemble in George Balanchine's 'The Four Temperaments' Allyssa Bross & Christopher Revels in George Balanchine's 'The Four Temperaments' Kenta Shimizu & Ensemble in George Balanchine's 'The Four Temperaments' Kate Highstrete & Christopher Revels in George Balanchine's 'The Four Temperaments' Chelsea Paige Johnston & Alexander Castillo and Ensemble in 'La Valse' Allyssa Bross & Zheng Hua Li in 'La Valse' Allyssa Bross & Zheng Hua Li in 'La Valse' Allyssa Bross & Zheng Hua Li in 'La Valse' Previous Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation. Next Gallery

An elite group of artists called “repetiteurs “ carry on the works of one of the greatest choreographic masters of all time, George Balanchine. For 30 years since his death on April 30, 1983, these human “style guides” for the Balanchine aesthetic have served as guardians of his expansive repertoire of nearly 400 works, and storytellers of his legacy. Home / News / New Item Passing the Balanchine Baton May 15, 2013 KCET by AC Remler An elite group of artists called “repetiteurs “ carry on the works of one of the greatest choreographic masters of all time, George Balanchine. For 30 years since his death on April 30, 1983, these human “style guides” for the Balanchine aesthetic have served as guardians of his expansive repertoire of nearly 400 works, and storytellers of his legacy. Many have danced the roles themselves under his tutelage, such as Colleen Neary, co-artistic director of Los Angeles Ballet. She, along with about 30 other New York City Ballet disciples -- the acclaimed ballet company that he founded in 1948 -- have the stamp of approval from the Balanchine Trust to stage the choreographer’s works. As such, they travel the world ensuring that professional ballet companies who present Balanchine on their playbill, perform it, just so. “There was always a style and way of dancing the role that was very important to him,” Neary says. “He gave you the freedom to do what you wanted but not to the extreme where it took the piece another direction. And we grew up around that style - we saw what he wanted. We all respect each other but we all have differences in the years we danced with Balanchine and for versions we danced in. When I danced “Rubies” and “Symphony in C” in the same roles as my sister, [Patricia Neary for whom many roles were created by Balanchine], she was a decade before me, and he may have changed it for me, or changed his mind on certain timings. He changed as he went along. We always say ‘Before Death.’ Those are the years we look at. And after he died, things kept changing, so we try to keep it as tight as we can,” she says. Noelle “Rubies” Neary danced as a soloist from 1969 to 1979 in The New York City Ballet under the direction of Balanchine. Like her sister, she also had numerous roles created for her by Balanchine, as well as by other acclaimed choreographers such as Peter Martins, Jacques d’Amboise and others, throughout her career. Now Neary is poised to pass the Balanchine baton to a new generation of dancers at her own company, which she founded nine years ago with husband and former Royal Danish Ballet and New York City Ballet dancer Thordal Christensen. To commemorate Mr. B’s death (as he’s called fondly) and to celebrate his work, Los Angeles Ballet recently launched a Balanchine Festival 2013. Having just wrapped “Balanchine Gold” in March and April, Los Angeles Ballet recently launched part two of the series, “Balanchine Red” across Southern California that runs through June 9. Balanchine Red features his works, “Agon,” “La Valse,” and “Rubies.” The next performance takes place Saturday, May 18 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, followed by a night at the Valley Performing Arts Center May 25, an afternoon at the Alex Theatre May 26 and ending at Royce Hall June 9. Each performance is accompanied by lectures prior to curtain by experts in Balanchine’s work, including Kent Stowell, Francia Russell, Lewis Segal, Victoria Loos leaf, and of course, Neary herself. One of Los Angeles Ballet’s principal dancers is Southern California native Allynne Noelle. A tall, lithe figure who crackles on stage, Noelle has been with the company since 2011, coming from Miami City Ballet where she also performed Balanchine under the direction of Eddie Villella, another former principal dancer with New York City Ballet. Kenta, Noelle, “TchaiPas” “I like ‘Rubies’ ‘Tall Girl.’ LOVE Jewels as a whole ballet. Oh, and ‘Tchai Pas’ is fun (that’s ballet slang for 1960’s Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux),” she says, ticking off her favorite Balanchine ballets similar to how someone of a different milieu might rattle off pop music hits. “I really like “Apollo” too, but I’ve never performed it.” In Los Angeles Ballet’s “Balanchine Festival Red,” Noelle will dance the Pas de Deux in the notoriously challenging Agon (1957) an abstract masterpiece in which nary a note is lost on movement; and she will revisit “Tall Girl” in Rubies (1967). The fact that Neary has coached her in a masterpiece that Neary herself has danced for the master is clearly not lost on her. “I was a little scared at first because I know [Neary] has done the role,” she says. “Colleen gives me the freedom to do what I want with the role as an artist, but if there’s a step that isn’t right she lets me know. Even though it’s crazy hard technically, it’s artistically freeing.” Neary is quick to dispel any notion that she expects a cookie cutter interpretation of how she performed the part. “It’s perfect for Allynne. I give her feedback as to how I did it, but I don’t like to say: ‘This is MY role!’; even though you might feel like it’s your role. I want to train the next generation who are dancing the Balanchine ballets and dancing them well so eventually The Balanchine Trust might approve them to stage the ballets. The Balanchine Trust is very tight with [its] mechanism, and typically, they come from New York City Ballet. But I think it’s important for those of us who are with other companies to train the next generation to be able to rehearse his work,” she says. Mr. B, Pat, Colleen. Meanwhile Neary’s next repetiteur “gig” will be with the Paris Opera Ballet staging the original “Symphony in C” called “Palais de Cristal.” Neary also invites other repetiteurs to Los Angeles to stage Balanchine on Los Angeles Ballet dancers. “It’s good for the dancers to work with someone different. Although sometimes it’s hard for me to keep my mouth shut,” she laughs. Noelle, a self-proclaimed repetiteur in waiting, is one of six dancers with Los Angeles Ballet from Southern California. Noelle grew up in Huntington Beach and began classical ballet training at age 5. She remembers limited exposure to professional productions beyond seeing New York-based companies like New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and “the occasional Russian company” breeze through to perform. “The cultural growth (in Southern California) has been exponential since then,” Noelle says. “I’m so happy to be back here dancing in a company that offers the opportunity to perform such great ballets. Last time I was on stage performing ‘Tchai Pas’ I thought, ‘Wow, this is my job. Should I really be having this much fun?’” DOWNLOAD PDF

Unlike certain 20th-century artists who found themselves miserable in Hollywood — F. Scott Fitzgerald comes to mind — George Balanchine was fond of the place in the 1930s. Home / News / New Item Balanchine's Palm-Fringed Muse May 17, 2013 New York Times by Victoria Looseleaf LOS ANGELES — Unlike certain 20th-century artists who found themselves miserable in Hollywood — F. Scott Fitzgerald comes to mind — George Balanchine was fond of the place in the 1930s. He loved the orange groves, Romanoff’s glamorous boîte and choreographing dances for movies. But after founding New York City Ballet with Lincoln Kirstein in 1948, the man who changed America’s dancescape became synonymous with the East Coast. Now, 30 years after his death, Mr. Balanchine is having another West Coast moment, through the prism of different ballet troupes. The Balanchine repertory is standard fare for the Los Angeles Ballet, founded in 2006 by the husband-and-wife team of Colleen Neary and Thordal Christensen. Yet this year, having grown to 35 dancers from 21, with an annual operating budget to $2.5 million, the directors felt the time was right for a full-fledged Balanchine Festival. The festival, which opened in March, is presenting seven works over four months. The remaining performances in the second and final installment, featuring “La Valse,” “Agon” and “Rubies,” will be presented at three theaters in May and June. The latter two works, set to Stravinsky, are also part of the program for July in Grand Park, in line with the Los Angeles Music Center’s yearlong Stravinsky celebration “Balanchine loved this city,” Ms. Neary said in an interview, “and it is my wish that the passion he felt in his work is given to L.A. in these programs.” Ms. Neary, 60, first met Balanchine as an 8-year-old student at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet. She joined City Ballet in 1969 and was a soloist from 1975 to 1979. In 1985 the George Balanchine Trust authorized her to teach and stage his ballets. Ms. Neary says she feels a responsibility to the choreographer, who created more than 400 works. “It’s my job to help dancers get to know him,” she said during a rehearsal break at the company’s Westside headquarters. “It’s not only teaching steps he taught us, and the intention, but also the ballets’ different styles. One thing I always say he told us is, ‘You shouldn’t save anything — you should give all your energies to what you’re doing now.’ ” On a recent afternoon in the Los Angeles Ballet’s 12,000-square-foot studios, Ms. Neary scrutinized her dancers, who range in age from 19 to 31, as they rehearsed the fiendishly difficult steps of “La Valse,” a 1951 ballet about death set to Ravel’s work.“Don’t bounce, glide,” Ms. Neary urged Allyssa Bross, the female lead in white, while Mr. Christensen, 47, leapt onto a chair to observe the unsettling funereal circling in the finale. Ms. Neary and Mr. Christensen’s 28-year partnership has included dancing with City Ballet, and their exchanges in the studio veer from detail-oriented simpatico to the occasionally prickly. “She’s been my boss, and I’ve been hers,” he said, “but because we know each other so well, there’s a certain aesthetic we try to pull from the dancers together.” Renae Williams Niles, the Music Center’s vice president for programming, suggested in an interview that promoting Balanchine’s legacy is strategically smart for a young dance company seeking a bigger profile. “When I think of Balanchine here, I think of Colleen, one of our local treasures,” she said. Preconcert talks are also part of the Balanchine Festival, and they help to shed light on the time he spent in Southern California. Audiences learn that Balanchine adored the climate, food markets and movie culture of Los Angeles, where he choreographed five films, all featuring Vera Zorina, then his wife, from 1938 to 1944. For the first, “The Goldwyn Follies” (1938), he worked with the composer Vernon Duke, a friend who wrote music for the “Water Nymph Ballet,” a Botticelli-esque sequence in which Ms. Zorina rose from a pool. The sequence is said to have been beloved by Samuel Goldwyn, the film’s producer. Hollywood also proved congenial for Mr. Balanchine’s collaborations with Stravinsky, with whom he worked on some 40 pieces over the years. Conversing in their native Russian over many a meal, the pair worked on masterpieces like “Orpheus,” which had its premiere in 1948 with Maria Tallchief. Another Los Angeles troupe seeking to lay claim to part of Balanchine’s legacy is the American Contemporary Ballet, now in its second season. The 10-member company is directed by the choreographer Lincoln Jones, a native Angeleno who returned here in 2010 after spending seven years performing and teaching in New York. While laying the groundwork for forming the company, he spent hours devouring all things Balanchine at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. “Dance is fairly limited as a storytelling medium, but as a musical one that works in a visual realm, it’s unlimited,” Mr.Jones said in an interview. “It was Balanchine’s realization of this — and his development of its musical vocabulary, aside from the works themselves — that was his greatest contribution.” Mr. Jones said he was drawn back to Los Angeles by its widening classical music scene. He took along his muse, the ballerina Theresa Farrell, who is now the company’s associate director; seeking to expand the audience for dance, they soon paired with Da Camera Society, a group that was founded four decades ago and performs chamber music at historic sites. Its top musicians accompanied American Contemporary Ballet last year when it gave its first concerts — two instrumental works interspersed with a pair of dances — in a warehouse in the city’s mid-Wilshire area. Next month four more concerts are scheduled over two nights. “The fact that they’re so good and just getting started, I feel I owe it to the art of dance to help build whatever I can,” said Martin Chalifour, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s principal concertmaster, who donates his time to performing with the troupe. “Lincoln caters to the complexities of the musical score and, like Balanchine, that’s his inspiration. Music transports you, and when you augment that with beautiful dance, it becomes a unique sensory experience.” Another troupe with Balanchine ties is the Barak Ballet, founded by Melissa Barak, a Los Angeles native who danced with New York City Ballet for nine years. For now, no Balanchine works are planned for the ballet’s inaugural concert in October, she said, “but my choreography is influenced by him, and I’d like to think he may have seen something special in me.” While Los Angeles has metamorphosed into a sprawl-to-the-wall metropolis since Balanchine walked its palm treelined streets, his spirit lives on here for these choreographers. “When we’re teaching and talking about him, Mr. B is with us,” Ms. Neary said. “I believe that.” DOWNLOAD PDF

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. Home / News / New Item 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

The Nutcracker was performed at the Alex Theatre, December 3-4; Royce Hall, December 22-24, 2009 Home / News / New Item Dazzling Nutcracker Opens Los Angeles Ballet's 4th Season December 23, 2009 AisleSay.com by Penny Orloff 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

Dancing through its first nine seasons, Los Angeles Ballet has bravely tackled one rite of passage after another — not merely the major Balanchine and Bournonville choreographies that are its stylistic birthright but, increasingly, the top-of-the-list, full-length 19th century classics that can leave dancers in any company cruelly exposed. Home / News / New Item L.A. Ballet delivers a classically pure 'Sleeping Beauty' March 30, 2015 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Dancing through its first nine seasons, Los Angeles Ballet has bravely tackled one rite of passage after another — not merely the major Balanchine and Bournonville choreographies that are its stylistic birthright but, increasingly, the top-of-the-list, full-length 19th century classics that can leave dancers in any company cruelly exposed. The latest example: a three-hour “Sleeping Beauty” Sunday afternoon in Royce Hall at UCLA that justified company (and civic) pride both as an index of growth and for sustained achievement. The Royce performance was the final of five performances over the last five weeks. With its tiny morsels of plot and cornucopia of formal dances, “Sleeping Beauty” is a daunting challenge that Marius Petipa, the original choreographer, intended not as a typical Romantic story-ballet but an evocation of a much older theatrical dance tradition. Shared purity of style is essential here, and long before the nominal leading dancers made their first entrances on Sunday, the women who performed short blessing-solos in the first half-hour of the ballet delivered the vibrant yet uninsistent classicism that co-directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary have made into a company signature. What’s more, Christensen and Neary boast backgrounds with the Royal Danish Ballet — long the acknowledged masters of 19th century ballet sign-language — so the vital mime conversations in “Sleeping Beauty” that can look clumsy or even ridiculous when other companies attempt them became utterly natural on Sunday. You try telling people, without speaking, that a baby is going to grow up, be beautiful, dance nicely yet prick her finger on a spindle and die. A lot easier to text it. You might argue that the last act of this version suffers from extensive cuts that leave only classical showpieces, omitting the character and comic specialties that Petipa included for variety. And you might also note that the company’s skimpy male roster definitely needs the guests that have been popping up here and there. A month earlier, at the Valley Performing Arts Center, Luke Schaufuss (son of ballet superstar Peter Schaufuss) danced a raw but powerful Bluebird in the production. And on Sunday, the role of King Florestan gained authority from the great dancing-actor of New York City Ballet, Adam Lüders. Of course, a young company that dances to recorded music in borrowed sets has more to worry about than guests, and, indeed, there were times on Sunday when the slow, canned Tchaikovsky and the cramped Royce Hall stage took their toll. For example, in Act 1 alone the Garland Waltz needed more musical oomph, and Aurora’s solo after the Rose Adagio needed more space in front of the scenery. But that’s about all Julia Cinquemani needed as Aurora. Gifted with a technique that made every high extension seem a major event, she had the unerring balances for the Rose Adagio, the dreamy inaccessibility for the Vision Scene and the radiant star power for the Grand Pas de Deux, all presented with a devastating freshness, as if she might be discovering the role as she danced it. Allyssa Bross displayed many of these same qualities as Aurora on Feb. 28 at the Valley Performing Arts Center, and she ably transferred them to the role of the Lilac Fairy on Sunday, standing up to Neary’s furious Carabosse with dramatic flair. Neary’s special achievement was letting you see how genuinely injured this character felt — deep human emotion clashing with the stylized sweetness surrounding her. Among the men, pride of place incontestably belonged to Kenta Shimizu, the one and only Prince Desire in every company performance. Admittedly he couldn’t do much with his dull, inexpressive I’m-so-lonely choreography in Act 2. But the mime, partnering and sense of urgency in the Vision Scene proved exemplary, and his elegance in the Grand Pas de Deux ideally complemented his Auroras, whether Cinquemani or Bross. Allynne Noelle wasn’t in the cast on Sunday, but at VPAC last month her Lilac Fairy had regal eloquence, and she also danced Aurora during the five-week run. Dustin True made a diligent, low-flying Bluebird opposite Bianca Bulle, who soloed impressively both here and in the first fairy variation of the Prologue. The other fairies and/or jewels included Ashley Millar, Madison McDonough, Chloé Sherman, Elizabeth Claire Walker and Kate Highstrete. Without them, the staging would have lacked credibility as a whole. A “Swan Lake” can thrill you with just a great Prince and Swan Queen, but “Sleeping Beauty” needs classical multitudes — especially sparkling women soloists. Heading toward its 10th season in September, Los Angeles Ballet clearly has them, and they may be sorely tested by the anti-classical modern dance and crossover repertory on their agenda this summer. For a company as ambitious as this one, the rites of passage never stop — and neither does the excitement. David Walker’s scenery for a Boston Ballet production looked ideally sumptuous on the wide stage of Valley Performing Arts Center, but whatever could be accommodated at Royce Hall framed the dancers richly. calendar@latimes.com READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE

Available Shortly Home / Staff / Administrator Nancy Batlin Design Director Available Shortly