Los Angeles Ballet's 'Swan Lake' is full of grace March 12, 2012 Highly pedigreed? You bet. Well-known in the dance world? No question. But Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary have also passed the acid test: As directors of the Los Angeles Ballet, now in its sixth season, they can take a collective bow for their thoroughly sterling production of “Swan Lake.” Just remember, not any old company can stage this icon of classical ballet. Oh, many with lesser artistic resources try. But to put on a show of so fine a caliber normally takes a bigger-than-big budget, dancer bench-depth, masterly and dedicated coaching. What’s more, they mounted their full-length extravaganza with the requisite number of performances. “And that meant we had to find venues all over the city.” says Christensen, who led the eminent Royal Danish Ballet and is steeped in its standards of style and rigorous technique. “We had to travel to the audiences,” he adds, noting that people will venture out to an attraction, so long as it doesn’t mean long drives through congested traffic. So from Westwood to Long Beach, with a stop at the Alex Theatre on March 17, the company is showing off its current jewel, “Swan Lake,” all feathery finery, moonlit mirages, pathos born of misfortune, good-versus-evil conflict. Thus the mountain comes to Muhammad. And it is a mountain, what with the full-scale sets originally built at Pacific Northwest Ballet, Christensen’s last post before he decamped to Los Angeles. “In fact,” says the Danish-born danseur, “when you think about it, it’s madness, dealing with four separate acts. We’ve had to extend intermission lengths just to do the set changes,” and that took the crew a week of practice just to learn how to move things along faster, he added. But the décor is eminently beautiful, old-school poetic without looking old — or worn — and it accommodates to any standard proscenium. The costumes, too, are delicate pastels, setting off the pristine-white lakeside scenes. What catches attention, though, apart from these details, is the totality of the spectacle — the dancers’ total immersion in the action and feeling states, be they coryphees, peasants, courtiers, royalty. As to the coaching, well, it is meticulous — in contrast, even, to some A-circuit “Swan Lake” productions, like the last one American Ballet Theatre brought on tour to L.A., where we saw casts that suffered rehearsal deficits. In their prime, both Christensen and Neary danced the lead roles many times. With his deep background in Bournonville, not to mention her prominence as a member of the Balanchine Trust, it’s no surprise that the choreography they adapted from the Petipa/Ivanov model is wonderfully evocative and rational. So, too, is the mime clear, uncluttered and natural — a feat in itself for American dancers seldom exposed to courtly behavior. But then the troupe’s roster now stands higher than ever in its level of virtuosity — thanks mostly to Neary’s recruitment of dancers from companies on which she has set Balanchine works, among them ABT and Russia’s Mariinsky, formerly the Kirov. Still, holding on to them is difficult. “We lose roughly a third each year,” says LAB executive director Julie Whittaker. “But that’s par for the course with all companies.” Corina Gill was stolen by the Boston Ballet, she recalls. And some leave because of the low salaries. “Most of our dancers stay, though. The trick is to keep them performing and not laid off for any substantial period of time.” So far, artistry runs the gamut at Los Angeles Ballet. It also keeps the wheel turning. And this “Swan Lake” does the trick. DONNA PERLMUTTER is an ASCAP-Award winning music/dance critic and journalist whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times and many other publications. She is also the author of “Shadowplay: The Life of Antony Tudor.” Email her at donna.perlmutter@gmail.com . Glendale News-Press by Donna Perlmutter DOWNLOAD PDF 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

Los Angeles Ballet Braves the Balanchine Test May 26, 2007 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 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal DOWNLOAD PDF 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

UCLA student poised in pursuit of ballet, education September 18, 2015 A mother and her baby stood watching ballet dancers practice behind the closed curtains of a Seattle opera house. The mother, Lauri-Michelle Houk, was still on leave from her career as a company ballet dancer to take care of her 8-month-old baby, Madeline. Their eyes were trained on Lauri-Michelle’s husband Ben, also a dancer with the company. As Houk set her child down to let her crawl around backstage, the baby took her first wobbly steps toward her father. “(Madeline) wanted to perform too,” Houk said. “Even back then, ballet was her world.” After years of barre routines and wearing out countless pairs of pointe shoes, Madeline Houk, a fourth-year communication studies student, now dances professionally with the Los Angeles Ballet. Houk balances full-time dancing with her studies at UCLA, juggling lectures with rehearsals and midterms with shows. When Lauri-Michelle and her husband Ben danced professionally, she said they had neither the time nor the resources to drive their children to different activities. Their five children thus grew up in the dance studio, absorbing the fundamentals of ballet technique by watching the dancers practice. To Madeline Houk, the oldest of the five, attending ballet lessons and school classes was equally important. Even though her parents danced for a living, Houk said they never forced her to follow the same path. “(My parents) aren’t like those weird stage moms you hear about – they’ve always supported what I want to do,” Houk said. “I definitely chose this profession for myself.” During her senior year of high school, Houk contemplated pursuing ballet professionally or continuing on with academics. Though she weighed the pros and cons of both paths carefully, she said she still couldn’t make the choice. However, Houk received an apprenticeship with the Los Angeles Ballet the same year she was accepted by UCLA. She said the lucky coincidence gave her a way to dance professionally while also going to school nearby. To fit school and about 35 hours of rehearsals into one week, Houk said she typically prefers to enroll in 8 a.m. classes. For six consecutive days before shows, she said she drives to theaters around Los Angeles County in areas such as Northridge, Glendale and Long Beach so the company can optimize its use of space and acclimate to the different stages. “Sometimes we even go to Royce Hall, which is my favorite place,” Houk said. “I can just walk there from my apartment.” The Los Angeles Ballet’s dancers are hired on a seasonal basis, Houk said. Each dancer is given a 30-week contract that begins in September and expires in June, resulting in every dancer being laid off during the summer. Houk said most of the dancers work hard to support themselves with part-time or second jobs during the summer. However, she is grateful for the time off during the summer to catch up on schoolwork. John Kochian, a lecturer in the communication studies department and one of Houk’s past teachers, said he never would have found out about her love of ballet had she not mentioned it in a class speech about hobbies and interests. Only after he inquired further did he realize she danced professionally. Because of her positive outlook, Kochian said Houk can serve as a role model to struggling students looking to manage school and work. “I asked how long she’s studied, how much she practices, if she can stand on her toes, if she can assume the second position,” Kochian said. “She just didn’t bring attention to what she does, which was very humbling.” Christina Sturgeon, a third-year communication studies student and Houk’s friend, said Houk’s strong work ethic extends beyond the classroom to the stage. When she attends Houk’s shows to provide moral support, Sturgeon said she sees Houk backstage working on her homework while other dancers help each other with costumes, hair and makeup. Houk said she isn’t ready to choose between academics and ballet after graduating from UCLA. However, when she eventually retires from dancing, she would like to use her degree to work in public relations for ballet companies or arts organizations. “When I’m ready to stop dancing later in life, which I’m not sure when that’ll be, I’m going to have my UCLA degree,” Houk said. “But I’ll keep dancing for as long as I can not because of the salary, but because I love it.” Daily Bruin by Shreya Aiyar READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

Los Angeles Ballet delivers a sizzling 'Evangelist' April 28, 2008 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. Los Angeles Times by Victoria Looseleaf DOWNLOAD PDF 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

2023/2024 Season > Dancers > Ray & Ghada Irani Principal Dancer Tigran Sargsyan Hometown Yerevan, Armenia Schools Yerevan Choreographic Dance College, Dance Academy of Zurich, San Francisco Ballet School Companies Dortmund Ballet Theater Los Angeles Ballet 7th Season Next Dancer Previous Dancer

2 2023/2024 Season > Photo Gallery > 2017/2018 Swan Lake 2018 Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti, Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti, Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu LAB Ensemble Bianca Bulle & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Petra Conti & Kenta Shimizu Bianca Bulle & LAB Ensemble Petra Conti, Kenta Shimizu Christensen and Neary after Petipa & Ivanov / Tchaikovsky Previous Gallery Next Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation.

Series C Subscription 2023/2024 Season > Subscribe > Series C Need Assistance? tickets@losangelesballet.org / (310) 998-7782 Login

Los Angeles Ballet to Debut Giselle April 19, 2011 Season 5 Culminates with a Gala Celebrating the Achievements of Five Years April 19, 2011 – Los Angeles Ballet [LAB] Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary are pleased to present Giselle , the timeless story of a young peasant girl who, betrayed by her lover, dies of a broken heart. The Company continues to build a repertoire that underscores the creative leadership of its artistic directors, presenting timeless classics as well as innovative choreography from today’s contemporary artists. The full-length premiere of Giselle , with choreography by Artistic Director Thordal Christensen (after Coralli, Perrot and Petipa), is no exception. First premiered in 1841, Giselle is one of the most beloved romantic ballets of all time, and the title role has given the world its greatest ballerinas. Giselle tells the tragic tale of a maiden who falls in love with Albrecht, a nobleman so enchanted by Giselle’s innocence and purity that he recklessly leads her to believe that he is a peasant. When his betrothed Bathilde reveals his true identity, Giselle dies of a broken heart. Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, overcome with remorse. Giselle rises to protect him from the Wilis, vengeful female spirits that haunt the forest. Giselle’s forgiving, profound love saves Albrecht from certain death. The Season 5 Gala Celebration will take place Saturday, May 28th at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, following the 6:00 pm performance of Giselle. The event will hosted by LAB Board members/Gala Co-Chairs Lori Milken, Ghada Irani, and Jeanette Trepp. Designed by Billy Butchkavitz and catered by Wolfgang Puck, guests will be transported to an enchanting ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ setting. ​ LAB Public Relations DOWNLOAD PDF 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

Review: Missteps aside, Los Angeles Ballet brings new life to 'Giselle' October 4, 2015 Los Angeles Ballet first danced “Giselle” in its fifth season. Now, at the start of Season 10, it has returned to the full-length Romantic tragedy with great freshness and authority. At the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center on Saturday, the level of classical dancing remained praiseworthy, but the big news involved the attempt to bolster the work’s dramatic credibility in Act 1. The unfamiliar Desmond Heeley scenery and costumes (borrowed from the National Ballet of Canada) and the unusually detailed and convincing portrayal of the jealous Hilarion by Alexander Castillo showed that this traditional staging of “Giselle” was being reconsidered or improved. In the title role, longtime principal Allyssa Bross again displayed a touching sweetness and vulnerability in her early scenes, but the superb fierceness and fury of her mad scene proved a welcome innovation. As Albrecht, Kenta Shimizu always partnered her skillfully, but the passion in his performance flowered in Act 2, where his high Romantic fervor exceeded anything I’ve seen in Shimizu’s seven seasons with the company. Julia Cinquemani and Dustin True brought a sense of occasion and honed technical abilities to the Peasant Pas de Deux, along with a brilliant knack for recovering perfectly from slips -- she at the beginning of a solo, he at the end. Indeed, True’s improvisation could well become an original virtuoso step-combination, if he can repeat it. A few small problems remained in Act 1: Berthe’s incomprehensible pantomime-speech, for example -- not how it was executed by company co-artistic director Colleen Neary, but the mime-text itself. In Act 2 the company’s refined classicism couldn’t offset major dramatic lapses. Kate Highstrete’s technically flawless but small-scaled dancing and mime as Myrtha never dominated the stage, the corps or the men intended to be her victims. The role needed a diva, and it didn’t help that everyone stood around doing nothing in particular when Myrtha’s evil power should have faltered in the face of true love -- or the magic of the cross in some stagings. What’s more (spoiler alert), the dawn of Albrecht’s salvation became merely a music cue in this version, without the change in lighting or corps attack that can and should be thrilling. One final disappointment: our last look at Albrecht. When you’re walking away from love beyond the grave, dignity is no substitute for heartbreak. That left Act 2 all about footwork: satisfying work by the corps, even better when the deep rapport between Bross and Shimizu informed their dancing. Some of Adolphe Adam’s music (on tape) seemed a mite slow for this spirited Giselle. It would be exciting to find her exploiting sudden tempo shifts. But her floating pointe-work and Shimizu’s climactic batterie set the seal on an evening that sent Los Angeles Ballet into an ambitious season of full-length classics, boldly and confidently. ---------- “Giselle” Who: Los Angeles Ballet Where: Program repeats at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at Royce Hall at UCLA Tickets: $31-$99 Info: (310) 998-7782, losangelesballet.org Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE 2023/2024 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

2 2023/2024 Season > Photo Gallery > 2014/2015 The Moor's Pavane 2015 Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross Alyssa Bross & Erik Thordal-Christensen Alyssa Bross, Elizabeth Claire Walker, Zheng Hua Li and Erik Thordal-Christensen Limón / Purcell arr. by Sadoff Previous Gallery Next Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation.

2023/2024 Season > Dancers > Lilly Fife Hometown Westfield, Indiana Seasons with LAB 2021/2022, 2022/2023, 2023/2024 Lilly trained in her hometown at Central Indiana Academy of Dance and then went on to Boston Ballet as a trainee. After a year she went to Charlotte Ballet and spent 2 years as an apprentice. Lilly has danced with LAB since. MEET THE DANCERS 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 LOS ANGELES BALLET 2023/2024 Season This season includes exciting works by master choreographers Justin Peck, Hans van Manen, Yuri Possokhov and George Balanchine, and another world premiere by LAB Artistic Director, Melissa Barak. Plus, LA's holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. Subscriptions and Single Tickets on Sale Now! DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE

2 2023/2024 Season > Photo Gallery > 2013/2014 La Sylphide 2014 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 Balanchine / Tchaikovsky Previous Gallery Next Gallery All photos by Reed Hutchinson Click on image for a fullscreen presentation.