2021/2022 Season > Dancers > ​ Leah McCall Hometown Parker, Colorado Schools Boston Ballet School, Miami Ballet School, National Ballet Academy of Denver, The School of American Ballet Companies ​ Los Angeles Ballet 6th Season Next Dancer Previous Dancer

Sonya Tayeh Tells Her Dancers to Keep Their Hair Down. Why Is That So Radical? March 14, 2014 Five slender women in flesh-toned leotards emerge from shadows into powerful spotlights. They unpin their ballet buns. Long brown, black and blond hair cascades down. Leaning toward the audience, they sweep their hair over their faces; for most of the next 20 minutes, Los Angeles Ballet's classically trained ballerinas dance with their hair covering their faces during a dress rehearsal for Sonya Tayeh's Beneath One's Dignity, her fourth LAB commission. It's one of two world premieres and two company premieres in LAB's Quartet, onstage at Glendale's Alex Theater this Saturday and UCLA's Royce Hall next week. Tayeh first drew widespread attention for her ferocious combat-jazz choreography on television's So You Think You Can Dance, but she has been extending her artistic horizons since her first LAB commission enhanced her cred as a multifaceted choreographer. She relocated to New York City to choreograph Kung Fu, an off-Broadway musical bio about martial arts movie legend Bruce Lee, but returned to create Beneath One's Dignity for LAB.] Known for her own distinctive, often asymmetrical hair – sometimes shaved, sometimes punctuated with red and blue – Tayeh keeps her long, wavy dark mane pulled to one side, low-key for her, as she watches the dress rehearsal. When her dance ends, Tayeh bounds onto the stage. As she gives the dancers notes, her flannel shirt and combat boots contrast starkly with the women in their flesh-colored leotards and the quintet of men in diaphanous, long black skirts. During the ballet, the women don dresses in the same black see-through material, but at this moment the dresses lie crumpled around the stage, shed and kicked away by the women, with the men repeatedly retrieving and throwing the dresses back at the women, who continue to furiously kick the dresses away. In the final moments, they finally move their hair away from their faces. After notes, in an interview, Tayeh talks about the hair and the dresses as props. “My starting point was in the title; acts or behaviors I've done, sometimes repeatedly, that I felt uncomfortable about or even shame, things beneath my dignity, but that I found myself repeating and the shields I built up to hide behind to protect myself and keep going,” Tayeh explains. “I wanted the women to start out like newborns but then put on the dress, develop the emotions and the realization of something demeaning, something beneath their dignity. The hair is like a protective mask – they want to go without it but retreat behind the hair for protection.” Tayeh says she knew working with their hair in their face was asking a lot of the dancers. “Dancing blind” was LAB principal dancer Alyssa Bross' description.”But we have come to trust Sonya,” Bross adds. “Many ballet choreographers come in, tell us the steps, turn on the music and we dance. Sonya certainly has a direction in mind, but she wants feedback. She asks us to try things and then asks what we need to be comfortable to take it further. Finding that comfort level with her allows us to find the forceful movement and even more powerful emotional levels she wants from our dancing.” The hair made unison dancing particularly difficult. “Working with the music helped, and Sonya developed breathing cues, so we were listening to each other rather than relying on visual cues,” Bross explains. The next night at the premiere, the audience cheers. Tayeh is pleased. “I had a tear in my eye,” she admits. “The dancers captured my struggle and I feel I can make my own positive changes.” Like her dancers, kicking the dress away. L.A. Weekly by Ann Haskins READ AT SOURCE 2021/2022 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

Colleen Neary to Stage Balanchine with the Norwegian National Ballet October 1, 2012 LAB Artistic Director, Colleen Neary will work with The Norwegian National Ballet in October 2012 and early January 2013 to stage Balanchine's Symphony in C and Ballet Imperial. She previously worked with this company in 2004, staging Symphony C. Company News from the Staff at LAB 2021/2022 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

2021/2022 Season > Dancers > ​ David Renaud Hometown ​ Schools ​ Companies Albany-Berkshire Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, Columbia City Ballet Los Angeles Ballet ​ Next Dancer Previous Dancer

Los Angeles Ballet Center Opens June 1, 2008 Los Angeles Ballet announces the opening of the Los Angeles Ballet Center, the new home of LAB and the Los Angeles Ballet School. Company News from the Staff at LAB 2021/2022 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

Employment LOS ANGELES BALLET Repertoire Learn about the comprehensive and varied seasons of Los Angeles Ballet since its debut in 2006. Repertoire includes superb stagings of Balanchine repertory, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, and commissioned contemporary works by renowned local and international choreographers. VIEW REPERTOIRE 2022/2023 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 2022/2023 Season > Employment Employment 2023/2024 Season Company Audition Thank you for your interest in Los Angeles Ballet. Those who are being invited to audition have been contacted. APPLICATIONS CLOSED

LA Times Previews the Balanchine Festival March 8, 2013 L.A. Ballet's Balanchine Festival follows in master's steps "Company co-founder Colleen Neary brings a first-person familiarity with George Balanchine's exacting methods as a former dancer with New York City Ballet." Read Susan Joseph's full story on Los Angeles Ballet's Balanchine Festival. Los Angeles Times ​ DOWNLOAD PDF 2021/2022 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

First Seattle Tour May 1, 2014 La Sylphide plus George Balanchine’s Serenade June 27, 2014 McCaw Hall, Seattle Center Performances to include: The full-length romantic story ballet La Sylphide, choreographed by Thordal Christensen after August Bournonville George Balanchine’s SerenadeLos Angeles Ballet Co-Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary are excited to announce that the company will be touring out of California for the first time, presenting La Sylphide and Serenade to Seattle, Washington audiences June 27, 2014, at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. This will immediately follow LAB’s tour of the same production throughout Los Angeles County.Christensen and Neary are thrilled to be bringing their first touring production to Seattle, as it is where their partnership was created – both onstage and off. Christensen and Neary were Principal Dancers for Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) from 1986 through 1992, dancing in ballets by Kent Stowell, Clark Tippett, Glen Tetley, George Balanchine, Lynn Taylor Corbett, José Limón, and Lar Lubovitch, as well as classics like Swan Lake. Christensen and Neary married in 1987, with PNB Founding Artistic Directors Kent Stowell and Francia Russell as their witnesses. Stowell and Russell provided Christensen and Neary with critical inspiration to eventually launch Los Angeles Ballet. “We danced at PNB in an enormous growth period for that company, during a creative time when it began to tour to Hawaii, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and other major cities,” says Neary. It was this creative spark and strong partnership between Christensen and Neary that led to the formation of Los Angeles Ballet, and their connection to PNB that makes Seattle the ideal choice for LAB’s first out-of-state tour. LAB’s La Sylphide was debuted in 2009 with choreography by Christensen after the original 19th century ballet by Danish choreographer August Bournonville. “Los Angeles Ballet’s performances in 2009 were exemplary, among the finest achievements in the company’s history,” said Lewis Segal in his recent LA Times article, ‘Faces to Watch 2014.’ At McCaw Hall at Seattle Center, the two-act story ballet La Sylphide will be paired with George Balanchine’s romantic Serenade. La Sylphide, sometimes described as the Danish Giselle, recounts the tale of a Scotsman enamored of an entrancing woodland sprite (a sylph) and the poisonous interference of a witch, with tragic results. Serenade is unquestionably one of Balanchine’s most popular and beloved ballets. Set to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, the ballet evokes a moonlit world of romantic attraction and betrayal. Colleen Neary says, “La Sylphide and Serenade are two of the most romantic and, some say, most tragic ballets choreographed – the former with a story and the other without a literal one. There is a deep spiritualism to both.” About Los Angeles Ballet Founded in 2004 by Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, and Executive Director Julie Whittaker, Los Angeles Ballet is known for its superb stagings of the Balanchine repertory, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, and its commitment to new works. LAB has become recognized as a world-class ballet company, in eight seasons presenting 24 productions encompassing 50 works, including 15 commissioned world premieres. Los Angeles Ballet ‘tours’ throughout LA County, regularly appearing at four venues. This past summer the Los Angeles Music Center presented Los Angeles Ballet at Grand Park, with more than 3,000 attending the outdoor performance. Since its inception in 2006, LAB’s Power of Performance (POP!) program has provided thousands of free tickets to underserved or disadvantaged children, seniors, veterans, and their families. LAB's A Chance to Dance Community Days outreach program was launched in October 2012. About Thordal Christensen Among Thordal Christensen’s many credentials are an impressive performing career, successful leadership of one of the world's major ballet companies, critically applauded original choreography, and a proven commitment to dance education. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Christensen received his ballet training at The Royal Danish Ballet School and at the School of American Ballet in New York City before a performance career that included the Royal Danish Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Christensen then returned to Denmark where he was Artistic Director of the Royal Danish Ballet This blend of Bournonville and Balanchine tradition is one of the defining themes of his career, and has shaped the unique artistic vision that Christensen, along with his wife Colleen Neary, bring to Los Angeles Ballet. In 2002, he was made Knight of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. About Colleen Neary Colleen Neary brings to Los Angeles Ballet the benefits of her vast experience as one of George Balanchine's quintessential ballerinas. In her experience as a dancer, teacher, and ballet mistress, she also worked closely with other luminaries of 20th century dance, including Rudolf Nureyev, Maurice Béjart, and Jiří Kylián. Born in Miami, Florida and trained at The School of American Ballet, Neary danced in New York City Ballet under the direction of George Balanchine, then for Maurice Béjart's Ballet du XXième Siecle, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Neary was personally selected by Balanchine to teach his choreography to major companies all over the world as a repetiteur for The George Balanchine Trust. ​ LAB Public Relations DOWNLOAD PDF 2021/2022 Season > News > Previous Item Next Item

2021/2022 Season > Dancers > ​ Poppy Coleman Hometown Portland, Oregon Schools Professional Division at The Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Portland Ballet Companies ​ Los Angeles Ballet 1st Season Next Dancer Previous Dancer

The Nutcracker – Dec 4 Alex Theatre Sunday, December 5, 2021 at 2:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 5 Alex Theatre Monday, December 6, 2021 at 2:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 11 Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 8:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 11 Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 1:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 12 Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 8:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 17 Royce Hall, UCLA Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 4:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 18 Royce Hall, UCLA Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 8:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 18 Royce Hall, UCLA Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 1:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 19 Royce Hall, UCLA Sunday, December 19, 2021 at 8:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 19 Royce Hall, UCLA Monday, December 20, 2021 at 1:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 23 Dolby Theatre Friday, December 24, 2021 at 4:00:00 AM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 24 Dolby Theatre Friday, December 24, 2021 at 8:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS The Nutcracker – Dec 26 Dolby Theatre Sunday, December 26, 2021 at 7:00:00 PM UTC GET TICKETS Tickets

2021/2022 Season > Dancers > ​ Madeline McMillin Hometown Plano, Texas Schools Pacific Northwest Ballet Professional Division, Booker T Washington Performing Arts, Collin County Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Ballet School Companies Nevada Ballet Theatre Los Angeles Ballet 4th Season Next Dancer Previous Dancer

2021/2022 Season > Dancers > ​ Jacob Ray Hometown Orange County, California Schools Grand Rapids Ballet School, Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy Companies Colorado Ballet Los Angeles Ballet 1st Season Next Dancer Previous Dancer