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Bubbles at the ballet! And what a fantastic way to end a program, which is precisely what Los Angeles Ballet did by presenting Jiří Kylián’s deliriously witty, “Sechs Tänze,” a 1986 bauble set to Mozart that should be required viewing for those who think ballet is a mysterious and elite art form. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Brilliant! May 20, 2015 Fjord Review by Victoria Looseleaf Bubbles at the ballet! And what a fantastic way to end a program, which is precisely what Los Angeles Ballet did by presenting Jiří Kylián’s deliriously witty, “Sechs Tänze,” a 1986 bauble set to Mozart that should be required viewing for those who think ballet is a mysterious and elite art form. Indeed, as Pete Campbell of Mad Men might have said: “A thing like that!” Seriously, Los Angeles Ballet is the little company that could. Concluding its ninth season, the troupe has grown by leaps, fouettés and pirouettes over the years, continually proving its mettle in a town that’s been ballet-averse—at least to local talent. But with a dedicated husband-and-wife team at the troupe’s helm—Colleen Neary (a New York City Ballet dancer under Balanchine and répétiteur) and Thordal Christensen (erstwhile artistic director of Royal Danish Ballet)—Angelenos can take pride in this homegrown organization. And while story ballets are an easier sell than a mixed rep bill (LAB’s recent production of its own “Sleeping Beauty” made a greater impact on this reviewer than the gaudy world premiere presented by ABT in Orange County in March), this program showed the diversity, range and reach of the 37-member company. Opening with Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2,” the 1973 revision of the choreographer’s 1941 “Ballet Imperial” and his first foray into the Petipa style (LAB premiered the opus in 2010), the dancers had a chance to show their dreamy side, albeit one fueled by technique, grit and, well, smiles. Plotless, this is, nevertheless, a huge, majestic affair, with Allynne Noelle, Christopher Revels and Julia Cinquemani leading the charge—in this case a bevy of dancers clad in cream-colored attire (designed and executed by Marianne Parker), the women’s neo-Romantic tutus topped with sparkling bodices. The rich melodic score (alas, heard on tape—won’t some angel please donate a few million dollars to give this troupe an orchestra?), leaves no room for stillness. Teeming with numerous corps members offering constantly shifting patterns, including traversing the stage in diagonals, the work also features dancers’ angled arms held aloft, fingers and feet precisely positioned. Then there are the soloists: Noelle, who leaves the company after its final performances (Glendale’s Alex Theatre, May 30; U.C.L.A.’s Royce Hall, June 6), but who will guest in future, displayed a wonderful mix of feminine swagger, musicality and assured footwork, both graceful and muscular. Revels partnered Noelle with brio, his cabrioles and beating feet taking him to new heights. Cinquemani, who, at 23, also has her own dancewear line, accentuated the angst in Tchaikovsky’s music, her gorgeously fierce attacks a study in exactitude. Also noteworthy: Laura Chachich, Kate Highstrete, Zachary Guthier and Dustin True added to the work that is a testament to stamina and the power of art. José Limón first performed “The Moor’s Pavane—Variations on the theme of Othello” in 1949 at the American Dance Festival. Directed and reconstructed by Alice Condodina, a former Limón dancer under the master, himself, this 20-minute distillation of themes from Shakespeare’s play is a timeless tale of envy, intrigue and violence. Set within the formalism of a Baroque dance to Henry Purcell’s music, “Moor” is the apotheosis of concise storytelling, its four characters inspired by Othello, Iago, Desdemona and Emilia, though not named. Zheng Hua Li’s Moor has dug deep to seize the moment, his acting keen, his every move imbued with meaning: Outstretched arms at the work’s beginning define his nobility, only to later signify his rising jealousy and fury; and finally, his utter despair. Erik Thordal-Christensen (the directors’ son), at 20, does not yet have the maturity for a reptilian Iago, although his striking presence (he’s 6’4” and very blonde, decidedly the stuff of princes), is not to be ignored. In time, no doubt, one can see him investing the moves with more villainous rigor. Stepping in for an injured Bianca Bulle, Elizabeth Claire Walker gave her Desdemona the expected air of tragic innocence, her undoing a tableau of fragile prey. The splendid Allyssa Bross handled her dramatic duties with aplomb, occasionally acting as if these goings-on were games, realizing, too late, that they were, in fact, fatal. Such is the gestural language of the dance, where a handkerchief, untrustworthy friends and paranoia, spell doom. Neary and Christensen danced “Moor” in the 1980s, when they were with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and it is from that troupe that they borrowed the costumes (designed by Pauline Lawrence). A paean to the Renaissance, when heads were offed and suspicions ran rampant, these heavy gowns, billowing sleeves and tights, proved great concealers. “Moor,” also the tragedy of Everyman, rings true in today’s harrowing times, when we, too, might find ourselves occasionally cloaked in fear and agitation. We’re grateful for dance, then, to transport us to a higher level, which Kylián’s “Sechs Tänze” does by feeding the soul with unbridled joy. A Los Angeles Ballet premiere, staged by Fiona Lummis and Glen Eddy, the work is divided into six comical acts danced by four couples, with a supporting quintet upping the humor ante. A cheeky romp through the intrigues of Baroque court life, including men in powdery wigs and women sporting garish make-up, the prevailing octet cavorts about in flirty, absurd fun through a series of dangerous liaisons—hello fencing foils and mime! Throughout the six acts, dancers revel in nonsense, both individually and with each other. Faces are slapped, powder is suspended in air; evening gown facades are periodically paraded across the stage reminiscent of an I Love Lucy sight gag. Among the purveyors of silly: the always outstanding Christopher McDaniel (he leaves the troupe after five seasons, boo hoo), Britta Lazenga, Chelsea Paige Johnston, Chloé Sherman, Javier Moya Romero, Cinquemani, Guthier and True. Mozart would have loved it! Oh, yes: Those buckets of bubbles—champagne, anyone?—that rained down at the work’s end was not only a glorious finale to the Kylián, but to a beautifully rendered program by Los Angeles Ballet. We’ll drink to that! READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE

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Bird-watchers flocked to UCLA’s Royce Hall over the weekend as Los Angeles Ballet, now in its sixth season, continued to prove its pointe shoe prowess with the premiere of “Swan Lake.” And while everything was not always picture-perfect Saturday, husband-and-wife directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, who choreographed the four-act work after Petipa and Ivanov, continue to confound balletic naysayers with their little company that could. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet opening weekend of ‘Swan Lake’ March 5, 2012 Los Angeles Times by Victoria Looseleaf Bird-watchers flocked to UCLA’s Royce Hall over the weekend as Los Angeles Ballet, now in its sixth season, continued to prove its pointe shoe prowess with the premiere of “Swan Lake.” And while everything was not always picture-perfect Saturday, husband-and-wife directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, who choreographed the four-act work after Petipa and Ivanov, continue to confound balletic naysayers with their little company that could. A classic bipolar drama of joy and tragedy set to Tchaikovsky’s sweeping score (heard here, alas, on tape), “Swan Lake” lives and dies -– literally –- by its Odette/Odile, the sweetly vulnerable white swan/cunningly malevolent black swan. (Additional performances with cast changes are on tap in four other venues). A sturdy, stylish corps is also a must. And though Allynne Noelle’s Odette captivated with fragile, fluttering arms and superb footwork (Allyssa Bross alternates in the role), the dancer’s Odile was more smiles than seduction, her Act III fouettés less a study in surety than traveling –- or was it fatigue? One hopes, over time, that Noelle will come to fully embody both avians. The well-drilled corps, though lovely in held poses, is short on emotionally expressive steps, a cygnet requirement for representing unadulterated femininity. In the challenging pas de quatre (Bianca Bulle, Julia Cinquemani, Ariel Derby and Sophie Silna), technique again trumped finesse, another sign of LAB’s youthful makeup. As every Swan Queen needs a noble Siegfried, Kenta Shimizu was not only a gallant partner but also a thrilling soloist. His Act III variations shimmered with airy-as-meringue leaps, his landings rock solid. Also notable: Guest artist Akimitsu Yahata’s Jester generated heat with splashy split kicks, Christopher Revels’ Benno made easy work of his jetés and Christopher McDaniel’s Neapolitan dance (with Isabel Vondermuhll) was sassy and precise. A requisitely nasty Von Rothbart, Nicolas de la Vega as the bare-chested, cape-swooshing sorcerer, boosted the drama, especially in his final death throes. Kudos, also, to Oregon Ballet Theatre’s scenery and costumes: Neo-opulent castle and moonlit forest backdrops accentuated plush royal garb and crisp, sparkly tutus. While this “Swan Lake” may feature a bit of fowl play, its heart is in the right place. Long may Los Angeles Ballet spread its wings. -- Victoria Looseleaf Los Angeles Ballet’s “Swan Lake,” Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach. 7:30 p.m. March 10; Also: Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. 7:30 p.m. March 17; Carpenter Performing Arts Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. 7:30 p.m., March 24; Valley Performing Arts Center, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 7:30 p.m., March 31. $24-$95. (310) 998-7782. www.losangelesballet.org DOWNLOAD PDF

Los Angeles Ballet's diverse program forms a robust whole. It's hard enough for dancers trained in different styles of ballet — sometimes in different countries — to form a unified ensemble. Home / News / New Item The new company's diverse dancers form a robust whole in a program of Balanchine and Bournonville. March 17, 2007 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Los Angeles Ballet's diverse program forms a robust whole. It's hard enough for dancers trained in different styles of ballet — sometimes in different countries — to form a unified ensemble. It's harder still to display that unity in the distinctive dance languages of two choreographic masters. Born just four months ago, Los Angeles Ballet passed that test in its first repertory program Thursday at UCLA's Freud Playhouse — maybe not perfectly, maybe not without a pervasive sense of effort, but splendidly enough to make three challenging pieces come alive for a large, enthusiastic audience. Classical Balanchine, contemporary Balanchine and buoyant, Romantic Bournonville all received scrupulous performances in stagings by company artistic directors Colleen Neary (a Balanchine specialist) and Thordal Christensen (an alumnus of Bournonville's Royal Danish Ballet). Whether or not it can survive in our traditionally inhospitable dance landscape, their Los Angeles Ballet is the real thing, a force for many kinds of excellence that deserves the community's attention and support. One could wish that as the company moves from Westwood to Redondo Beach and then to Glendale this month, the dancers might relax into their roles and enjoy their dancing as much as the audience does. It's not a matter of smiles (of which there were plenty Thursday) but of the sense of interpretive freedom within the choreography that only Melissa Barak and a very few others showed opening night. Barak's individual and often spontaneous attacks came in Balanchine's "Concerto Barocco," which always seems to be a showcase for conservative classical purity until you look more closely and see the innovative body-foldings, partnering experiments and other creative wonders that Balanchine devised in 1941 to music by Bach. Mirroring Barak in the outer sections and becoming the work's focus in the central duet, Corina Gill gave a rapt, secure performance, partnered with great nobility by Oleg Gorboulev. Gill and Gorboulev also brought their remarkable ability to deliver a string of choreographic fireworks as one brilliantly sustained phrase to Balanchine's "Agon," an inspired 1957 game of neoclassic one-upmanship played with and against Igor Stravinsky. All fire and ice, whimsical forays into off-balance balance and a modernistic milestone, the choreography can look a lot jauntier than it did Thursday, but Neary's deadpan staging did allow all the non sequiturs to take you by surprise. As with "Concerto Barocco," the company as a whole often managed the complex passages more artfully than the simplest steps, but Lauren Toole endowed both with a serene confidence in her technical control. Sergey Kheylik threw himself into his solo with complete abandon, but neatness definitely counted here, and his wild vivacity proved far more useful in the divertissements from Bournonville's "Napoli." With music by Helsted and Paulli, the celebratory "Napoli" pas de six and tarantella date from 1842, before classical bravura acquired the edge of aggression it gained, for better or worse, in Russia. If "Agon" is consummately spiky and "Concerto Barocco" supremely flowing, this quasi-Italianate showpiece is indomitably fluffy, marked by major shifts in tempo and pressure (to which the company needs greater attention) but always light and genial. On Thursday, exposed balances in extension sometimes proved shaky and terminations not always ideally clean. But it was fascinating to see what elements of Bournonville style attracted the individual soloists and dominated their performances. Guest Rainer Krenstetter of the Berlin Staatsballett had the sparkle, Masahiro Suehara the precision, Gill the sweetness and Toole the calm center. Kheylik, as always, brought invigorating energy to the party. The excerpt also displayed the talents of Peter Snow, Kelly Ann Sloan, Alexandra Blacker, Nancy Richer and Erin RiveraBrennand. Everyone looked yummy in Soren Frandsen's prismatic abstractions of folk costumes and behaved as if an L.A. company dancing a Danish interpretation of Italian folklore was, somehow, natural casting. Taped music accompanied all the pieces on the program. lewis.segal@latimes.com DOWNLOAD PDF

Something rare is afoot in Los Angeles. To put it simply, “Swan Lake.” Yes, that icon of classical exactitude and style is popping up on stages all over. And the producer turns out to be not some long-standing, well-endowed enterprise on tour here, but the LA Ballet, which is a mere six years old. Home / News / New Item Swan feathers float down on local stages March 14, 2012 LA Observed by Donna Perlmutter Something rare is afoot in Los Angeles. To put it simply, “Swan Lake.” Yes, that icon of classical exactitude and style is popping up on stages all over. And the producer turns out to be not some long-standing, well-endowed enterprise on tour here, but the LA Ballet, which is a mere six years old. Why? Why would brand-name husband/wife directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary be confident enough to mount this behemoth of a ballet? This vast spectacle designed for the likes of kingly companies with multi-millions -- the Bolshoi, American Ballet Theatre, Royal Covent Garden, Royal Danish? Answer: They have the chops now, that is, the dancers, together with their deep, artistic savvy. And they know it. All I did was tip-toe into Royce Hall - the first stop in a city-wide tour of major Southland venues that continues through March 31 - only to discover a production of the Petipa-Ivanov-Tchaikovsky ballet that approximated world-class standards. The capstone of all this cheering came in the second act - you know, the famed lakeside scene, that moonlit mirage with the snowy white swan corps floating about and Prince Siegfried sensing the imminent appearance of his fateful inamorata Odette, aka the Swan Queen, turned from maiden into an avian creature by an evil sorcerer. And when she alit onstage, in the person of Allynne Noelle, the effect was dazzling -- as that first sighting was meant to be. Tall, with perfect proportions and gorgeously tapering long limbs, this Swan Queen had both bird-like spark and human pathos, her hand articulation spelling out regal elegance. She danced with alacrity and definition and fluid musicality. It was as though she’d been in training at Vaganova since adolescence - not a girl from Huntington Beach - although she’d done stints at redoubtable dance oases (National Ballet of Canada, Villella’s Miami City Ballet and not least, Vicky Koenig’s Inland Pacific Ballet). So...with Noelle and a host of others now just in their second season with LAB, Christensen and Neary knew this was their moment. In fact, the bench is deep enough to alternate the lead role, as well as others. But that’s not all. These high-pedigree directors (he a Royal Dane, she a Balanchine Trustee), who have both formerly danced the “Swan Lake” lead roles for years, boast wide contacts for bringing resources to the company -- the dancers, for instance -- and this production, originally designed for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Besides Noelle, who joined LAB only 18 months ago, is Alyssa Bross, the alternate lead. I glimpsed her rehearsing Odile (the Black Swan), and saw richly expressive qualities - she used every enticement to undermine the Prince’s oath to Odette and was a dewy seductress, not the hard, haughty type who would laugh at her easy conquest. And when she danced Odette, it was with aching vulnerability - which belies her photograph on the program book cover, a misleadingly placid look. No wonder Christensen went forward with “Swan Lake.” He knew he’d recruited the talent - many had trained at prestigious schools and had danced with top companies. As Noelle’s and Bross’s partners, both Kenta Shimizu and Christopher Revels acquitted themselves nobly, if not exactly at the danseur level. Guest artist Akimitsu Yahata did his thrilling bravura stuff as the Jester. But down to the last coryphée, the coaching was scrupulous. Everyone had clear focus and a sense of unanimity, even the mimed gestures were natural. What’s more, the muted, old-world sets and costumes looked lovely on the Royce Hall stage, as if made for it. Considering that taped music allows for no moment-to-moment variation, the company coped well. 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 . DOWNLOAD PDF

Los Angeles Ballet is excited to appear at Santa Monica's The Broad Stage as part of the theater's Inaugural Season. LAB’s Director's Choice program was presented at the theater March 15 and 16, 2009. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet at The Broad Stage March 1, 2009 Company News from the Staff at LAB 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.

Los Angeles’ own professional ballet company will premiere Swan Lake, choreographed by the Artistic Directors, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet Sixth Season to Feature Swan Lake August 11, 2011 LAB Public Relations 2011-2012 Season Kicks Off with The Nutcracker Carpenter and Valley Performing Arts Centers Added to Venue Line-up (Los Angeles, CA) Los Angeles Ballet Artistic Directors Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary are pleased to announce LAB’s sixth season. Los Angeles’ own professional ballet company will premiere Swan Lake , choreographed by the Artistic Directors, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Continuing to reach out to new audiences, LAB will offer performances at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach and the Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge for the very first time. Once again LAB will kick off its season with the Neary-Christensen choreographed production of The Nutcracker , the city's most enduring holiday tradition. Swan Lake, the company’s fourth full length ballet, (after The Nutcracker , La Sylphide , and Giselle ), will be presented in March 2012, and the 2011-2012 season will conclude in May with NextWave LA , featuring four World Premieres created specifically for LAB by Sonya Tayeh, Josie Walsh, and Stacey Tookey, and one other choreographer to be announced. “Our sixth season reflects LAB’s on-going commitment to celebrating classic ballet as well as showcasing exciting new choreography,” said Christensen. “We are particularly pleased to be extending our audience reach with performances of Swan Lake in Long Beach and Northridge.” “This season will also feature LAB’s first principal dancers, Allyssa Bross and Christopher Revels, and the return of many outstanding members of our company,” added Neary. “We continue to advance the quality of dancing, which is what enables us to present productions ranging from Swan Lake to Next Wave LA .” Los Angeles Ballet is also pleased to announce the formation of Young Professionals, a group of early to mid-career individuals who actively participate in the Los Angeles arts environment through support of Los Angeles Ballet. Young Professionals was launched on July 29th with a social mixer at the Duncan Miller Gallery in West LA. Attendees enjoyed an exhibit of Kim Weston’s new work based on his silver gelatin photographs of ballerinas. A number of LAB dancers were in attendance and a percentage of the gallery’s sales benefitted Los Angeles Ballet. LAB 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. DOWNLOAD PDF

Try summing up the themes of August Bournonville’s romantic 1836 ballet, “La Sylphide.” You might get a list something like this: Dreams, illusions, ideals versus reality and worse — irrational, implacable evil. No wonder the ballet survives, not only to entertain but to trouble, even deeply disturb. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet "La Sylphide" May 19, 2009 Los Angeles Times by Chris Pasles Try summing up the themes of August Bournonville’s romantic 1836 ballet, “La Sylphide.” You might get a list something like this: Dreams, illusions, ideals versus reality and worse — irrational, implacable evil. No wonder the ballet survives, not only to entertain but to trouble, even deeply disturb. Los Angeles Ballet, founded in 2006, marked its latest stage of artistic growth by mounting a handsome production of “La Sylphide” Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, with period sets and costumes borrowed from the Houston Ballet. (Performances continue over the next two weekends at other venues.) (Freud Playhouse, UCLA, May 23 and 24, and at the Alex Theater in Glendale, May 30.) The story is simple. James, a Scottish highlander, dreams of a magical, otherworldly creature, the Sylph, on the very day of his wedding to his beloved Effie. Suddenly incarnate, the Sylph lures James away from the wedding and into the forest. There, she inexplicably appears and disappears at will, always managing to stay just out of his grasp. James and the Sylph soon meet their destruction, however. James has deeply though mindlessly offended the witch Madge earlier during the wedding day. Now, seeking to bring his ideal Sylph into his arms, he drapes a veil he doesn’t know has been poisoned by Madge over the Sylph’s shoulders and winds it around her arms. The Sylph immediately loses her wings, comes to earth and quickly dies. James is stunned and collapses in grief. As danced Saturday by Eddy Tovar, a permanent LAB guest from Orlando Ballet, James was a bewildered dreamer, torn between the Sylph and Effie. He was also impulsive, flaring into outraged anger upon seeing Madge warming herself by the fire. A handsome, compact dancer, Tovar had the strength and style to execute Bournonville’s demanding foot beats with speed and clarity. Corina Gill was the poised, ethereal Sylph, balancing lightly and cleanly in high extensions. Her most arresting moments, however, came in her death scene, where she seemed to lose the power of sight as well as of flight. The other plum role, of course, is the evil Madge. She is first discovered cowering by James’ fire but is last seen towering triumphantly above his body. Why did she wreck such evil, so out of proportion to the original offense? Her answer is a drumming of her fingers on her chest. “I,” “I,” “I,” she gestures, because James offended her. The ballet ends with a terrible image. Madge pulls the fallen James up by the hair to see his beloved but dead Sylph float up into the heavens. With insouciant flicks of her wrists, Madge then dismisses James’ lifeless form. All in a day’s work, she seems to say, and easy work at that. Final curtain. Co-artistic director Colleen Neary, a former New York City Ballet principal, made a formidable Madge, only gradually revealing her malevolent powers. It was easy to laugh at her mumbo-jumbo antics with her four witch friends around the black cauldron at the start of Act 2. But nobody was laughing at the end of the ballet. In other roles, Grace McLoughlin danced Effie with sweet innocence. James Li was Gurn, James’ best friend, a naïf who winds up marrying Effie after James’ disappearance. (Peter Snow will take over the role in two of the three remaining performances.) Andrew Brader and Drew Grant were the friends. The corps, including the children, danced strongly. Melissa Barak, the First Sylph, gave notice of incipient major Sylph duties. The ballet, staged by co-artistic director Thordal Christensen, a former principal with the Royal Danish Ballet, was danced to pre-recorded music. DOWNLOAD PDF

Los Angeles Ballet is the latest company to attempt success against long odds. We wish it well. Home / News / New Item Get the 'pointe' November 26, 2006 Los Angeles Times from the Staff of the LA Times Los Angeles Ballet is the latest company to attempt success against long odds. We wish it well. Of course we're rooting for the new Los Angeles Ballet, which will debut December 2, at the Wilshire Theatre with a production of (what else?) "The Nutcracker. " Still, it's hard to ignore the historical odds against ballet in the L.A. area. The company may begin with the graceful aarabesque of Clara, but we have to brace ourselves for the thud of "Swan Lake's" Odette dumped to the floor during the pas de deux by a feckless Siefried we call "the public." Locally based ballet has been tutu scarce in Southern California. This remains the only U.S. megopolis without a top-tier classical company, despite well-ranked ballet schools that churn out world-class dancers. There have been at least five attempts to launch a premier company in the last decade, and all of them flopped – in one case, owning large sums of money to its dancers. L.A. Ballet – it even rhymes! – seems like a natural for a dynamic metropolitan area with such a love for arts new and old (including an otherwise lively dance scene). It's always been puzzling that we haven't support a world-raned company. But the survival of an elite adn expensive art form is tricky anywhere. Chicago's renowned 50-year old Joffrey Ballet, whose part-time residence in L.A. during the 1980's didn't work out either. Even superstar Ethan Stiefel couldn't bring in the big bucks when he spent a tour as artistic director of Ballet Pacifica, a small Irvine-based company he had hoped to take regional. Now two notable ballet dancers, Thordal Christensen and Colleen Neary, are putting their best slippers forward as artistic directors. Their L.A. Ballet will be affiliated with the respected Westside School of Ballet and make its premanent home at th Malibu Performing Arts Center. In a canny move, its version of "The Nutcracker " will be performed at three venues around the county, hoping to draw views by chopping their commutes. None of the locations are with L.A.'s city limits, but there's time to build toward that. The main issue is whether Southern California will provide enough cash and audience to sustain this latest effort. Perhaps some of the major centers of money in town, such as Hollywood, will see the value in supporting the performing arts. It would help L.A. Ballet delivers the goods, and if ballet fans buy tickets. Then, perhaps, L.A. will be ready for a major jeté forwards in the arts. DOWNLOAD PDF

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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. Home / News / New Item Los Angeles Ballet: L.A. Ballet soloists show sense of purpose, if not peak skills, in season debut February 25, 2008 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal 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. DOWNLOAD PDF