Tag archives: ballet
Rodney Gustafson‘s State Street Ballet, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, is featured in Entertainment Weekly‘s list of “must be watched” videos for dance lovers. The performance, Cinderella, choreographed by Rodney and ballet master Marina Fliagina, airs on WNET’s All Arts program, and shares the accolade with Kansas City Ballet’s The Wizard of Oz, Alexander […]
Two years after the #MeToo movement called attention to sexual harassment and power dynamics – and just a month after the landmark conviction of former Hollywood powerbroker Harvey Weinstein – it would seem almost counterintuitive to produce a traditional ballet version of the classic Sleeping Beauty story. In other words, a perfect stranger kissing an […]
It wasn’t quite the Olympics, but KEYT-TV reporters Kelsey Gerckens and Tracy Lehr were definitely going for gold at the 70th annual Golden Mike awards in Los Angeles. The ABC affiliate broadcaster on TV Hill won the coveted trophies at a glittering Radio and Television News Association of Southern California gala at the Universal Hilton, […]
Two of the Granada Theatre’s resident companies, the State Street Ballet, celebrating its 25th anniversary, and the 72-year-old Santa Barbara Choral Society, combined their abundant talents in American Masters. The enticing program featured masterworks from Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Morten Lauridsen, and choreography ranging from neoclassical to the avant garde combined in an endeavor […]
At the Granada it was time for the tony triumvirate of violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Steven Isserlis, and pianist Jeremy Denk to shine, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The talented threesome were in glorious harmony playing works by Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff and Ravel. A blockbuster show… Like Father, Like Daughter CAMA […]
Multi-talented Scottish actor and performer Alan Cumming brought his highly entertaining show Legal Immigrant to the sold-out Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program. The almost two-hour intermission-free performance, with a four-member backup band, was a meditation on his ten years as an American citizen and the experiences and change has witnessed […]
Something about the original score by Czech composer and conductor Milan Svoboda for a theatrical production of The Jungle Book drew State Street Ballet Artistic Director Rodney Gustafson’s attention when it arrived unsolicited more than a decade ago with a proposal to use it to create an original full-length work based on the beloved Rudyard […]
Local dance lovers are in for a treat this week when the Joffrey Ballet, the veteran company considered among America’s elite, returns to the Granada for the first time in more than half a decade for two different programs spanning seven works. That’s a tall order even for one of the country’s most revered troupe […]
It was a delightful night of high camp when Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo performed a hilarious program at the packed Granada, part of the of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series. Music by Chopin, Verdi, Glazunov accompanied the balletic high jinx. Having seen the 45-year-old company a number of times in New […]
State Street Ballet hosted its annual Evenings event at the Gail Towbes Center for Dance giving the company’s talented dancers the opportunity to create their own dance works and experiment with new movement, themes, music, and styles. This year’s event featured eight short world premieres performed in the rehearsal space followed by a question and […]
Dreamtime Continuum has been one of Santa Barbara’s most eclectic ensembles since Sudama Mark Kennedy first formed the group way back in 1994 as an outlet for his all-encompassing world music approach that he came by naturally as the son in a diplomatic family. The group underwent a few personnel changes over the years and […]
Last year, Isabel “Izzy” Fuentes achieved what is just about every teenage ballerina’s dream – getting cast as Clara, the girl who gets to go on a fairy tale journey with the come-to-life title character of The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s famed Christmastime ballet, danced every December by Santa Barbara’s State Street Ballet. Then came the Thomas […]
It was all tu-tu much when the State Street Ballet threw its 24th anniversary gala for a record 184 guests in the Biltmore’s Loggia Ballroom, raising around $140,000 for the popular local dance company. The fab fete, which honored avid supporter Arlyn Goldsby, longtime board member and patron, was emceed by Jonatha King, with dance […]
The choreographers behind State Street Ballet’s season-opening world premiere, Chaplin, had no idea that Charlie Chaplin had a major Montecito and Santa Barbara connection, the silent-film icon having had a hand in the building of the Montecito Inn in 1928, and marrying Oona O’Neill here in 1943. All they knew was that not only did […]
State Street Ballet hosted its third annual showcase of contemporary choreography, Modern Masters, in the intimate setting of the New Vic. The highly entertaining show featured a diverse mix of dance movement featuring works by seven choreographers, including pieces by New York’s William Soleau, the new co-artistic director, Montreal’s Edgar Zendejas, Autumn Eckman from Tucson, […]
Violinist Jennifer Koh has brought her three-part “Bach and Beyond” and the cutting edge “Bridge to Beethoven” recital series to Hahn Hall for several concerts with UCSB Arts & Lectures over the years. Now, the fearless fiddler is returning to town with her most ambitious endeavor to date: “Shared Madness”, a set of 30 short […]
State Street Ballet was in fine form at the Lobero with its sold-out production of Romeo & Juliet to the classic music of Sergei Prokofiev. Deise Mendonca was a delight as Juliet while Australian Aaron Smyth, a former member of ABT II in New York and London’s Royal Ballet, played the dashing beau, with choreography […]
State Street Ballet has named prolific New York choreographer William Soleau as co-artistic director. Founder of the 23-year-old troupe Rodney Gustafson says the new partnership will propel the already acclaimed company to new heights. “After working with him for the past 18 years, I feel excited he is coming on board. His dedication, artistic integrity, […]
Hector Sanchez appeared in so many of the pieces performed at last year’s BASSH – the theatrical showcase for local dance professionals and their protégés to show off their choreography in a wide variety of social dance genres – that one was thinking they might have to change the name of the two-decades old production […]
State Street Ballet gave a sneak-peek with a wide variety of new dances by its choreographers and dancers at its newly relaunched Evenings at its headquarters, the Gail Towbes Dance Center. The series was launched in 2005 and has evolved into an actual performance series with lighting, live music, and, in the words of Leila […]
