Tag archives: Gail Towbes Center for Dance

Entertaining ‘Evenings’ of Ballet
By Richard Mineards   |   February 6, 2024

Balletomanes packed the Gail Towbes Center for Dance when State Street Ballet celebrated the 20th anniversary of its annual show Evenings, which gives the talented dancers the opportunity to create their own dance works and experiment with new movement, music, and themes. Nine works were performed in all, including “Luna Luna to Clair de Lune, […]

A Gala on Pointe
By Richard Mineards   |   October 3, 2023

It was a scene worthy of Degas as 130 guests arrived at the Santa Barbara home of board member Gary Dorfman for the State Street Ballet gala honoring founder Rodney Gustafson and the Gail Towbes Center for Dance. Dancers, beautifully dressed in full ballet attire, graced the entrance to the boffo bash, which was co-chaired […]

Seeing Gold
By Richard Mineards   |   February 20, 2020

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, […]

2Qs with Ensemble Mik Nawooj
By Steven Libowitz   |   October 31, 2019

Oakland’s Ensemble Mik Nawooj is an innovative 10-piece ensemble featuring winds, strings, piano, drums, and a lyric soprano – plus two MCs, the kind you find at a hip hop concert. That’s because EMN founder and composer JooWan Kim, who was classically trained in composition at Berklee College of Music and San Francisco Conservatory, also […]

Works in Progress
By Richard Mineards   |   February 7, 2019

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 […]