Pauline Adamek
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Tonight and tomorrow eve – the City Ballet of Los Angeles (CBLA) continues its mission to reflect the diversity of its city and bringing ballet to new audiences with its winter program, The Nutcracker Swings, a twist on the holiday favorite set in 1942 Los Angeles during WWII.
Performances are this Friday and Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00 p.m. and December 4th, at 1.00pm and 8:00 p.m., at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles.
The Nutcracker Swings is CBLA”™s tribute to the classic tale of the Nutcracker. Set in 1942 Los Angeles during WWII, the audience will be swept away to another world while dancers swing to the sounds of Tchaikovsky and Duke Ellington. In this version of the classic family ballet, Maria, the heroine falls for the leading man, Jim, a WWII hero who gives Maria the Nutcracker doll, which kicks off a whirlwind journey of Christmas Wonder.
Under the artistic direction and founded by former American Ballet Theatre dancer and Los Angeles native Robyn Gardenhire, CBLA began as a school in 2000 and then as a professional company in 2001. CBLA has worked since its inception to become a dance institution of and for Los Angeles – offering training at low or no cost to children from the economically depressed Pico Union District, introducing ballet to thousands of elementary school students throughout Los Angeles, and developing a company that reflects the diversity of its city and bringing ballet to new audiences.
Providing Los Angeles with its own ballet company unique and representative of its multicultural community, CBLA presents work that is a mixture of classical and contemporary dance theater, examining nontraditional themes and blending music from all over the world. In keeping with the tradition of classical dance, CBLA preserves the standards of excellence in its presentation of art of dance and presents quality artistic programming and training to all dancers and audience members from different cultural and ethic backgrounds.
City Ballet of Los Angeles is a young and exciting Company that presents work that is classical in it”™s foundation but pushes the limits of the body and mind, taking its audience on a journey of music dance and art that will have you always wanting more. Going into its 10th year CBLA has matured and built a repertory of over fifteen Ballets, full length and rep, with music ranging from J.S. Bach to cutting edge Jazz. The dancers of the company are classically trained, athletes and from a range of different ethnic backgrounds.
Artistic Director Robyn Gardenhire has been influenced by the likes of Pina Bausch and George Balanchine. Ms. Gardenhire has choreographed over a dozen ballets for CBLA as well as other Dance Companies, Film, Television and Theater. Ms. Gardenhire is a former member of Joffrey II, Cleveland Ballet, Karol Armitage, American Ballet Theater and Mikhail Baryshnikov”™s White Oak Project. Ms. Gardenhire is the founder of City Ballet of Los Angeles School that provides training to students that are economically and socially at a disadvantage starting at age three and up. The school and company have been awarded Durfee Foundation, Los Angeles Cultural Affairs, and California Arts Council grants and have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, Pointe Magazine and Dance Magazine.
The City Ballet of Los Angeles presents The Nutcracker Swings.
Performances are this Friday and Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00 p.m. and December 4th, at 1.00pm and 8:00 p.m.
The Nate Holden Performing Arts Center is located at 4718 West Washington Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90016.
Single tickets are $25.00 in advance and $35.00 at the door.
To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit the official site.
For Group sales and information on season subscription tickets please call (323) 292-1932.
Report by Pauline Adamek
Brian Sonia-Wallace
