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Los Angeles Ballet, LA’s resident classical ballet company, returns to theaters this December for the 2023/2024 Season with performances of The Nutcracker in 5 venues across Southern California, including a live orchestra at performances at the Dolby Theatre. UPCOMING PERFORMANCES 2024/2025 Season Cinderella June 12-15, 2025 Liang | Prokofiev LEARN MORE Gala 2025 May 17, 2025 LEARN MORE Memoryhouse January 30-February 1, 2025 Barak/Richter LEARN MORE The Nutcracker December 6-28, 2024 Christensen | Neary/Tchaikovsky LEARN MORE A NEW ERA FOR DANCE IN LA 2024/2025 SEASON The Nutcracker December 6-28, 2024 Christensen | Neary/Tchaikovsky The Wallis & Los Angeles Ballet Present Memoryhouse January 30-February 1, 2025 Barak/Richter Off Balance March 22-23, 2025 Shantell Martin Cinderella June 12-15, 2025 Liang | Prokofiev PARTICIPATE Become a Member Today! LAB’s Membership Circles are donor benefits designed to build a community through a shared love of ballet and to provide a deeper appreciation of the art form through unique experiences and exclusive content. BECOME A MEMBER LOS ANGELES BALLET 2024/2025 Season This season includes a beloved fairy tale Cinderella , an experimental outdoor artist collaboration, the return of a critically acclaimed original by LAB Artistic Director Melissa Barak, and the Los Angeles holiday favorite, The Nutcracker . Subscriptions and Single Tickets on Sale Now! DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE

Los Angeles Ballet's The Nutcracker was attended by a record estimated 15,700 people over 12 performances in 2013, adding to the holiday traditions of audience members throughout Southern California. Record Attendance at The Nutcracker December 1, 2013 Company News from the Staff at LAB Los Angeles Ballet's The Nutcracker was attended by a record estimated 15,700 people over 12 performances in 2013, adding to the holiday traditions of audience members throughout Southern California. The 2013/2014 Season continues in March 2014 with Quartet and May/June 2014 with La Sylphide and Balanchine's Serenade. Home / News / New Item

Colleen Neary will never forget the day when George Balanchine articulated the blueprint for her life’s work. She was in her early 20s, then a respected New York City Ballet dancer. L.A. Ballet's Balanchine Festival follows in master's steps March 8, 2013 Los Angeles Times by Susan Josephs March 8, 2013 | By Susan Josephs Colleen Neary will never forget the day when George Balanchine articulated the blueprint for her life’s work. She was in her early 20s, then a respected New York City Ballet dancer. “He put me in to teach company class,” she says. “He said to me, ‘This is what you will do in the future.’ I said I wanted to dance, but he said, ‘You won’t dance forever. You will teach dancers my ballets.” Fast forward to 2013, to a rehearsal of Balanchine’s 1941 “Concerto Barocco” at the Westside headquarters of Los Angeles Ballet. Neary, now 60 and the company’s co-founder, surveys her dancers with microscopic scrutiny as they attempt to master the rigorously precise footwork, high-energy unison phrases and tricky group formations of the 18-minute dance. Both critical and encouraging, she invokes the words of her mentor during the section where three female dancers must weave around the sole male dancer in the work, interlocking hands and arms to create sculptural yet quickly dissolving tableaux. “Balanchine always used to say, ‘You should be walking around like Grecian goddesses,’ “ she tells the female dancers. “You’re missing this thing. In all his ballets, there’s this thing that’s more than the steps. It’s about feeling beautiful within yourself, and I can’t teach you that.” Neary, however, can remember how the famous choreographer known as Mr. B made his dancers feel beautiful, and it’s this firsthand experience that serves as the guiding force behind her company’s Balanchine Festival 2013. “Colleen has this great gift for challenging dancers to embody the Balanchine aesthetic,” says Ellen Sorrin, director of the George Balanchine Trust, which authorizes the staging of Balanchine’s ballets worldwide. “It’s an enormous responsibility to do what she’s doing, to disseminate Balanchine’s works as fully and wonderfully as possible.” DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

LAB has had its share of turnover among its dancers since its inception, which is to be expected in a young company, but currently boasts around 30 dancers who work an annual 24- to 28-week season. Commentary - Los Angeles Ballet on upswing in its fifth year December 5, 2010 Los Angeles Times by Lewis Segal Giselle’s character is straightforward, but that of Prince Albrecht is ambiguous. Is he merely dallying, really in love, torn between court and country? Unfortunately, Christopher Revels gave no clear take on the prince’s motives, although his repentance and sense of loss at the end looked genuine. Revels danced with princely bearing, partnered with consideration, and executed his second act marathon challenges with strength, though he looked more on the edge of real rather than dramatic exhaustion. Home / News / New Item

Read the full article. Los Angeles Times Includes LAB in it’s Best of 2007 Listings December 1, 2007 Los Angeles Times 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. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

"...A native of New York City, [Elisabeth Claire Walker] studied at American Ballet Theatre’s elite Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School as a teenager. LAB Dancer Elizabeth Claire Walker featured in Harvard Magazine June 1, 2016 Harvard Magazine by Maggie Shipstead "...A native of New York City, [Elisabeth Claire Walker] studied at American Ballet Theatre’s elite Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School as a teenager. Her senior year of high school—even after she’d been accepted to Harvard—was spent attending massive cattle-call auditions for professional companies. Just when she was about to give up, she spotted a notice for Los Angeles Ballet, a new company with impressively pedigreed artistic directors. The audition happened on a rainy day, she remembers; her mother encouraged her to go. “She said I’d regret it if I didn’t. I was sewing pointe shoes in the car.” A week later, she got the call..." READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

Season 19 has arrived, and another spectacular dance season is ready to take center stage. We open the season with the beloved holiday classic, The Nutcracker. 2024/2025 Season 2024/2025 Season / DECEMBER 6, 2024 – JUNE 15, 2025 2024/2025 Season Season 19 has arrived, and another spectacular dance season is ready to take center stage. We open the season with the beloved holiday classic, The Nutcracker . Experience an emotionally powerful original work by LAB Artistic Director Melissa Barak, and witness something new with an innovative collaboration with visual artist Shantell Martin performed at Destination Crenshaw’s Sankofa Park. Lastly, join us at the ball for a fairytale favorite from Edwaard Liang set to live music. Secure your tickets now for the 2024/2025 season. We look forward to seeing you at the ballet! Photo by Cheryl Mann Photography DECEMBER 6-28, 2024 HOLIDAY The Nutcracker Christensen/Neary I Tchaikovsky A Los Angeles holiday favorite, The Nutcracker returns in December to enchant fans of all ages. Cheer on Clara and the Nutcracker as they battle the Mouse King and travel to the Land of Snow and the Palace of the Dolls. T I C K E T S Photo by Cheryl Mann Photography JANUARY 30 – FEBRUARY 1, 2025 WINTER Memoryhouse Barak/Richter The Wallis and Los Angeles Ballet present Memoryhouse , an emotionally powerful original work by LAB Artistic Director Melissa Barak. Memoryhouse is a series of abstract vignettes set to a powerful score by Max Richter commemorating the Holocaust and celebrating the triumph and tragedy of the human spirit. T I C K E T S Photo by Cheryl Mann Photography JUNE 12-15, 2025 SUMMER Cinderella Liang/Prokofiev Join Cinderella at the ball to help find her prince before midnight. This enchanting fairytale favorite is brought to life by a joyful score by Prokofiev and reimagined choreography by Liang full of twists, humor, and emotional depth. Sprinkle some magic into your summer with this captivating classic. T I C K E T S LOS ANGELES BALLET Repertoire Learn about the comprehensive and varied seasons of Los Angeles Ballet since its debut in 2006. Repertoire includes Balanchine masterworks, stylistically meticulous classical ballets, commissioned and contemporary works by renowned local and international choreographers. VIEW REPERTOIRE LOS ANGELES BALLET 2024/2025 Season This season includes a beloved fairy tale Cinderella , an experimental outdoor artist collaboration, the return of a critically acclaimed original by LAB Artistic Director Melissa Barak, and the Los Angeles holiday favorite, The Nutcracker . Subscriptions and Single Tickets on Sale Now! DOWNLOAD SEASON BROCHURE

Like adventurous pioneers, Los Angeles Ballet stepped into uncharted territory Saturday for its season opener, “Modern Moves,” which introduced Aszure Barton’s “Les Chambres des Jacques” and Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Lickety-Split” into the company’s repertory at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. Review: LA Ballet season opens with adventurous and flirtatious ‘Modern Moves’ October 7, 2018 LA Times by Christina Compodonico Like adventurous pioneers, Los Angeles Ballet stepped into uncharted territory Saturday for its season opener, “Modern Moves,” which introduced Aszure Barton’s “Les Chambres des Jacques” and Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Lickety-Split” into the company’s repertory at the Alex Theatre in Glendale. George Balanchine’s 1954 classic “Western Symphony” capped off an evening devoted to contemporary and neoclassical works that were flecked with folksy charm. Throughout, Los Angeles Ballet proved not only fluent in the three choreographers’ styles but also in the wide-ranging love language of their dances. Longing and desire emanated from almost every move in Barton’s lusty “Les Chambres,” set to a fusion of Quebecois folk music, klezmer and Vivaldi. Men approached women clad in corsets with sensual sniffs; others attempted to hug the empty air around them. Agape mouths in the shape of silent screams looked like lips yearning to be kissed. And principal dancer Tigran Sargsyan’s desperate crawl after the woman he pines for sends a stab straight to the heart. If “Les Chambres” is an intimate study of unrequited love, then “Lickety-Split” gives us a look into love unbound. In one vignette, principal Bianca Bulle and Sargsyan initially play hard to get. He then offers his hand, and she squeezes out some invisible elixir — an aphrodisiac perhaps — that sends them into a joyous jaunt across the stage. As Devendra Barhart’s raspy voice creaks over the speakers like a well-worn rocker, you can’t help but feel as if you’re on a front porch, watching lovers dance by the light of fireflies. The duet culminates with Bulle ecstatically shaking her hand between her partner’s legs and Sargsyan playfully banging his head upon her rear. While an odd image, it’s immensely satisfying — reminiscent of the comfort that comes from knowing another intimately — and avant-garde like a piece of absurdist theater. Against such an edgy program, Balanchine’s “Western Symphony” felt a tad dated — its corps of clean-cut cowboys gallantly strumming air guitars and feather-hatted saloon gals do-si-do-ing primly a far cry from Cerrudo and Barton’s sensuous styles. Even Hershy Kay’s classic orchestrations of American folk songs felt a touch Disney-fied. But there were plenty of enchanting moments. The versatile Sargsyan pulled off a delightful adagio with principal Petra Conti, and the dance’s iconic finale — endless pirouettes as the curtain falls — was a strong reminder of how modern this piece once was. Like the depths of a boundless love, it insisted on having no end. READ ARTICLE AT SOURCE Home / News / New Item

For all the opening-night jitters and imperfections, Los Angeles Ballet gave a credible, even moving, performance of “Giselle” on Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The essential Giselle experience remained intact: Love survives the grave, bestows forgiveness on an unworthy bad boy and transforms him into a decent human being. Los Angeles Ballet Dances 'Giselle' May 15, 2011 Los Angeles Times by Chris Pasles For all the opening-night jitters and imperfections, Los Angeles Ballet gave a credible, even moving, performance of “Giselle” on Saturday at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The essential Giselle experience remained intact: Love survives the grave, bestows forgiveness on an unworthy bad boy and transforms him into a decent human being. Hmm. Sounds like the plot of a movie or two, or a dozen. Giselle is a village girl courted by a prince disguised as a peasant. She falls in love with him, but when she finds out his identity -- and that he’s engaged to someone else -- she loses her mind and dies. End of ballet? Not by a long shot. In Act 2, she appears as a spirit newly enrolled in the ranks of the Wilis, night creatures that wreak vengeance on perjured suitors. Giselle resists her new duties and saves her prince. Allyssa Bross danced the title role with appealing sweetness and vulnerability. She made her mad scene nuanced and sparked with creepiness, and if she had some unsteadiness in her ghostly extended balances, she more than compensated elsewhere with poise. Giselle’s character is straightforward, but that of Prince Albrecht is ambiguous. Is he merely dallying, really in love, torn between court and country? Unfortunately, Christopher Revels gave no clear take on the prince’s motives, although his repentance and sense of loss at the end looked genuine. Revels danced with princely bearing, partnered with consideration, and executed his second act marathon challenges with strength, though he looked more on the edge of real rather than dramatic exhaustion. Chehon Wespi-Tschopp was an intense Hilarion, a villager also in love with Giselle. His prestissimo spins to his death at the hands of the Wilis were terrific. Kate Highstrete made Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis, an other-worldly creature of pitiless steel. The Peasant Pas de Deux was danced by Allynne Noelle and Zheng Hua Li (who alternates in the role of Prince Albrecht). Noelle was sunny and graceful. Li had crisp, flashing legwork, but tended to land badly. The corps looked well-schooled, although earthbound. The company danced to pre-recorded music. The production was from the Louisville Ballet. Ben Pilat provided the dramatic lighting. L.A. Ballet company co-director Thordal Christensen tweaked the traditional Coralli-Perrot-Petipa choreography, cutting some virtuosic demands, adding some mime, and inventing a poor couple who provide their cottage as the prince’s local digs. Christensen’s wife and company co-director, Colleen Neary, enacted Giselle’s mother, Berthe, with fuss and worry. With this touchstone Romantic ballet, LAB closes its fifth season with a stronger than ever claim for community support. Performances continue Saturday at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and the following weekend at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. DOWNLOAD PDF Home / News / New Item

Nearly 9,000 Angelenos applauded LAB's The Nutcracker last month at 9 performances at UCLA's Royce Hall, Glendale's historic Alex Theatre, and Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. Los Angeles embraces Los Angeles Ballet's The Nutcracker January 1, 2008 Company News from the Staff at LAB Home / News / New Item

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Catia Boucher Hometown Seasons with LAB 2024/2025 Bio Available Shortly

Los Angeles Ballet presents a company of outstanding dancers from local communities and around the world. LAB dance artists master classical as well as contemporary techniques. Marco Biella Hometown Cremona, Italy Seasons with LAB 2023/2024, 2024/2025 Marco began training in Italy at a young age and was invited to study with maestro Fethon Miozzi at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, where he graduated in 2021. During his time at the Academy, he performed with the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow in classics like Coppelia and Sleeping Beauty and earned recognition as "Best Emerging Talent" and "Bronze Medalist" at the Rieti International Ballet Competition in 2019. In 2021 Marco was awarded a full scholarship to join the Miami City Ballet pre-professional program. During his time in Miami, he has performed many times with Miami City Ballet in renowned productions, such as Jewels and Prodigal Son by George Balanchine, Swan Lake by Alexei Ratmansky, as well as with Miami City Ballet School, where he served as principal dancer in Western Symphony by George Balanchine. In 2022 Marco choreographed Amor Pas de Deux for Miami City Ballet School’s students to benefit Ukraine (set to music by the Ukrainian composer Skorik), and in 2023 Cello Concerto, a new creation (set to music by Vivaldi), was choreographed for a soirée at Teatro Ponchielli (Cremona, Italy).