Donors who make a contribution to SoCal Ballet Scene this month will be invited to attend our exclusive tango/wine soiree, where you will get to participate and see a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of our next dance film. The filming event will be held the evening of May 13th in Orange County.
We are looking for supporters to help produce our latest dance film, with choreography by Sharon Savoy and featuring two stunning SoCal professional dancers, Eduard Sargsyan and Samantha Bell.
Donors who make a contribution to SoCal Ballet Scene this month will be invited to attend our exclusive tango/wine soiree, where you will get to participate and see a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of our next dance film. The filming event will be held the evening of May 13th in Orange County.
Your support helps cover the costs of the dancers' pay, choreography, original music composition, venue, film crew, and more.
Learn more here →
- $50 receive an exclusive invitation to our Tango Del Fuego filming soiree with wine included
- $100 appear in the film as an extra, wine included at the event
- $150 credited as a Producer in the film credits, plus all the above
- $200 exclusive tango lesson with Sharon Savoy at our soiree event, plus all the above
- $500 receive a first viewing of the final film a week before it is released to the public, plus all of the above
- $1000 a pair of complimentary tickets to our next SoCal Ballet Scene festival in Fall 2024, sponsor recognition in our festival program, plus all of the above
We are looking for supporters to help produce our latest dance film, with choreography by Sharon Savoy and featuring two stunning SoCal professional dancers, Eduard Sargsyan and Samantha Bell.
Donors who make a contribution to SoCal Ballet Scene this month will be invited to attend our exclusive tango/wine soiree, where you will get to participate and see a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of our next dance film. The filming event will be held the evening of May 13th in Orange County.
Your support helps cover the costs of the dancers' pay, choreography, original music composition, venue, film crew, and more. Learn more here →
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We believe in the transformational effect of ballet for those who dedicate themselves to the craft, and all those who are touched by ballet performance.
From our signature biennial festival event, to high-quality dance films presenting classical and original work in unique settings, to providing training opportunities for professional and recreational dancers alike, SoCal Ballet Scene celebrates this beautiful artform and unifies the local dance community like never before. Join us!
OUR MISSION
The mission of SoCal Ballet Scene is to enrich and elevate the community by:
- bringing the experience of professional performance to the public
- providing youth from low-income communities access to the artform
- supporting local professional dancers in their continued training; and uniting Southern California artists to foster creative collaboration
Check us out on Instagram @socalballetscene
Southern California has an abundance of talent among the ballet artists that reside here. Our mission is to showcase the dancers and ballet organizations in Southern California and provide opportunities for the community to connect with these local artists. Our biennial festival event fosters collaboration and support between the various local ballet organizations, uniting them into single celebration of this art form.
Check us out on Instagram @socalballetscene
BALLET FESTIVAL
September 14th, 2024
Carpenter Center, Long Beach
Our signature Ballet Festival brings together the best dance artists and companies in Southern California to perform a curated program of classical, contemporary, and commissioned ballet works.
New to the ballet scene? We’ve got you covered. The festival has something for everyone to enjoy. Presented in an entertaining, educational format, each piece is introduced with interesting insights enhancing the viewing experience for all.
Here’s what our audience members and artists had to say about our inaugural event:
- Shenin Mesdaghi, audience member
- Chasen Greenwood, Artistic Director, The Realm Company
Join us at our next SoCal Ballet Scene Festival!
September 14th, 2024
at the Carpenter Center, Long Beach
BALLET FESTIVAL - Be moved.
Our signature Ballet Festival brings together the best dance artists and companies in Southern California to perform a curated program of classical, contemporary, and commissioned ballet works.
New to the ballet scene? We’ve got you covered. The festival has something for everyone to enjoy. Presented in an entertaining, educational format, each piece is introduced with interesting insights enhancing the viewing experience for all.
Here’s what our audience members and artists had to say about our inaugural event:
- Karen Woo, audience member
- Chasen Greenwood, Artistic Director, The Realm Company
Stay tuned for our next SoCal Ballet Scene Festival in Fall 2024!
Hi I’m Rena Kamariotakis, founder of SoCal Ballet Scene and our Signature Ballet Festival event. Having trained and danced professionally in Southern California myself, I saw so much local talent, yet few opportunities for the community to appreciate and be moved by these artists. The Festival was created to provide a performance platform to bring together dancers, choreographers, regional ballet companies, and connect them with the community to celebrate dance together. The entire event, from connections made backstage to the reception following the performance, created a real sense of community among dancers and audience members. All are welcome to join us in this celebration of ballet. I hope to see you at our next Signature Festival Event!
JOIN OUR CAUSE
Our signature festival event attracts hundreds of people from the community, both seasoned dance lovers as well as people experiencing ballet for the first time!
Through the educational format of our festival event, the local community has the opportunity to learn more about this inspiring art form that is centuries old. Your generous financial support allows us to:
- bring the experience of seeing live theatre and dance to youth from underserved neighborhoods in SoCal
- provide a platform for our local elite ballet artists and dance companies to perform and connect with the SoCal community
- unite Southern California artists together to network and foster future creative collaborations
SoCal Ballet Scene, PO Box 1239, Lake Forest, CA 92609
STAY INFORMED
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive updates on the next festival and other upcoming events!
OUTREACH
Sharing the joy of ballet begins with access. SoCal Ballet Scene is proud to partner with education organizations across the region to engage young people in this classical artform, especially those from low-income areas. In addition to bringing youth to our signature festival event to experience high-quality live theater performance, we also connect education partners with local dance artists to provide movement workshops. Youth from Southern California regions including Santa Ana, Carson, and Anaheim have participated in our arts enrichment programs.
The ballet festival this summer will have a full lineup of professional companies and artists from across SoCal:
Festival: Featured Companies & Artists
The festival will feature excerpts from iconic classical ballets such as Le Corsaire, Flames of Paris, and Bournonville's Flower Festival. Also included are exciting contemporary works such as the popular repertory from the Joffrey Ballet: Gerald Arpino's Light Rain. In addition, audiences will see premieres of new contemporary works by emerging choreographers in SoCal such as Chasen Greenwood, Sharon Savoy, and Jeff Raschiatore.
Carrying a family legacy of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo through 3 generations, artistic director Natasha Middleton has grown the Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre into one of the more notable dance companies of the greater Los Angeles area. The company, originally named Media City Ballet, has revisited several times in their repertoire the depth and beauty of the Ballet Russes & Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Natasha Middleton has also created many of her own story ballets. Our festival will feature an excerpt from her adaption of the Broadway classic Carousel.
Kenneth Walker Dance Project is a contemporary ballet company dedicated to the expression of the modern condition through the lens of the classical vocabulary. A former dancer with the Ballet Pacifica, Kenneth Walker founded his company in 2004 for the purpose of providing a vehicle to create and present original works of contemporary ballet. The company produces concerts in Los Angeles County, at times in underserved communities. Their goal is to create a meaningful artistic experience and to maintain competitive ticket prices to all to enable the next generation of dancegoers the opportunity to see as much dance as possible. In our festival, the dancers of KWDP have been given permission to perform the popular Gerald Arpino ballet "Light Rain" from the repertoire of the Joffrey Ballet.
OUR SHORT FILMS
Our short ballet films showcase creative collaborations between choreographers, dancers, musicians and visual artists. Born out of the pandemic as a way to sustain creative expression and add beauty to the world, capturing ballet on film provided employment for Southern California artists and encouraged us to present ballet in unconventional settings.
Our ballet Allure, created by Los Angeles-based choreographer Sadie Black, was inspired by the glamor and beauty of flight. Filmed at the Lyon Air Museum in Orange County, historic aircraft serve as the backdrop for this nostalgic piece danced with finesse by Kelsey Dorr, Madison Morris, Rena Kamariotakis, Irina Shabanova, and Susan Vishmid; all professional ballet dancers from across Southern California.
The Dying Swan is a classic piece of ballet repertoire by Michel Folkine that originally premiered in 1905. It has since been performed thousands of times. We decided to put a unique spin on it by filming the dancer on water. Our production team created the water pool just for this film, and local dancer Madison Morris performed the piece beautifully.
Tango Del Fuego - a fiery ballet/tango fusion featuring SoCal dancers Samantha Bell and Eduard Sargsyan. We commissioned this work from local choreographer Sharon Savoy, who is a 4-time Blackpool Exhibition Dance champion. Sharon collaborated with LA-based musician Danny Pravder, who created this original music composition and played live piano during the filming. The artists were filmed in front of a live audience of patrons at the OC Music & Dance blackbox theatre during our wine & tango soiree, which gave the audience a unique insight into the filmmaking process behind-the-scenes.
DANCE WITH US!
Whether you are a professional maintaining your technique, challenging your skills and artistry as a recreational dancer, or are ballet-curious, we have a class for you.
Are you a professional ballet artist? Enjoy SoCal Ballet Scene technique classes on us!
We want to hear from you!
To contact us, email info@socalballetscene.com
