Monday, July 12, 2010

Come see what we've been up to this summer!

Come see what we’ve been up to this summer!

State Street Ballet’s Summer Intensive Program is in full swing. Now in our 15th year of offering an intensive dance workshop over the summer -- we have grown into a noteworthy and prominent program that is recognized across the country.

This year we are hosting a very talented group of 67 dancers from California, Colorado, New Mexico, New York and more. Several of them are hoping to gain one of the coveted apprenticeships for our 2010-11 season. At the end of our intensive program, we select a few of the best students to stay on for the year as apprentices to our professional company.

Summer Intensive Program Performance
State Street Ballet's Summer Intensive students will participate in a fully staged performance on Friday, July 16, 2010, at 6 PM at the Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, University of California Santa Barbara. Performances include Classical Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, and Jazz.

Tickets can be purchased at the door an hour before the performance:

Adults $20; Children/Students $15 (under 12 yrs old)

State Street Ballet's Summer Intensive Program stands out from among other comparable summer dance programs because its final production takes participants onto a professional stage with full lights and costumes. You won’t be disappointed when you come to see what we’ve been up to this summer.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Not Your Grandmother’s Ballet!

Things are quieting down at the State Street Ballet studios after an intense weekend of Evenings performances. Evenings is the in-studio performance series performed and choreographed by State Street Ballet dancers.

These programs are a great way to see a different side of our dancers, from their creativity in their own choreography to their versatility as they tackle different styles of dance rarely seen in tradition ballet performances.

One patron said approvingly, “This is not my grandmother’s ballet.” State Street Ballet prides itself on preserving the classics while also creating a series for new and cutting edge work like our Evenings series.

Dancer, Katie McDermott talks to us about her experience performing in Evenings

How do performing pieces choreographed by fellow dancers differ from what you are used to doing in a more traditional performance setting?

Working for your peers is an interesting experience. I am performing pieces that my friends choreographed so I feel a lot of pressure to do a great job for them. Evenings is especially physically difficult because we put everything together in a week or two. Practicing 5 different pieces that use polar opposite techniques can be taxing on the brain to learn and the body to practice.

How do you compare performing at the studio to performing in a theatre like The Granada?

I love inviting people in to our studio to let them see the behind the scenes of where we practice. As a performance venue I am very comfortable in the studio but I also get more nervous for Evenings performances.

Why is that Katie?

The studio is a smaller more intimate experience. Being able to see and hear everything happening in your audience is nerve-racking. At a big theatre like the Granada I feel less connected to the audience, but in the studio it is so up close and personal.

Tell me what you feelings about the Evenings program?

Evenings is an opportunity for all of us to be doing what we love during the off-season, and it feels great to be trying out different styles of dance. It is amazing to me that given the opportunity to choreograph and perform whatever inspires us, the program is so diverse. I suppose that just further highlights how individual we all are.

Our next Evenings performance will be scheduled for November 6, 2010
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