News: Evenings on February 29

Our second Evenings program of the 2007-2008 season is just a week away on Friday, 7:30PM, February 29, 2008. Held in the studios of State Street Ballet at 322 State Street, Evenings showcases our dancers in their own choreography. With light food and wine, and audience seating at an intimate distance from the performers, you'll enjoy an elegant, casual evening with your friends and our dancers.

Because it's not part of our regular dance series and is more informal, dancers are encouraged to experiment with their choreography. You'll see a wide variety of dance not seen at our regular performances as well as more contemporary work as they try out new dance ideas on a smaller, friendlier audience first. You could be the first to see the seeds of a new ballet to come.

This Evenings celebrates the art of the port de bras, the carriage of the arms and head that fills all of that incredible dance technique with meaning and expression. So you'll see many different pieces from the dancers that explore the use of the head and arms, culminating in former SSB dancer Gary McKenzie's tribute to French cabaret singer Edith Piaf.

Doors open at 7:00PM. Tickets are $25 at the door, and $20 with advance reservations. RSVP to evenings@statestreetballet.com or call (805) 965-6066. The SSB studios are located at 322 State Street.

Review: Ballroom

Diana Law's Love's Avalon, photo by David Bazemore

The Santa Barbara Independent reviews Ballroom:

Ballroom, presented by State Street Ballet

Lobero Theatre, Saturday February 9, 2008

Reviewed by Elizabeth Schwyzer

Now celebrating its 15th year, State Street Ballet is known for stretching audience expectations of the art form. Its most recent program, a series of shorter works inspired by the swing dance era collectively titled Ballroom, took as its mission melding two very different dance forms: classical ballet and swing dance.

Read more of the review.

The Ballroom program consisted of Victoria Simon's Come Dance with Me, Nancy Colahan and Christopher Pilafian's Dream Dancing, Diana Law's Love's Avalon, SSB artistic director Rodney Gustafson's Stravinsky's Tango, and Robert Sund's B.A.N.D.

Review: Nutcracker 2007

Ryan Camou as Drosselmeyer, photo by David Bazemore

The Santa Barbara Independent reviews SSB's Hollywood Nutcracker:

The NutCracker, presented by State Street Ballet

Lobero Theatre, Saturday, December 15

Reviewed by Ellen O'Connell

Playing with tradition is a bold move, and one Rodney Gustafson, artistic director of State Street Ballet, is not afraid to try. Last weekend, the company presented its annual holiday production — a 1930s Hollywood twist on The Nutcracker. There are quite a few versions of the Christmas classic dancing through Santa Barbara this time of year, and it can be hard to keep them all straight, but State Street Ballet’s variation is unmistakable; Gustafson reinterprets the traditional story using gangster rats in zoot suits and Ethel Merman-style synchronized swimmers as snowflakes.

Read more of the review.

Steps: State of the Art

Where is ballet today? Where did it come from? And where is it going? New York City Ballet principal dancer Damian Woetzel offers some ideas in his Aspen Ideas 2006 talk. Discussing and demonstrating ballet technique and repertory, Woetzel lucidly articulates the state of ballet today.

Go to the Fora.tv website to find a higher resolution video that's also downloadable to your iPod.

Feature: The cat is out of the bag

In a feature article about the Santa Barbara Chorale Society, the Santa Barbara Independent reveals the exciting, new collaboration between State Street Ballet and the Chorale Society on a new production of Carmina Burana, to be choreographed by William Soleau whose Carmen we presented recently. This production will also be our first regular performance in the new Granada Theatre.

So mark your calendars for May 31 and June 1, 2008 for a world premiere ballet performed to live music, including a 125-person chorus in a brand new performance space designed especially for such productions. We'll keep you up to date on the ins and outs of Carmina Burana as it evolves as well as when you can purchase tickets for what promises to be a spectacular production.

Santa Barbara Choral Society Prepares for a Breakthrough Year

Feature by Charles Donelan

But it is the spring sequence of programs, and its culmination with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Granada with State Street Ballet on May 31 and June 1, that marks this 60th anniversary year as a potential breakthrough one for the organization. Choreographer William Soleau recently scored a distinct hit with his Carmen, which State Street Ballet performed at the Lobero. With 125 SBCS members, many in full costume and playing supporting roles onstage while the dancers do their thing, Soleau’s Carmina Burana is unquestionably the most ambitious multimedia production of the year, and will be a supreme test not only for both organizations, but for the Granada as well.

Read more of the feature.

Feature: Carmen at Ford video

In case you missed our performance of William Soleau's Carmen at the Ford Amphitheatre, LA36 filmed the performance, and has just released it online.

Review: Carmen at the Lobero Theatre 2

Enton Hoxha and Leila Drake in Carmen, courtesy Noozhawk

Noozhawk reviews Carmen:

State Street Ballet Dances a Hot 'Carmen'

Lobero Theatre, October 19, 2007

Reviewed by Margo Kline

Carmen, that enduring Gypsy seductress, danced to her doom once again on the stage of the Lobero Theatre, as State Street Ballet presented an updated and thrilling version by choreographer William Soleau.

Read more of the review.