About the Ballet Company

The Santa Clarita Ballet Company was founded in 1995 as a performing outlet for advanced ballet students. A partnership with the Santa Clarita Ballet Academy gives students an opportunity to perform with professional guest artists and provides the community with quality, semi-professional ballet theater.

Executive Director: Corinne Glover
Artistic Director: Carol Guidry

Artistic Mission

SCBC was founded with a two-fold mission:

To encourage the artistic development of local ballet talent by providing advanced training and the opportunity to perform with professional guest artists.
To enrich the cultural life of the community by providing a varied repertoire of affordable classical ballet performances that feature both talented local artists and professional guest artists, and are of a high artistic caliber.

SCBC History

Building on a strong training program, Santa Clarita Ballet Company formed in 1995. In less than ten years, SCBC saw its audience grow from an initial 700 to 6,400 annual attendees. The company’s repertory has grown to seven works including four full-length ballets. In December 2004, SCBC began presenting The Nutcracker, which has become a local holiday tradition, at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center on the College of the Canyons campus. This move has afforded us greater visibility in the community and positioned us to fulfill our long-term goal of becoming a viable full-time professional dance company.

Successful Past and Recurring Productions

The Nutcracker (Annually since 1995)

SCBC determined there was a ballet audience in Santa Clarita when it sold out its inaugural performances of The Nutcracker and raised $4,000 in donations. In 2000, SCBC moved the production to the restored Hart High Auditorium due to increased audience demand. In December 2004, SCBC moved to the new Vital Express Performing Arts Center at the College of the Canyons, where it is seen annually by approximately 4000 people. Due to outreach efforts, community groups such as Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts, senior and church groups have attended The Nutcracker at discounted rates. In 2001, SCBC launched its first annual educational outreach program, thanks to a seed grant of $10,000 from the City of Santa Clarita. Since then, over 10,000 students and teachers from the Newhall School District have experienced live classical ballet as part of a school field trip.

Coppelia (1997, 2000, 2007)

In Spring 1997, SCBC produced the first three-act ballet ever presented in the Santa Clarita Valley. All four shows sold out. In 2000, Coppelia was restaged with an expanded cast and again sold out the entire run. SCBC was invited to perform excerpts at the City’s first annual Arts Open House in September 2000. It was re-staged again at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center in June of 2007 with an expanded cast, music and costumes.

As the Piano Rolls (1998, 2001, 2008)

A world premiere. SCBC set its first contemporary themed ballet to 1920s piano roll music. Originally presented in 1998 at Valencia High School Auditorium, it was restaged in 2001 at the larger venue, Hart High Auditorium, to increased audience attendance. It was presented as well at Ballet in the Park in a shared program with jazz pianist Dave Benoit as part of the City of Santa Clarita’s Concert in the Parks series.

Dvorak's Serenade (1998, 2009)

Dvorak's Serenade is a gorgeous piece for ballet that does not tell a specific story per se, but rather is an interpretation of the musical score itself. Choreographed by Artistic Director Carol Guidry, this work beautifully demonstrates the sophistication of the Santa Clarita Ballet Company dancers. Ms. Guidry notes, "There's very beautiful music in this ballet. Dvorak took several Czech folk themes and created this piece of wonderful music. I tried to bring a folk-dance element into the choreography."

The Tales of Beatrix Potter (1998, 2004, 2009)

The beloved Royal Ballet version of the Tales of Beatrix Potter has been performed by Academy students, including those as young as 5 years old, accompanied by the reputable talents of Santa Clarita Ballet Company dancers. Throughout this whimsical performance, audiences were delighted by the familiar tales of Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle Duck, Tom Kitten, Jeremy Fisher, to name a few. Staged as a delightful introduction to classic ballet, the costumes and choreography are precious and quite entertaining for even the youngest audience members.

Cinderella (1999, 2002, 2010)

In spring of 1999, SCBC sold out four performances of its original production of Cinderella, featuring the music of Prokofiev. This marked SCBC’s fourth consecutive spring of new programming. Cinderella was restaged in 2002, expanding the production for the larger Hart High stage, and almost doubling the number of performers. The attendance by the Santa Clarita community also doubled. SCBC presented a free outreach performance for students in Hart High District’s Intensive Literacy Program where the ballet was used as a springboard to creative writing activities.

Beauty and the Beast (2001, 2006)

A one-act ballet set to an “impressionistic” score compiled from some of France’s most famous composers from the early twentieth-century. Vivid characters, dramatic choreography and sumptuous costumes make this ballet appealing for children and adults alike.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2004, 2006)

SCBC presented its first fully professional production. A leap forward for the company, SCBC was able to achieve higher-quality production values for sets, costumes and guest artists than with many previous productions. Midsummer received great reviews in local and area-wide press, and perhaps more importantly, enthusiastic audience response.

Ten Year Anniversary Gala (2005)

A retrospective of the company’s repertoire of the past ten years, featuring excerpts from Coppelia, Beauty and the Beast, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As the Piano Rolls and Cinderella. At the premiere performance of The Gala at the Vital Express Performing Art Center, The Santa Clarita Ballet Company was recognized by County Supervisor Mike Antonovich for its contribution to the cultural wealth of Santa Clarita.

Alice in Wonderland (2008)

Lewis Caroll’s inventive tales of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass in two acts. This ballet gave SCBC the opportunity to showcase the talents of its up-and-coming company dancers in leading roles, and offer the community a ballet with appeal to children of all ages.

Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere (2008)

None of the great ballets can be staged without a strong corps de ballet, and SCBC demonstrated that it had achieved a new level of accomplishment when it was able to present 24 dancers clad in white tutus in this authentic staging of one of the most famous scenes in the classical ballet canon.

G Song/B Side (2008, 2009)

A thought-provoking and unconventional foray into the form of dance-theater, this collaboration between Artistic Director Carol Guidry and the performers grew out of several improvisational exercises, and gave Santa Clarita audiences a chance to see another side of this versatile and multi-talented dance company.

Snow White (2010)

Beautifully designed costumes and enchanting sets compliment original choreography by Ms. Pam Sosa who previously choreographed SCBC’s original work for Alice in Wonderland in 2008. Set to prominent compositions from the renowned ballet Faust, audiences of all ages can enjoy the story of Snow White told through the artistry of ballet.

“Ballet is a paradox. It is the pursuit of an illusory state of perfection where one becomes intimately acquainted with one’s imperfections. But, with nurturing guidance, the transcending of perceived limitations becomes a journey towards embracing the whole self. This is where artistry begins. The Santa Clarita Ballet trains dancers to value their bodies not just as tools but as equal partners to their intellect.”

– Carol Guidry, Artistic Director, Santa Clarita Ballet