Repertoire
The Nutcracker
No Ballet Company can launch a season without The Nutcracker. Since first introduced to the United States in 1944 by the San Francisco Ballet Company, The Nutcracker has offered every ballet company the challenge to create its own unique interpretation. The Santa Clarita Ballet Company’s version evolves each year to provide the best holiday entertainment for the community.
Coppelia
The first full-length, three-act ballet performed in the Santa Clarita Valley, Coppelia is ballet’s great comedy – a tale of love and mistaken identity set in a toy shop – that is sure to be enjoyed by the whole family. The beautiful musical score by Delibes is considered by many to be the greatest ballet score ever written next to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
Dvorak's Serenade
An impressionist, neo-classical piece that references the Slavic folk dances that inspired Dvorak's Serenade for String Orchestra in E Major Op.22. It recalls the Sylphs dancing in the moonlight from the Romantic ballets of the mid-19th century.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare’s great comedy about meddling and quarrelsome fairies, and their manipulation of the mortals who stumble into their enchanted forest. Danced to the beautiful score by Mendelssohn including his famous Wedding March.
As the Piano Rolls
A story line of charming jazz age vignettes set in a dance hall in the 1920’s – four lonely hearts: “The Two Sisters,” “The Show-off” and “The Wallflower” come to listen to the player piano, have a dance or maybe even meet that special someone. The tunes are so toe tappin’, even the piano can’t stand still. Featuring the infectious music of one of America’s great jazz composers, George Gershwin.
Cinderella
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company sets the beloved fairy tale to dance as Cinderella’s slipper becomes a pointe shoe and the Prince’s ball is a dream of waltzing motion. Featuring Serge Prokofiev’s haunting melodies and the story known to every child.
Tales of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter’s charming tales of the animals inhabiting the English countryside are lovingly potrayed in this ballet. The misadventures of Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher, the frog, Jemima Puddle-Duck and their friends all come to life with fabulous costumes and choreography that make our animal friends and their foibles seem all too human.
Beauty and the Beast
The romantic fairytale of a devoted daughter who agrees to live with a hideous Beast in order to spare her father’s life. Love conquers all as Beauty’s growing trust and fondness for the Beast removes his curse and transforms him to a handsome young man. Set to the impressionistic themes of early 20th century composers Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy and Jaques Fauré.
Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadere
One of the most celebrated scenes in classical ballet The Kingdom of the Shades is an excerpt from the 4-act ballet La Bayadere (The Temple Dancer), choreographed by the prolific Marius Petipa for the Russian Imperial Ballet in 1871. Set in India, La Bayadere tells the story of the temple dancer Nikiya, the warrior Solor and their undying love. After a jealous rival kills Nikiya, Solor dreams he is reunited with his beloved in the afterlife or Kingdom of the Shades.
Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll's curious and wonderful stories of "Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass" are told through SCBC's original work for ballet. Set to music from composers such as Tchaikovsky, Strauss Jr., and Bowman, scenes are interpreted with the curious characters familiar in the stories. Act One begins with Alice chasing the White Rabbit down the hole and into the topsy-turvy world below where she'll meet Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, The Mad Hatter and his friends, and of course, the Queen of Hearts. In Act Two, Alice will happen upon more fanciful and outlandish escapades with several peculiar characters such as Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Humpty Dumpty, the Chess Pieces, Tiger Lilly and the dancing Daisies.
G Song/B Side
This original work for contemporary dance grew out of several improvisational exercises, and takes into consideration how ballet is relevant to our modern experience. This is the flip side of the picture perfect presentation we typically assume of ballerinas who never sweat and do everything in perfect unison, and offers an alternate reality where "bad form" is beautiful and there is a place to "model" individuality.
Snow White
In 2010, the Santa Clarita Ballet debuted "Snow White" as an original, full-length ballet. This elaborate production features prominent compositions from the renowned ballet Faust as the backdrop to beautifully choreographed ballet created by Pamela Sosa for the Santa Clarita Ballet Company. Dancers portray amusing woodland creatures akin to the beloved story of Snow White while the lovely Princess engages seven whimsical dwarves in merriment, adventure, and victory over the maleficent and jealous Queen.
"This activity is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency,
and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency."
