Thursday, June 20, 2013
New Mexico Set Designer Will Display Artwork at Premiere of Springtime Ballet “Thumbelina”
Local Sculptor Will Display Artwork at Premiere of Springtime Ballet “Thumbelina”
California Contemporary Ballet Delighted to Host After-Performance Display of Nature-Themed Ceramic Creations
Friday, June 14, 2013
The Music and Dance Behind Thumbelina
Published in Pasadena Now: Wednesday, June 12, 2013 | 12:11 PM
The Musician
“I like classical music. That’s the first music I ever started writing and I’ve never stopped and I keep doing and doing it,” says Mikkelsen. “I’m also a writer. I have a book that’s coming out in July, in the middle of July,” he adds.
Mikkelsen’s book is called Freedom’s Rush and it’s about his travels throughout the Western half of the United States on a motorcycle. But making music is who he is.
Mikkelsen has been working with Aerin Holt, the Company’s Artistic Director, since “I think two or three years ago,” says Mikkelsen. The dynamic between Holt and Mikkelsen is one brought on by years of friendship, and is evident in how the two work together.
“If she has an idea, it’s clear when she can let me take off with it. And sometimes I’m not quite sure about something and so I just let Erin take off with it,” says Mikkelsen.
With the Company’s latest production, Thumbelina, Mikkelsen says his job is to write and record the music. “I decided on an orchestra; 9 woodwinds, 11 brass, 2 percussions, and 2 harps and strings. So I just kept it with that, and it’s been a bit of a challenge not having a piano but honestly, piano doesn’t really belong in an orchestra,” he says.
Mikkelsen is handling both the writing/composing and recording aspects of the ballet, and as a result, he isn’t getting much sleep. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love what he does.
“It’s just the nature of that kind of work when you’re orchestrating, arranging and even copying, it’s always last minute. you’re merely totally restless when you do something. That’s part of the gig. If sleep is that important to you, you need to find another line of work,” says Mikkelsen.
“I like to have fun, I just like to have a good time, that’s why we’re doing it and having a good time doing it. Sometimes you have a good time playing pool and drinking beer and then when you get to work it’s sort of boring. I like to have fun doing the music, that’s what I like to do,” adds Mikkelsen.
The Dancer
Jaclyn Stryker is the lead dancer in Thumbelina. To appreciate the art, sometimes it’s necessary to understand the artist.
Dancing is in Stryker’s blood. She tells us: “I started dancing when I was about five, 20-plus years. I started dancing with Aerin (Holt) at California DanceArts when I was about 9 and I grew up with her in her school and then also I graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and so I was dancing for both her and that school during high school.”
After getting a bachelor’s degree for Fine Arts and Dance at UC Santa Barbara, Stryker returned to join Holt and California Contemporary Ballet, dancing with the company for two years until she “moved up to San Francisco and danced professionally with Mark Foehringer Dance Project and Napoles Ballet Theater,” says Stryker.
Stryker talks about her lead role as Thumbelina, saying “It’s been wonderful. Since I was younger, Aerin always talked about wanting to do a big production of Thumbelina and so when she contacted me back in February, it was an opportunity to get back into working with her again.”
When asked of the working relationship between Holt and Mikkelsen, Stryker says both “have a really great collaboration going and they’re very open to adjusting things that may not be working for the other person which is really nice because the end result is going to be exactly what they wanted it to be.”
Mikkelsen and Stryker have their own views about the production of course, with one looking at things from a musician’s standpoint while the other as a dancer.
Mikkelsen says, “I think this ballet is very unique. It’s just unique. It’s going to be a sound phenomenon. Once I record this stuff, I’m going to have it mastered and with the back tracks and the story itself; it’s unique, it’s never been done before.”
Stryker, on the other hand, says, “It’s all very, very grand. So it’s fun. Thumbelina meets all these different animals and characters so it’s definitely action-packed throughout.”
Mikkelsen adds, “Thumbelina has been done before but it’s a ballet on a grand scale. It’s over 90 minutes of music. And as I said, in these days, doing 90 minutes of music with no piano that alone is great; it makes it unique. No rhythm section, no guitars, no electricity, no electronics.”
When asked about her favorite scene, Stryker tell us, “I love the scene with the beetles. All these dancers are up on this large apparatus and it just looks like this huge swarm of beetles and I’m kind of getting thrown all over the place and covered with these different beetle characters. It’s just a very fast-paced, fun, exciting number in the show that kind of shows some different elements other than just dance.”
Thumbelina will be performed at Glendale Community College at 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale and show dates will be on June 29th at 7:30 pm, and June 30th at 2:00 pm.
Tickets are available at $20 to $30 and can be purchased at www.calballet.com. Group tickets are also available.
To learn more about California Contemporary Ballet, you can visit www.calballet.com or call (818) 790-7924.
A Thumbs-Up Spring-time Ballet Production
Published in Pasadena Now: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 | 12:55 PM
“We perform two big productions a year. Our biggest production is the Snow Queen Ballet which we perform every December at Glendale Community College and then we deliver a spring show, featuring members of our professional company, which is normally a much smaller production, and usually features choreography that is experimental and contemporary,” says Aerin Holt, the Company’s Artistic Director.
“This year, we decided on a spring performance that would provide opportunities for our professional dancers to perform the principal characters within the story and cast members of our Youth Company in supporting roles. Students from the associated school, California DanceArts were given the opportunity to audition for roles and some of the children were cast in roles of Dew Drops and Younger Fairies. We found that the young dancers really benefit from working along-side more experienced dancers.” Holt explains.
“What’s a story about Fairies without young children,” she adds.
Just because the story is about a diminutive fairy, does not mean the production will be. Holt also tells us that aside from her direction, the production also utilizes the talents of guest choreographer, Lynn Bryson Pittenger.
“She’s working on certain areas of the ballet and that’s going really well and she’s great to work with,” says Holt.
Ballet fans will notice that Thumbelina is not your typical ballet production. Far from the usual Romeo & Juliet or Nutcracker Suite performances, the Company decided to be a little more adventurous. Why choose Thumbelina?
“Thumbelina is a story that I always felt would make a great ballet. As a young dance student, I often daydreamed about Thumbelina dancing in her giant tulip. I envisioned huge flowers and toadstools but was unsure how I would be able to develop all that I envisioned on stage. Through the years of creating choreography and directing ballets my ideas have evolved. Dwight agreed to compose the music and volunteers came forward to create the huge set pieces. The time is right and everything has come together nicely,” says Holt.
In the spirit of the ever popular Cirque du Soleil culture, Holt tells us, “in Thumbelina, we have an aerialist who performs as the spider and it’s very exciting to see her perform on her net. It’s also challenging as she performs 20 feet in the air.”
Many might think that Thumbelina will be geared towards younger audiences, but Holt tells us otherwise.
“The more I’m working it, the more I really, really love how it’s developing. Together with the choreography that we are developing and with Dwight’s music that he’s producing for us and the talents that we have on the stage, this is a really cool ballet,” she says.
Holt also adds that the production will “utilize a lot of different dance styles as well as the viewpoint, the perspective of a tiny little dancer and making my entire company look like little tiny people, and I think that’s exciting. It will be a show that both children and adults will enjoy.”
Tickets are $20 to $30 and can be purchased at www.calballet.com. Group tickets are also available for purchase.
Glendale Community College is located as 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale and show dates will be on June 29th at 7:30 pm, and June 30th at 2:00 pm.
To learn more about California Contemporary Ballet, you can visit www.calballet.com or call (818) 790-7924.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
California Contemporary Ballet Announces Fundraising Campaign for Summer Performance of “Thumbelina”
Local Ballet Company Soon to Premiere Latest Production; Requests Support from Patrons of the Arts
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-production-of-thumbelina-by-california-contemporary-ballet
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-production-of-thumbelina-by-california-contemporary-ballet
Monday, December 10, 2012
California Contemporary Ballet to Show Special Retrospective Video of 14 Years of “The Snow Queen”
LA CANADA, CA: In celebration of their 15 years presenting “The Snow Queen,” California Contemporary Ballet (http://www.calballet.com) will be releasing a short video to be seen just prior to the performances of the ballet on December 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. The video will document the progression of the ballet over the course of the past 14 years.
The show’s producers hope that the video will capture some of the past costumes, sets, cast members and memorable moments. In addition to being the ballet's composer, Randall Michael Tobin is producing the retrospective video. Mr. Tobin has also produced many of the past yearly videos for “The Snow Queen.”
Holt says, "We decided that since we have been doing this show for 15 years, and since the show really has evolved from the early days to today, that it would great to show a retrospective video so people could see some of the great moments and how the show has changed. Mr. Tobin's contributions to our company and to ‘The Snow Queen’ have been immense. I trust his commitment to high standards and excellence. Creating this project with him has been a great creative journey."
The video will be seen just prior to the show’s opening curtain and audiences are encouraged to arrive early so that they are certain not to miss it.
“The Snow Queen” will appear at the Glendale Community College Theater on Friday, December 21 at 7:30pm, Saturday, December 22 at 2:00pm and Sunday, December 23 at 2:00pm. Tickets in advance: $20-$25 At Door: $25-$30 Discounts available for groups. Tickets are available at http://www.SnowQueenBallet.com or http://www.CalBallet.com or by calling 818-790-7924.
Friday, November 23, 2012
15th Anniversary of California Contemporary Ballet's "The Snow Queen" Seasonal Extravaganza
Local Ballet Company Presents Performance in Glendale, Featuring Local Professional and Amateur Talent in a Festive Display of Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Aerial Arts, and Gymnastics
La Cañada, CA: California Contemporary Ballet (http://www.CalBallet.com and http://www.SnowQueenBallet.com) will present the 15th anniversary showing of the original ballet “The Snow Queen,” with three shows on December 21st, 22nd and 23rd. The ballet, first shown in 1998, is the brainchild of Artistic Director Aerin Holt and composer Randall Michael Tobin, and is based on the classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen.For 15 years, Aerin Holt has served as Artistic Director of this holiday classic. With sold-out performances each year, Ms. Holt and her Company might be inclined to wax nostalgic, but they show no signs of slowing down. Instead, they are gearing up for a dazzling anniversary extravaganza to mark their 15th season at the Glendale Community College Theater, with an evening performance at 7:30pm on December 21st, and matinees at 2:00pm on December 22nd and 23rd.
In 2007, Holt took her dance company, California Contemporary Ballet, which had previously been a youth company, and converted it into a professional dance company with professional dancers. Together with its existing youth company members, the performing troupe put together an artfully integrated cast for “The Snow Queen” comprised of professional and youth talent to fill the principal roles of the ballet.
Each year since then, the professional company dancers are supported by dancers, actors and gymnasts from the community in chorus roles, resulting in a 65-member cast from Los Angeles and the local communities of Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, and Pasadena.
This year, “The Snow Queen” will feature new professional talent performing the starring roles including Lauren Farrell (from Burbank), who was personally selected by Holt to perform the title role of the Snow Queen.
In an effort to keep the show fresh, Holt continually changes many of the roles and conducts auditions every season. “In fifteen years, we’ve had fifteen casts,” Holt boasts. She also enjoys reworking the choreography to fit the talent of her cast members. While The Snow Queen may be touted as a ballet, Ms. Holt infuses each performance with classical and contemporary dance styles that weave together the classic winter-time tale by Hans Christian Andersen.
Further changes to the production have included the introduction of aerial arts, where “creatures” resembling wolves, panthers, leopards and other wild animals perform on hanging silk scarves as the Snow Queen delicately balances 40 feet in the air on a hanging hoop. Indeed, Ms. Farrell finds the aerial aspect of her role to be challenging. A trained ballerina, Farrell is getting a crash course in aerial ballet. “I’m really excited and look forward to performing aerial. An opportunity to learn and to perform a role like this is exciting”.
Also featured in this year’s production is Lissa Farrington (La Crescenta), as she skillfully blends dance and gymnastics in the role of The Crow. Dancer Julia Houser (La Cañada Flintridge), and a long-time member of the youth company, will be featured in the role as Gypsy Girl, a role that requires both dance and gymnastic skills. A seasoned aerialist, Houser is also featured on the aerial scarves and is seen performing many dazzling moves before falling in a death-defying drop, catching herself mere inches from the floor. Holt adds, “It was always my intention to integrate circus arts into the ballet, thereby creating an atmosphere of the fantastic."
Holt set out to create a new ballet tradition and the Company’s 15-year evolution is living proof of her success. A cursory search of the internet reveals that the Snow Queen has grown in popularity as more companies appear to be producing the story as either a ballet or play. Holt firmly maintains that her Company blazed a trail by being the first to adapt the story for ballet, and it has evolved into an annual December production much like the Nutcracker. California Contemporary Ballet’s Snow Queen has become a community favorite for the holidays and offers a seasonal, family-friendly alternative to the myriad of Nutcracker productions, at affordable ticket rates.
The Snow Queen will appear at the Glendale Community College Theater on Friday, December 21 at 7:30pm, Saturday, December 22 at 2:00pm and Sunday, December 23 at 2:00pm. Tickets in advance: $20-$25 At Door: $25-$30 Discounts available for groups. Tickets are available at http://www.SnowQueenBallet.com or http://www.CalBallet.com or by calling 818-790-7924.