Southern California Ballet presents outdoor ‘Coppélia’ in June
The Poway Center for the Performing Arts will once again have patrons on its premises with two outdoor performances of “Coppélia on the Green” on Saturday, June 5.
Tickets are on sale now for the ballet, performed by the dancers of Southern California Ballet. This is a limited-capacity outdoor event with socially-distanced pod seating.
Southern California Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' goes virtual
Poway OnStage has teamed up with the Southern California Ballet to present “The Nutcracker” virtual field trip, available now through Dec. 18.
Southern California Ballet traditionally performs the classic Christmas ballet on the stage of the Poway Center for the Performing Arts every holiday season. With COVID-19 restrictions, the dance company and Poway OnStage have a found a way to bring the show to life in a safe manner for children.
SD Union Tribune: Creative versions of ‘The Nutcracker’ will keep holiday tradition alive
Those not quite ready to attend an in-person performance can catch unique twists on virtual productions, starting with Southern California Ballet.
The Carmel Mountain-based company and ballet school is partnering with Poway OnStage to create a virtual “Nutcracker” field trip for school groups, special needs groups and senior groups.
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Article Features SCB: Dance studios and gym teach online due to COVID-19
“Dancers are making it work,” said Martha Leebolt, co-artistic director of Southern California Ballet. “They are finding ways ... and we are really proud of them.”
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Immediately upon learning Poway Unified School District was suspending classes, SCB faculty started filming themselves doing components of their classes’ syllabuses on March 13. The videos were uploaded on a website so students could practice at home. On March 23, they added live classes via Zoom and now most teachers film from their homes, Leebolt said, with only she and her husband, Toby Batley, filming in the studio. As they got more became familiar with the technology’s capabilities, teachers offered corrections based on what they saw students doing during interactive sessions.
After its successful launch last October, Adaptive Dance program returns in spring
In October 2019, Southern California Ballet launched its first adaptive dance program. The program was designed specifically for adults with disabilities, an often overlooked community, to extend their work day while giving them physical activity, an artistic outlet, and a chance to express themselves in a way that they may have never dreamed possible.
Press Release: A Successful 2020 Roaring 20s Gala Fundraiser
Southern California Ballet’s (SCB) Annual Fundraising Gala celebrated “The Roaring 20s” in style. This year’s event, held at AleSmith Brewing Company, proved to be a night to remember raising over $17,000 to support SCB’s Academy and Community programs.
Southern California Ballet Announces Two New Scholarship Programs for 2020 Summer Intensive Programs
We are excited to announce that, thanks to support from a generous donor and proceeds from last year's Gala Wine Pull, Southern California Ballet is inaugurating a scholarship to help students with the financial burden of attending its summer intensive programs.
We are so excited about creating this scholarship, and hope that it will extend the accessibility of our fantastic summer intensives to those who might otherwise have been unable to attend due to financial constraints, and push students to gain a deeper understanding of their dance training through the essay scholarship, which is open to all.
Press Release: Southern California Ballet to Premiere Brand New “Alice in Wonderland”
San Diego, CA — Southern California Ballet will premiere a brand new production of “Alice in Wonderland” on April 4-5, 2020, staged by its co-artistic directors Martha Leebolt and Toby Batley, former principal dancers of Northern Ballet in Leeds, UK, now in their third year directing SCB. The full-length ballet will feature all new choreography set to a score by Carl Davis with excerpts of Pyotr Llyich Tchaikovsky, a completely redesigned and newly built set, and over 50 new costumes.
Free dance program created for those with disabilities
“Having grown up with one of my closest friends (Claire Feth) being part of the community of individuals with disabilities, this is an extremely important program that is very close to my heart,” said Martha Leebolt, SCB artistic director. “Growing up with her was a formative part of my life, and seeing her transition into adulthood helped me understand the difficulties of this stage of both her and many others’ lives.
“This led us to create this program, which I hope will flourish to become something that can enrich everyone’s lives who want to be involved,” Leebolt said.
For adults with disabilities, another form of creative expression — through dance
Martha Leebolt is the co-artistic director of Southern California Ballet, which was awarded a grant to start an adaptive dance program for adults with disabilities, beginning Oct. 9
It was around this time last year when Southern California Ballet was awarded a grant to start a six-week adaptive dance program for adults with disabilities, spearheaded by the dance company’s co-artistic director, Martha Leebolt.
In ‘Cinderella,’ Southern California Ballet takes a classic and gives it a modern touch
It’s probably good that ballet dancer David Ward’s latest project is in San Diego. He kinda has a thing for fish tacos.
“I love them,” the 32-year-old confesses.
This week, he’s in town to play the role of The Prince in Southern California Ballet’s production of “Cinderella,” which premieres Saturday, April 6, and continues Sunday, April 7, at Poway Center for the Performing Arts.
Southern California Ballet presents ‘Cinderella’
The Southern California Ballet is presenting a new production of “Cinderella” April 6 and 7 at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts.
Featuring the original score by Sergei Prokofiev, the show features entirely new choreography by SCB co-artistic directors Martha Leebolt and Toby Batley. The pair are former principal dancers for the Northern Ballet in Leeds, United Kingdom and are in their second year directing at SCB. Leebolt is also an alum of SCB.
Kayla Kressin describes her dance experience at SCB
The highlight of SCB's annual fundraising gala on February 9, 2019 was an eloquent, inspiring speech given by company dancer Kayla Kressin, whose words resonated with everyone in the room and illuminated the capacity that dance has to empower and enliven not only young dancers, but indeed everyone.
Inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award: 2018's Star Volunteers
Celebrating our first Volunteer of the Year Awardees: Jennifer Capella and Rebecca MacGowan
Many organizations hold awards for volunteers who go that extra mile. In December, SCB decided to start officially recognizing some our “Star Volunteers” for their unbelievable dedication.
In our inaugural year of this award, we could not decide between two very special women who support SCB to an extreme, and who have helped us so much that we couldn’t imagine running the organization without them.
So, in 2018 we decided to award our inaugural Volunteer of the Year Award to both Jennifer Capella (SCB Board Treasurer) & Rebecca MacGowan (Volunteer Coordinator) for their generous spirit and support.
SCB Receives $8,000 Grant to Initiate Adaptive Dance Program for Adults with Disabilities
This year, Southern California Ballet applied for a grant from the Rancho Bernardo Community Foundation for seed money to initiate the creation of an inclusive, 6-week adaptive dance education program for adults with disabilities in Rancho Bernardo. We are very excited to announce that, at the Foundation’s Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon on Friday, November 16, we were granted $8,000 to initiate the program.
Locally born and raised Broadway star, Victor Wisehart, returns home for final dance performance in The Nutcracker
Southern California Ballet’s 27th annual production of The Nutcracker will feature returning alumnus and Broadway star, Victor Wisehart, in the role of Snow Cavalier for his final classical dance performance.