A Sacramento Ballet Sunday

Hello everyone!

I'm sure you were probably thinking the dancers of the Sacramento Ballet had a nice, beautiful, and relaxing day off today, right? Well, we actually had quite the day! Did you see us on the news this morning? Some of the dancers were at the studio bright and early to promote our performaces of Dracula and our upcoming Flash Mob on Good Day Sacramento! Others performed the funny "Ballet de Murphy" two times thoughout the day. In between all of that, we continued our rehearsals for Dracula, Serenade, and Second Before the Ground.  Also, this evening when I got home, I posted my newest video! Check it out by clicking on the link below. The shows will be here in no time, so I hope everyone has their tickets!

Keep connected with all of the Ballet's upcoming events through our Facebook page or the Sacramento Ballet website. There are a lot of great events coming up, so you don't want to miss out!

Week 4 Serenade preview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUIP5KIG-B4

Enjoy!
Katie Miller

Second Saturday-Charlotte Munson

Hey everyone, this is Charlotte and I'm so excited to be starting my first season with Sacramento Ballet this year!

Tonight after rehearsals, a group of us performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" dance at various locations during Second Saturday to build excitement and awareness for our upcoming flash mob.  We all had a lot of fun and I'm sure were hard to miss in our Sac Ballet shirts and tutus!  Fellow dancer Chris Nachtrab taught the Thriller dance to a packed studio earlier in the evening, but even if you missed out, don't worry!  There's still time to be a part of the flash mob, young or old, we'd love to have you!  Be sure to check out these videos where Chris will break down the dance and follow us on Facebook to stay informed.  If you've never participated in a flash mob before, now is your chance, and if you have, I don't need to tell you how much fun they are!

Part One:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GIIZcCSVh0

 

Part Two:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeYp1rpQ3sw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

A New Stage of Acting- Alex Stewart

A month or so ago when I saw my name on the cast list for Dracula I had a difficult time grasping the fact that I was about to dance my first notable character role in a ballet: Renfield. I've been involved with theatre since I was a little kid, but only decided to embark on a completely new adventure (ballet) just a few years ago. I remember seeing performances of Nutcracker, Wild Sweet Love, and, of course, Dracula as a child and teenager. As I watched dancers like Stefan Calka perform, the thought of being up there with them seemed impossible. However, I'm now sitting across from Stefan, eating peanut butter sandwiches and discussing our last Dracula/Renfield rehearsal.
This part truly has been a dream come true. It has, however, challenged me more than any role I've ever been given. It's been difficult learning how to portray a crazy person while also remaining calm and in control. I'm having the time of my life anyway, and can't wait to finally get onstage!

Alex Stewart (apprentice)

Summer all over the place!

After an exciting first season with a company that typically runs a mile with every donated inch , the summer break felt like I'd suddenly been sent to detention where I should sit and think about my actions over the past season. By July I was finally used to the hectic schedule and the exciting shows we were always performing, when suddenly the break left me not knowing what to do with myself.

Immediately after the last shows of Beer and Ballet, fellow dancer Alexandra Cunningham and I participated in the 'Applegate studio company's' production of the Firebird where Alex danced the title role and I was Prince Ivan. Over the following few weeks we rehearsed the pas de deux and the various mime sections and had the privilege of working with some really fun kids. The dancers training with Lisa Applegate made such fun monsters in the final scene and the senior girls created elegant princesses. After dancing so many fun solo roles with Sac Ballet it was great to work on a pas de deux from a story ballet, where I could strengthen partnering skills as well as develop the character of prince Ivan, a part unlike anything I've danced before.

Having said all that, I also had the opportunity to get painted in blue, where a muscle-suit and lip-sync the words to an Aladdin classic 'Never had a friend like me!' in their Disney dances piece. This was a collection of Disney inspired dances that opened the show. It was a real experience going absolutely crazy as the genie from Aladdin; surrounded by harem dancers and having glitter shot down from above, only to then frantically wash off the thick blue make-up and prepare for the more serious, classical ballet 'the Firebird'.

After an action packed month, I then spent a week with family in Chicago before a month of catching up with old friends in London. A camping trip in France for 11 days with family in weather conditions that weren't always so dry was testing at times but generally nice- I learnt I'm not the best at camping! Returning to Chicago a 21 year old was liberating and a bit too much fun, by this time I was very much looking forward to another season in Sacramento. In a matter of days, an opportunity to choreograph for the Utah regional Ballet was arranged which meant I got to experience a week in Orem, Utah and choreograph on a new bunch of dancers I had never seen before which was a really awesome week!

It's great to return to the Sacramento family and dive straight into dancing at full force again. Looks like it's gonna be a good one... watch this space!

Rex Wheeler

To Bite or Not To Bite...

The Sacramento Ballet studios are full of excitement these days as we continue to prepare for our October repertoire series, opening on October 22.  The studios are filled with the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky as the women of the company immerse themselves in the difficult and ever-vibrant choreography of Mr. Balanchine and respectively the company dancers work tirelessly to bring the joy and precise attack to the brilliant work of Trey McIntyre, featured in his exuberant ballet “Second Before the Ground”.  Although these two pieces of repertoire consistently force me to work to my limits (especially my opening solo in Mr. McIntyre’s piece), I have also been given a great challenge by my artistic directors in Ron Cunnignham’s Dracula, in which I will play both the role of Count Dracula and Jonathon Harker.

In the same rehearsal as Count Dracula

In the same rehearsal as Jonathon Harker



            While I continue to be a huge supporter of ballets, whereas there is no story to support the basis for the movement – as is apparent in most all Balanchine ballet and many contemporary works – I love ballets that allow me to explore the development of specific characters within a plot.  In rehearsals with Mr. Cunningham I must not only work on the difficult movements, but am required to create two separate and very different personas of two men (one alive and one undead) who are extreme polar opposites.  As Dracula I must transform myself into a deranged being of passionate blood lust – with a spirit of incomparable confidence and power over others.  I have been trying to research the history of vampire lore and especially that of the character of Dracula, as created by Bram Stoker – who offers a preface on how and why Dracula is the damned form that he is.  I think the understanding of the history of a character is invaluable in any portrayal.  Although the character of Jonathon Harker is perhaps not as complex as that of the Count, his character and presence within the ballet is vital – representing the image, spirit and passion of man.  He is the embodiment of the universal fear and tentative nature that all people experience at one point in their lives – whether it be the mysterious creatures under the bed that you fear as a child or the equivalent feeling that we may experience walking down a strange street in a dangerous neighborhood.  As Harker I must create a character that is submerged into a world of disturbed beings and unnatural creatures and who must face these fears in order to protect his love.

            As rehearsals continue I am beginning to create a fine definition of characterization – although I admit there are still moments in rehearsals (when I must play both characters within the same 30 minute time frame) that I find myself forgetting who I am supposed to be.  Today it became a little clearer to distinguish my separate roles, since we added the complication of Count Dracula’s cape, which was surprisingly much more difficult than I expected!  Hopefully during the shows I will remember when to bite or not to bite… which at this moment in time seems to be the real question.

BloodSource all day!

Today was definitely not a typical work day!  Instead of spending the day in the studio, fellow dancers Alex B., Alex S., Kelly, Tracy, Dakota, Charlotte and I spent most of the day at Sacramento's BloodSource center promoting our upcoming performance of Dracula as well as the many fun events scheduled this month.  Every blood donor that came in today was offered a two-for-one coupon for our performances this month, and we were there in costume to tell everyone more about the show and get them excited for upcoming events this month including a vampire pub crawl on Oct. 15 and Count Dracula's Masquerade on Oct. 29.  Overall it was a really successful collaboration between BloodSource and the Sacramento Ballet.  People were genuinely excited about coming to the show and supporting the ballet.  One man in particular, Mike, a regular blood donor at BloodSource, became really excited not just for Dracula, but for the entire upcoming season after speaking to us dancers.  So, mission accomplished!!  Here are a few pics from the day:

Julia Feldman

September! What a month for Sacramento Ballet!

Photos By Alexander Biber