Among many treasures to be found here in the Santa Clarita Valley, perhaps our most hidden gem is the Santa Clarita Ballet Company (SCBC). For twenty years, SCBC has been elevating local arts programming and training young dancers in the art of ballet. Ballet is often misunderstood as inaccessible and exclusive to “those in the know.”
However, SCBC strives to bring ballet to Santa Clarita for anyone, of any age or experience, to enjoy and appreciate. The result of their vision is priceless, and you are invited to discover the invaluable beauty of this art form.
SCBC is a repository of exquisite ballet programing right here in Santa Clarita. Their repertoire includes classic pieces that are core to almost every national ballet company as well as several original contemporary works that have demonstrated SCBC’s creativity and proficiency. Over the years SCBC has gained recognition and support from major arts organizations such as the National Endowment of the Arts, the California Arts Council, and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, to name a few. National ballet companies and college and university dance programs consistently sit up and take notice of the artistic talent of SCBC dancers who have participated in some of our nation’s most elite programs – from the American Ballet Theatre to Boston Ballet, from Washington DC Ballet to Ballet West in Utah.
This September 13 and 14, SCBC is bringing Beauty and the Beast and As the Piano Rolls to the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons. The show is cast exclusively with SCBC’s upper level Company dancers and professional guest artists. SCBC’s Artistic Director, Carol Guidry, describes her vision for this production: “With these two pieces I’m encouraging the dancers to bend the rules sometimes – take risks and, most importantly, convey their joy of dance. At this level of mastery, technique is no longer the end goal but a means to express oneself. These dancers have the physical command to embody the music and the artistry to connect to the audience emotionally. I want a Santa Clarita Ballet concert-going experience to be mesmerizing and revelatory: a surreal place, like the Beast’s palace in Beauty and the Beast, where you’ll see stage magic illusions, and a “Pageant of the Masters” style live Botticelli painting. Or the dance hall in As the Piano Rolls… a fun and sometimes melancholy place where you can dance atop a moving piano. Dance at its best re-awakens what is most beautiful within us.”
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company will present Beauty and the Beast and As the Piano Rolls this September at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center at College of the Canyons. Performances are Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, September 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now. Tickets will not be sold through the Performing Arts Center prior to the event.
For tickets and information, please call the Santa Clarita Ballet at 661-251-0366. Advanced purchase is recommended, as shows will sell out quickly.