Dance

This Saturday, April 13, Marin Ballet presents its 50th Anniversary Reunion Performance, featuring current Marin Ballet students performing alongside professional dancers who studied at Marin Ballet. The evening’s program features new works by established choreographers and the return of some favorite works from Marin Ballet’s archives.

Since its founding in 1963, Marin Ballet has been a leader in promoting the art of dance, in providing exceptional dance training, and in nurturing career-aspiring and recreational dancers alike.

This Saturday's program includes Trois Gymnopedies, Ronn Guidi’s work set to music by Erik Satie, first performed by Marin Ballet in 1967, when it was performed by Marin Ballet’s current artistic director Cynthia Lucas. This performance will feature alumnae Mila Lavoie of the Sacramento Ballet and Jessica Wagner, who dances with the dawson/wallace DANCE project, as well as Travis Bradley of Memphis Ballet.

Students from Marin Ballet will also perform new works by Robert Dekkers and Casey Thorne, a remount of Amy London’s Pardoname Signore Green, and an excerpt from George Balanchine’s Raymonda.

ODC/Dance's adaptation of the classic children's story The Velveteen Rabbit has been a holiday tradition in the Bay Area for 26 years. With music, dance, and powerful narrative, ODC/Dance tells this classic tale of a well-worn stuffed rabbit who become real, and the little boy who loves him.

This popular production brims with wit, festive costumes, colorful characters—including the 10-foot-tall Nana, a skin-horse, toy soldiers, a crocodile, dolls, and a pack of "real" rabbits, and, of course, plenty of holiday cheer. The Velveteen Rabbit features ODC's renowned company of dancers, 10 young dancers from the ODC school, a score by Benjamin Britten, and narration by legendary actor Geoff Hoyle. This production is suitable for children ages 3 and up. Running time is 90 minutes, including one intermission.

Performances of The Velveteen Rabbit take place November 23 through December 9 in the Lam Research Theater at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard Street (at Third Street). Tickets are $15 for 11 am weekday performances, $17 for side balcony seats, $32 for orchestra/balcony center, and $47 for center orchestra. The Milk and Cookies Party on Sunday, November 25 requires an additional $12 ticket.

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means it's time to start planning for the holiday season. Tickets to that time-honored holiday tradition, San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker, are now on sale and going fast. Experience 200 costumed characters, dazzling scenery, and Tchaikovsky's beautiful score performed live by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.

There are many different performances of Nutcracker that take place in the Bay Area during the holiday season, but San Francisco Ballet's is really the one that sets the standard. Did you know that San Francisco Ballet was the first ballet company to bring the Nutcracker to America?

I took my kids to the Nutcracker last season, and it was truly a magical experience for all of us. It's really a holiday tradition not to be missed. Order your tickets now and make sure you get your preferred time, date, and seats.

San Francisco Ballet's 2012 season draws to a close soon, and their final production is the colorful and family friendly three-act story ballet Don Quixote. With spectacular all-new scenery and costumes and a vibrant score by Léon Minkus, it's a lively and exciting interpretation of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes' famous novel.

Music for Don Quixote is by Léon Minkus, and the production and staging is by Helgi Tomasson and Yuri Possokhov. Approximate program time is two hours and 30 minutes, so this ballet is probably best suited to older children who can suit through the production and appreciate the artistry on stage.

We're giving away a pair of tickets to the Saturday, May 5 2 pm matinee performance of Don Quixote. Simply send an email to contests@marinmommies.com with "Don Q" in the subject line by 11:59 pm PST on Friday, April 27, 2012. We'll choose a random winner on Saturday. Many thanks to San Francisco Ballet for sponsoring this giveaway. Read our contest and giveaway rules here.

This holiday season, don’t miss Marin Dance Theatre’s magical production of Sophie and The Enchanted Toyshop at the Marin Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael. Performances take place on Saturday, December 17, only with two shows at 1 and 5 pm.

Presented by Marin Dance Theatre, an internationally recognized dance training center, Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop is a delightful and festive full-length two-act children's ballet, featuring over 130 dancers plus guest professional artists. We had an opportunity to attend last year with our kids and everyone had a great time.

This production is a fantastic introduction to ballet for the entire family. In fact it was my then four-year-old daughter's first experience with live ballet. With colorful sets and costumes and whimsical characters, Sophie and the Enchanted Toyshop makes a great addition or alternative to the Nutcracker in the holiday entertainment repertoire.

The Stapleton Ballet's annual production of the Nutcracker has been a Marin County tradition for over two decades. With over 150 talented dancers from San Anselmo's Stapleton School of the Performing Arts as well as professional guest stars, a visit to this production marks the start of the holiday season for many Marin families.

Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean it changes, however. The Stapleton Nutcracker received new lavish Victorian sets in 2008 and new costumes and choreography in 2010. This year, ballet-goers will see new choreography and costumes for the Nutcracker's Spanish Dancer, which were created by Stapleton Ballet assitant artistic director Yoira Esquivel Brito.

The daughter of dancers Jorge Esquivel and Amparo Brito, both former dancers with the famed National Ballet of Cuba, Yoira was on stage before she was even born. She  began officially studying ballet at the age of 8, and at 12 she was invited to become part of a company by Laura Alonso. She went on to have a major career in Peru, Brazil, and the Oakland and San Francisco Ballets.

Studio C Ballet is now open in Fairfax. Offering professional ballet training for all ages and abilities, Studio C Ballet was founded by Marin mom and professional ballet dancer Claudia Alfieri-Wallace, a veteran of esteemed dance companies including San Francisco Ballet, Smuin Ballet, and Baryshnikov's American Ballet. Classes are available for all ages, from pre-ballet (ages 3–5) to adult instruction. Private ballet coaching is available as well.

Studio C Ballet also offers Ballerina Birthday Parties in the delightful setting of its pink-curtained ballet studio. Contact Claudia directly for prices and availability at (415) 297-6897 or claudia@studiocballet.com.

You'll find Studio C Ballet in Fairfax at 12 School Street Plaza Suite 12D (near Central Field). For more information, including class schedule and tuition information, call (415) 297-6897 or visit www.studiocballet.com.

If your pre-k or kindergarten-age child is obsessed with all things ballet, then you might want to check out Mill Valley's Joy of Dance Ballet School and their popular Ballet and Arts Half-Day Immersion Program. This program offers a fun-filled half-day for little ones centered around the "ballet du jour" drawn from popular ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Firebird. Ballets are explored though expressive arts, story books, segments from videos of the ballet and, of course, a magical ballet class.

Joy of Dance directress and teacher Jacqueline Low is well known throughout Marin for her imagination, boundless creativity, and exuberant energy. This program was so popular during last spring that Joy of Dance Ballet School is now offering it twice a week—on Mondays and Thursday from 1–4:45 pm, providing nearly four hours of fun for little dancers (and giving moms and dads a well-deserved respite).

This Saturday, March 19, 2011, the San Francisco Ballet premieres its production of Coppélia, a full-length comedic story ballet. With choreography be the legendary George Balanchine and a melodious score by 19th-century French composer Leo Délibes, Coppélia tells the enchanting and humorous story of the young couple Swanilda and Franz, whose courtship goes awry when Franz falls for a life-like dancing doll created by mysterious inventor Dr. Coppelius.

To teach Franz a lession, Swanilda disguises herself as the doll and pretends she's the doll come to life. In the end, there's a happy ending as Swanilda and Franz reunite, and we see their joyful wedding celebration. With new costumes and fairy tale sets by renowned Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, Coppélia is an enchanting family friendly production that's guaranteed to win your heart.