15 September 2005

STATE STREET BALLET
Presents
Carmen
A Feast for the Eyes and the Heart
A new ballet choreographed by William Soleau
Based on the opera by Georges Bizet

Northridge, CA: ArtsNorthridge at California State University, Northridge is proud to present State Street Ballet performing in their new ballet version of Georges Bizet’s Carmen choreographed by William Soleau on Saturday, November 5 at 8:00 PM in the CSUN Performing Arts Center. State Street Ballet has achieved international acclaim for its innovative productions in the dance landscape. The program will also feature: Ravel’s Bolero choreographed by Rodney Gustafson and Nous Sommes choreographed by Jimmy Gamonet.

Carmen is a vivid and passionate story of lust, treachery and fate based on the fabled temptress of Seville. A ballet of dramatic intensity and blazing emotion is set to the beautiful and richly evocative music of George Bizet. This passionate story has captured the imagination of audiences around the world.

Bolero will feature the raw energy of Ravel’s mesmerizing score.

Nous Sommes is the signature work of Jimmy Gamonet set to Songs of Overgne by composer Cantoube and sung by Kiri Pekanowa.

State Street Ballet is welcomed back by CSUN for their 5th unprecedented performance at the PAC. Founded in 1994 by Artistic Director and former American Ballet Theatre dancer, Rodney Gustafson, this small but mighty company from Santa Barbara has brought audiences to their feet from California and the Southwest to exotic places like China and Taiwan.

State Street Ballet has achieved its level of excellence by the diversity of its productions; from the most innovative ballets choreographed by Mr. Gustafson and others like New York's Bill Soleau and San Francisco's Robert Sund, to highly praised presentations of the classics.

State Street Ballet is well on its way to attaining those goals, having recently celebrated its highly successful Tenth Anniversary Season. As The Los Angeles Times says, "there is little doubt that the fine looking Santa Barbara-based State Street Ballet, under the direction of Rodney Gustafson, is thriving."

The company will also offer two master classes for the campus and community at large. Please visit http://www.statestreetballet.com/ for more information on the artists.
State Street Ballet’s production of Carmen will be performed on Saturday, November 5 at 8:00 pm in the CSUN Performing Arts Center at California State University, Northridge. Adult tickets for the evening performance are $45 in the Front Orchestra and $30 in the Rear Orchestra. Group rates are available. All Students and CSUN Faculty and Staff may purchase tickets in advance for $15 with current ID (sorry, not available online). Single tickets can be purchased by calling the Ticket Office at 818-677-2488 or log on to http://www.artsnorthridge.csun.com/, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. All programs and artists are subject to change.

The Performing Arts Center is located on Zelzah Avenue, between Prairie and Plummer Streets in the Student Union Complex. Patrons should use Parking Lot G4 and are required to purchase a $4 parking permit for all performances on the CSUN campus.

For press seating and information contact:
William C. Martin, Artistic Director and Marketing for the Performing Arts Center:
818-677-7687, Fax 818-677-6617 or e-mail: william.c.martin@csun.edu

High-resolution photographs (300dpi) are available for download at http://www.cvpa.csun.com/newsflash_imageArch.html