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Northridge, CA: Santa Barbara’s State Street Ballet is returning to California State University, Northridge, for it’s fifth consecutive year to sell-out crowds, on Saturday, October 28 at 8 p.m. at the Plaza del Sol Performance Hall (formerly The Performing Arts Center). State Street Ballet will bring to life American Legends, with newly commissioned pieces featuring internationally-renowned American choreographers, composers, and singers.
From the Americana spirit of Agnes de Mille’s Texas Fourth, Peter Pucci’s Baseball, to the Southern Pop music of the Indigo Girls in Margo Sappington’s Shed Your Skin, and the cutting edge rhythms of Rush Hour by Robert Battle, this program is designed to ignite the audience. American Legends is designed to celebrate the restless American spirit through dance. From the traditional songs of Texas Fourth to the percussive rhythm of Rush House, the show weaves its way through a chronological history of dance from the past to the present.
What’s so exciting about Texas Fourth is that the original scenery and costumes have been procured from American Ballet Theatre in New York. Christina Giannini was the costume designer for the original production and is the current costume designer for State Street Ballet. Gula Pandi worked as a Ballet Master for Agnes de Mille and he will be staging the work. Texas Fourth was last performed in 1976 by American Ballet Theatre.
State Street Ballet will also offer a Master Class for Kinesiology and dance students on the Cal State Northridge campus, and is also offering this opportunity to advanced ballet students from the community on Saturday, October 28 at 10 am. For reservations for this free community outreach event, please call 818-677-7686.
Founded in 1994 by Artistic Director and former ABT dancer, Rodney Gustafson, State Street Ballet has brought audiences to their feet from California and throughout the country to exotic and far away places such as China and Taiwan. The company 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’s touring productions have included an exciting variety of excellent ballets, including last year’s performance of Carmen, The Handkerchief, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Nutcracker, as well as the foot-stomping Tango and Malambo. These works are all original pieces brought to life by world-class choreographers and brilliant dancers.
Artistic Director Gustafson possesses a rare combination of credentials among artistic directors—a master’s degree in business enhanced by a successful dance career. As a dancer with American Ballet Theatre, Gustafson worked with many of the greatest dancers of our time, such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, and the most famous choreographers of the era: Alvin Alley, Balanchine, Rudolf Nureyev, Jerome Robbins, and Anthony Tudor. He also appeared in the films Turning Point, Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker, and several Live from Lincoln Center productions.
According to the Los Angeles Times, State Street’s Artistic Director “Gustafson has built a company respected for its choreography, dancing and fiscally responsible management, proving against all odds and naysayers, that ballet is alive and kicking in Southern California.” |
