Let freedom ring, courtesy of United Ukrainian Ballet ‘Giselle’ at Segerstrom Center

Dance
As evenings at the ballet go, it had a complex agenda. It was an event fueled by the philanthropic largesse of Orange County arts patron Elizabeth Segerstrom whose sensitive stroke was to give an American audience the opportunity to enter the July 4 weekend with concern for the freedom and independence of others. The performance ...

Exiled Ukrainian dancers to unite ballet fans in Ratmansky ‘Giselle’ at Segerstrom

Dance
In a glorious summer classical-ballet event, a great patron of the arts, Elizabeth Segerstrom, in honoring the centenary of her late husband, Henry T. Segerstrom (1923-2015), Orange County’s peerless titan of business, philanthropy and the arts, is presenting the United Ukrainian Ballet in its West Coast debut at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The four-performance ...

Wheeldon doubles-down in Southern California events of fascination

Dance
Photos by Reed Hutchinson/Los Angeles Ballet It’s a veritable festival of choreography by the Briton Christopher Wheeldon in the next weeks in Southern California. Neatly, the presentations will all spool under the watchful eyes of female artistic directors, Melissa Barak at the Los Angeles Ballet and Susan Jaffe at American Ballet Theatre. That fact alone ...

Divas of our lifetime! Dionne Warwick, Chita Rivera on stage

Dance · Music
stellar ladies of the arts, one singer, one dancer She’s a beloved American cultural icon. She’s beautiful and well preserved. AND she has a new movie, a documentary. Dionne Warwick began singing professionally in 1961. Discovered by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, the marvelous songbird went on to record 18 consecutive Top 100 singles (Don’t ...

Warmth, beauty, diversity: ABT’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at Segerstrom Center 1

Dance · Music
From Act I of Alexei Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor. The world has started to feel at tad more normal, right? One key way that is so important for us all, but especially for our children is the return to the theater. Yes, the careful among us still wear face masks — totally fine. ...

Elizabeth! OC arts patron honors exiled Russian ballet dancers in Segerstrom gala

Dance
“Reunited in Dance,” was a gala so glorious, so glamorous, so grand that it would normally take a village to produce. But perhaps you haven’t met Elizabeth Segerstrom. A Polish-born, Russian-speaking dynamo who holds a doctoral degree in psychology, she is an accomplished entrepreneur and published author. Elizabeth (everyone calls her that) threw a ballet ...

Jacopo Tisi nails grand jete in ‘Corsaire,’ part of ‘Reunited in Dance’ 1

Dance
That’s a grand jete that packs a wallop. Just sensational. Every element of the Italian-born danseur noble Jacopo Tisi‘s position is proper. His legs are equally rotated outward in his hip joints; his feet are fully stretched; the arcing curve in his spine that finishes at the top of his head is sublime; his arms ...

Ballet Monte-Carlo’s good-looking ‘Romeo & Juliet, soon at Segerstrom

Dance
Choreographer Jean-Christophe Maillot‘s Roméo et Juliette (1996) created for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo in 1996 may not be a new production, but boy does it look swankily danced, and designed, by some stunning dancers in these photos. So we’re going. Maillot has been artistic director of the company since 1993. The ballet is staged to ...

Where the Bronx meets Orange County: Chazz Palminteri’s one-man show

Film · Theater
In 1988, before it became a hit Broadway musical or a feature film co-starring Robert DeNiro, Chazz Palminteri wrote and performed in A Bronx Tale— bringing 18 characters to vivid life in a gripping tale of his rough childhood on the Bronx streets.  The powerful play depicts his bruising youthful experiences in great detail — ...

Love is Love: Pride Night at ABT ‘Nutcracker’ December 15

Dance
In the video above, Hee Seo, rehearses for opening night of American Ballet Theatre‘s “The Nutcracker”Friday night at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The video displays what an exquisite ballerina she is. There is no doubt that every night at the ballet is a pride night for gay men and women. That’s indicated by the ...