Please dust off your bomb shelters. Store in there: red wine, brie, and lots of ballet videos.
While adorable Bolshoi Ballet couple Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev are tromping the floorboards in “Reflections” at Orange County’s recently renamed Segerstrom Center for the Arts, not to be outdone, a top American pairing, Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel, will dance at the spanking new Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University at Northridge.
It’s a good, old-fashioned Cold War stand-off !
The Russians, gathering steam in OC, launch the first attack tonight, January 20, to be assailed the following weekend, January 29, by the Americans, hurling pirouettes and grand jetés in the Valley!
Tanks of marauding dancers will troll the 405 freeway in both directions — leaving the requisite three hours, give or take, for commuting time.
Beyond dueling pas de deuxs, the Valley Performing Arts Center inaugural gala celebration/dedication will showcase the impressive talents of Sandra Oh, Calista Flockhart, Benjamin Bratt, Noah Wylie, Cheech Marin, Tyne Daly, Arturo Sandoval, Monica Mancini, David Gaines, Carol Vaness, Steven Weber, Jane Kaczmarek, Nancy Cartwright and the CSUN Jazz A Band.
A tented dinner for arts patrons will follow the performance.
Osipova/Vasiliev photo care of ballet.co.uk, Margaret Willis