After 50 years it might be hard to believe that Peninsula Ballet has many new tricks up their sleeve, but things are looking pretty fresh for the new season.
The last half-century has seen the Peninsula Ballet take a few different forms, but the current iteration is the most expansive yet, not just in square footage, but in the performance and educational offerings.
In 1967, what started as a small ballet school above a drug store in San Mateo became a non-profit organization that produced dance performances. In 2010, at the tail end of the recession, they were able to move into a huge new space vacated by a major electronics retailer. It is here, in their new home on South Grant Street, that they were able to bring the organization’s history full circle. With a central location, and the space to accommodate all of their ambitions, they were able to open a non-profit dance school in combination with the non-profit ballet company that supports the arts and produces performances featuring professional dance artists.
“It was really obvious that we needed to have a school,” said Christine Leslie, executive director of the theater. “When we held auditions and we had roles for students, it was obvious that the ballet training that was available left something to be desired. Almost every kind of dance that you can think of is now within these walls, plus there are people here giving music lessons. The whole idea for the students is to give them the kind of training that would allow them to pursue dance as a professional if they wanted to do so.”
Christine Leslie, CEO and Executive Director of the Peninsula Ballet
Lance Huntley
With both the school and the performance side going strong they have their eyes set firmly on the task of making their golden anniversary season something special.
This year they welcomed renowned dancer Gregory Amato as the new artistic director. Amato brings a breadth of experience spanning 53 countries, and many styles of dance. He has danced for presidents and queens alike, and is now tasked with helping to shape a season full of new endeavors and exciting performances.
Gregory Amato, Peninsula Ballet Artistic Director
“I’m really excited to be here,” Amato said. “It’s a new adventure for us. It’s a 50-year-old company, but we’re starting fresh with me. I am bringing my experience to our young dancers here to show them what dance is all about – especially what ballet is all about.
Amato and Leslie have a whole host of new ideas to celebrate this milestone year, kick off the next act in the organization’s history, and make the Peninsula a ballet destination.
They face a few challenges in rekindling a love of ballet with the masses. A younger generation that is used to fast-paced, instant-gratification media and is often unfamiliar with the music and dance of strictly traditional ballet means they need to bridge the gap between these two cultures. The parents’ generation as well can be hard to reach in an area where most of us are often hard at work or on the go. Making time for entertainment that doesn’t stream directly to our homes or mobile devices is becoming less of a priority.
The Peninsula Ballet already has these issues well in hand, however.
For the younger generation, they are offering Sweet Productions versions of some of their shows. These are abridged performances – about 45 minutes each – offering all the hits and skipping the intermission, and performed in the smaller theater.
“They were an instant success,” Leslie said. “It’s meant for little tots that cant sit through two and a half hours in a theater. It’s right there, it’s short, it’s up close and personal, it’s all the things that they want to see. One parent called it the preschool event of the season!”
This season’s Sweet Productions include Sleeping Beauty’s Wedding, Hip-Hop Cinderella, Nutcracker Sweet, Carnival of the Animals, and The Magical Toy Shop.
They even host “kids night out” where parents get to drop off the kids for dinner, activities, and a show while the adults get a little grown up time without the rugrats.
Recommended for you
If the Sweet Productions are kids night out, then the Friday and Saturday cabaret shows can serve as a parents’ date night. If you read “cabaret” and your mind went straight to the gritty, punk rock cabaret that has found a niche in recent years, you can think again. This is a callback to the Parisian nightclub cabaret of yesteryear. They have comedians acting as MCs for the events, cocktails for the guests, and a variety of dance styles featured in the performances.
“It’s not high brow ballet. It’s just going to be fun,” Leslie said. “There’s flamenco dancers, there’s tango dancers, traditional Indian dancing. It’s a little bit more refined, but I think it’s going to be fun and entertaining.”
Clearly this year is about expanding the horizons of the ballet.
The company has also adapted some of the classics – Nutcracker, and Cinderella – in a hip-hop style, incorporating relatively modern traditions including breakdancing, turfing, and popping and locking. Musically they are blending Tchaikovsky with great remixes to keep the tone funky and fun.
“Hip-hop dancing couldn’t be more different from ballet,” Leslie said. “Hip-hop dancing is street, urban dancing. Ballet evolved out of the French court 300 years ago. So the history of the two art forms couldn’t be more different, but hip-hop dance also has a narrative. It evokes a story.”
To make these adaptations really soar, they recruited award-winning local dancers Alejandra Martinez and Stuck Sanders to handle production and choreography.
“I told Stuck and Alee, I don’t know anything about hip-hop,” Leslie said. “I know ballet and I know opera, but I do know good art when I see it, and they did a great job of taking the ballet and some of those moves, and making it a little more down and earthy but still telling the same terrific story.”
In its 50th year, the Peninsula Ballet can look back on a long history of dance in the Bay Area, a history that has seen it take different forms and different approaches, but as they look forward to the next act in their performance, adding new players, and new moves to the repertoire, the ballet scene in the Bay Area is looking hipper than ever.
1. Cabaret Hot October Nights - Oct 13 7 pm & Oct 14 @ 8 pm
2. Hip Hop Cinderella - Oct 14 @ noon & 4:30 pm
3. Halloween Festival - Oct 28 from 5 pm to 8 pm
4. Nutcracker Sweet - Dec 2, 3, 9, 10
5. Sugar Plum Tea Party - Dec 2 & 10
6. Nutcracker Fox Theatre - Dec 16 & 17
7. Hip Hop Nutcracker Fox Theatre - Dec 15 & 17
As an anniversary gift to the community, all advance tickets to Fox Theater performances of Nutcracker and Hip Hop Nutcracker are $35 for all seats and all performances (up to $40 savings per ticket).
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.