Festival Ballet Stars Illuminate

Festival Ballet Stars Illuminate Irvine Barclay Theater in ‘Nutcracker’ Spectacular
That Celebrates Festival Ballet’s 20 Years in Orange County

Lydia E. Ringwald

Lt. To Rt.-Irina Dvorovenko,Salwa Rizkalla, Maxim Beloserkovsky.

Festival Ballet Theater’s ‘Nutcracker’ celebrated opening night gala on December 12 with luscious new sets and costumes in a sensational spectacular that included the American Ballet Theater guest artist star pair Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky. In this year’s ‘Nutcracker’ performance, the company celebrates 20 years as Orange County’s premier ballet company.

In the upcoming weekend, Festival Ballet Theater will perform with ballet guest artists Paloma Herrera and Gennadi Saveliev on December19 at 2pm and 7 pm and December 20 at 2 pm.

Orange County may boast of hosting one of the top ballet companies in California. The acclaimed Fountain Valley based Festival Ballet and it’s accompanying school, Southland Ballet Academy, not only offers performances each year but also participates actively in school outreach programs that share the splendor of classical ballet and with children in throughout the Orange County.

Festival Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker for Kids’ performed in harmony with Pacific Symphony at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall is an annual favorite that includes one hour of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’ music and ballet highlights in a special performance designed for youth.

Ballet students and protégés at Southland Ballet Academy cultivate the ballet arts in classes throughout the year and in a summer intensive that includes instruction from teachers and ballet masters from such world-renowned ballet academies as the Royal Ballet and Bolshoi Orange County ballet students share instruction with ballet students from Japan and other countries of the world participating together in full-day summer classes at the Southland Ballet Academy studios in Fountain Valley and Irvine.

Opportunity to perform roles in Festival Ballet’s full-length productions ballets inspires students to reach beyond their limits and aspire to perform the miraculous ballet feats required to render the famous classical ballet choreographies. Director Salwa Rizkalla offers her Southland Ballet Academy students roles in Festival Ballet Theater productions and a chance to perform on stage with world ballet stars. Many students trained at Southland Ballet Academy and nurtured in the beauty of ballet arts have later earned positions in such prestigious ballet companies as Joffrey Ballet, Kirov Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theater.

Festival Ballet’s 2010 Season includes a performance of ‘Don Quixote’ a full-length ballet starring American Ballet Theater stars Gillian Murphy and Marcelo Gomes on March 20 and 21
And a ‘Protégé and Stars’ Invitational Dance Festival on May 7, 2010.

Under the direction of Salwa Rizkalla since it’s founding in 1988, Festival Ballet Theater has become one of California’s most vibrant and accomplished professional ballet companies, celebrating more than 20 years of artistic achievement in Orange County and has earned recognition as the Orange County Award for Outstanding Arts Organizations of the Year.

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