Community Corner
Brentwood & Bel Air Ballet Dancers Perform in Spring Showcase
Young ballerinas share the stage with internationally acclaimed alumni and professionals May 26-27
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Westside Ballet will be showcasing the talent of local pre-professional dancers, including eight who live in Brentwood or go to school there, on Memorial Day weekend for their “Masters of Movement” Spring Soirée & Showcase.
The performance will include a soirée event featuring professional dancers. These acclaimed guest artists include Andrea Laššáková and Westside alumnus Adrian Blake Mitchell, who will dance Westside’s Premiere of After the Rain by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, and Maté Szentes and alumna Lyrica Woodruff, who will perform George Balanchine’s Stars & Stripes. Repertoire also includes a suite from Marius Petipa’s Raymonda and a newly commissioned contemporary work Color of Spring by Vanessa Van Wormer.
Shanghai Kaye, Brentwood, an 11th-grader at Fusion Academy, and her younger sister, Eema Kaye, a ninth-grader at the Brentwood School, along with Ava Cherniss, Westwood, a 12th-grader at the Archer School for Girls in Brentwood, are among the Westside students performing in Raymonda and Color of Spring. They will also appear in Handel Dances and Excerpts from A Chorus Line.
Violette Marie Rice, Brentwood, a seventh-grader at St. Martin of Tours will perform in Garland Dance and Excerpts from A Chorus Line. Another Brentwood resident, Lyla Brugger, an eighth-grader at Paul Revere Middle School, will appear in Friends Dance.
Westwood students performing in another selection, Polka Française include Venice resident Archer Anderson, a seventh-grader at Paul Revere Middle School in Brentwood; Beverly Hills resident Billie Dane, a sixth-grader at Dan Franklin Academy in Brentwood; and Crenshaw resident Linka Tiesiera, a sixth-grader at Paul Revere Middle School.
Polka Française “is unique and fun,” Linka said, noting it is very different from The Nutcracker, which she has also performed. “I like that in the spring we do something that is so creative.”
Billie, who models for IMG Worldwide in addition to dancing, said, “Ballet is like oxygen to me. I couldn’t survive without it. Studying ballet has taught me so much about discipline, commitment, and how to make the perfect bun!”
In addition to dancing, Archer plays the piano and flute and has performed in musical theater.
“I would like to be a scientist and a dancer,” she said. “I spend many hours a week focused on my craft to better myself and put my dance aspirations forward.”
Friday, May 26, 2023, 6 pm Soirée reception and awards, followed by the 8 pm “Masters of Movement” with special performances; -and- Saturday, May 27, 2024, 1 pm and 5 pm shows of the “Masters of Movement” pre-professional Spring Showcases. Both at The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Saturday Showcase tickets are $45. The Soirée Friday reception and special performance are $100-300. Tickets for this must-see dance event of the season may be purchased online at www.westsideballet.com or by phone (additional fees apply) at (800) 595-4849 (4TIX).
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