I continue to do a Balanchine program each year because, in my opinion, he is the number one choreographer that we have ever seen in ballet. There is no one like him; no one is as diverse as him and I don’t think there ever will be.
For years, audiences have been watching me on stage, as I bring to life characters from beautiful ballets, making them forget about their realities, transporting them to different worlds, making my steps look effortless and alive, but, sometimes, I wonder if they really know the meaning of what I do?
I really enjoy the process of creating a piece. Coming up with ideas. It’s a lot of fun for me. I really enjoyed doing the Brazillian piece, “Nine O’Clock”, for “Innovations”. It really reminded me of home. I even included a song that my dad and I used to listen to in the car.
It wasn’t until I moved to the states did I fully understand the meaning of a “traditional Christmas”. Finally everything started to make sense. Those wintry Christmas movies and all those Christmas songs.
Whether she is managing company dancers, planning rehearsals or creating magic alongside Ib Andersen, Maria Simonetti serves at the heart of everything Ballet Arizona is and everything we strive to be.
Thanks to a little bundle of joy rapidly growing inside of me (in other words, I’m pregnant!) I’ll be taking a break from dancing this season. Being pregnant definitely has its perks.
Read about a few favorite holiday traditions and memories shared by Ballet Arizona’s Company Dancers and Staff.
Join us as we welcome Ballet Arizona’s newest Company dancers, Alberto Penalver, Erick Garnica and Ricardo Santos to our family. We look forward to what each of these amazing artists will bring to our productions during the 2016-2017 season.
As we open the 2017 Season, we are honored to welcome former Studio Company members from The School of Ballet Arizona Ava Cobb, Katherine Loxtercamp, Ethan Price and Ana Maria Spear to our Company family!
Kaelyn Magee was born in Carmel, California and began her ballet training at age seven with local teachers. At age ten, she began studying at the Studio School of Classical Ballet upon invitation from Diane Cypher and Robert Kelley, and soon afterwards joined Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre.