articles

MK Giveaway! Inland Pacific Ballet Presents Beauty and the Beast

Arcadia, Rancho Cucamonga, Claremont, & Riverside April 25 – May 16, 2015

April 17, 2015

Macaroni Kid Review:
This past weekend, we were at Bridges Auditorium
to take my daughter to her very first ballet.  Right when the show started we were entranced by this beautiful interpretation of Beauty and the Beast.  The gorgeous scenes and costume with the graceful dancers brought this classic story to a whole new level of charm.  It was much more emotional and heart felt than the Disney version with the singing teacups.  The characters used movements to express their feelings and inner conflicts and it was powerful and effective.  

 

The story is retold through dance with no words and at first I was concerned that my 3 year old daughter would not be able to follow along. I was pleasantly surprised that she loved it and asked all the right questions to show how interested she was in the story.  She asked to attend more in the future based on this fun experience.  The Inland Pacific Ballet’s 2015-2016 Season also includes “The Nutcracker and “The Little Mermaid”.  We look forward to both!


Encore presentation of breathtaking ballet production 
adapted from the original timeless fairy tale


Southern California’s premiere professional ballet company, Inland Pacific Ballet (IPB), celebrating its 20
th season, presents Beauty and the Beast, a breathtaking full-length ballet based on the time honored fairy tale with 10 performances taking place from April 25 through May 16, 2015 in theaters within the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. A creative interpretation of this universal story of inner beauty, IPB’s encore presentation promises a visual feast full of romance and drama. Stunning sets, brilliant dancing, gorgeous costumes and a stirring musical score that will transport audiences to an enchanted fairy tale world filled with fanciful characters, a charming village, an enchanted forest and the Beast's magnificent castle, all vividly illustrating the drama and romance of this beloved story and the transformative power of love.

 

IPB’s version of Beauty and the Beast has Beauty, a young girl pure of heart, living at the edge of a mystical forest, when her father is accosted by a mysterious Beast after picking a single white rose from the Beast’s beloved garden. Imbued with magical powers, the rose is passed between Beauty, her father and the Beast, as Beauty offers herself in exchange for her father’s freedom, beginning a journey of love and transformation for both herself and the Beast. For choreographer Clinton Rothwell, the white rose represents both Beauty’s pure heart and the transformation that takes place in the story.

 

“Prompted by the tremendous response Beauty and the Beast received last season, we are thrilled to once again be bringing this beautiful ballet to southern California audiences, and for the first time, to the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside,” states Victoria Koenig, Artistic Director. "Nothing quite compares with the magic and grandeur of a big, fully produced ballet, especially one with such a captivating story. With rehearsals already underway and our dancers in top form, we are seeing Beauty and the Beast come back to life. We are especially excited to be presenting our exquisite ballerina, Meilu Zhai, in her debut as Beauty. Meilu's special qualities of delicacy, inner strength, impeccable technique and utter charm make her irresistible in this role.”


The cast features brilliant young talent from southern California. IPB is delighted to have principal dancers Cameron Schwanz again dancing the role of the Beast, and Meilu Zhai, formerly with the National Ballet of China as Beauty. Jonathan Sharp also returns in the role of Beauty’s Father.

The musical score for Beauty and the Beast was created by company choreographer Rothwell as a “sound collage” featuring compositions from many of the great classical composers such as Dimitri Shostakovich, Antonin Dvorak, Felix Mendelssohn, Jules Massenet, Sergei Prokofiev, Pytor Illyich Tchaikovsky, and Alexandor Glazounov. “Ballet is an extension of sound to me, it’s moving sculpture, but it has to go with the music. Everything has to fit together,” says choreographer Rothwell.


Award-winning set designer and scenic artist Daniel C. Nyiri designed the village, forest, garden and castle scenes that serve as backdrops for the jewel-toned costumes by designer Jeanne Nolden. Special masks for the Beast and a pack of menacing wolves were created by Bonnie Sinclair, who worked for many years with Maurice Sendak on projects including Where the Wild Things Are.


Tickets, starting at $34 with senior/child/group discounts are available online at ipballet.org. Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm; Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College, Claremont; Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 1:00 & 7:00 pm; Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Lewis Family Playhouse, Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, Rancho Cucamonga; Saturday, May 9, 2015 at 2:00 pm & Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Arcadia Performing Arts Center; and Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm at Fox Performing Arts Center, Riverside.

 

Critically acclaimed Inland Pacific Ballet, enjoying its 20th season, is a professional ballet company of national stature in the Inland Empire of Southern California. The Company is committed to producing exquisitely staged productions of full-length classic story ballets as well as presenting the best in contemporary choreography. Their large studio facility in Montclair also includes in-house costume and scenic departments. In addition, through creative marketing and an extensive Educational Outreach Program, Inland Pacific Ballet strives to introduce new audiences to the magic of ballet, and to make the experience more available and accessible to all. For students pre-school through grade 12 enrolled in public, private and home schools, IPB offers “A Young Person’s Guide to the Ballet,” connecting the arts to learning through music and movement with four educational morning performances of Beauty and the Beast. The Company is also committed to the nurturing of new talent and provides an essential training ground for serious young dancers.

 


A non-profit organization, Inland Pacific Ballet’s programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts – Art Works, The Ahmanson Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Claremont Community Foundation, US Bank, The Haskell Fund, Target and Hank and Jean Voznick.


Macaroni Kid Giveaway!- Closed.

Win a family 4-pack of passes to "Beauty and the Beast" (at the Arcadia or Claremont performance)! 


To participate, leave a comment below telling us why you would love to win and a winner will be picked on April 21st using Random.org and announced on Facebook.  (One email per entry, winner must be a subscriber and Facebook
 fan and respond to announcement within 24 hours.)

 Closed as of April 21st. Congratulations Patrick! You're the winner! Email us at joycel@macaronikid.com