‘The Snow Queen’- Dec. 16-18, Glendale Community College

Overcoming Challenges – Snow Queen Ballet’s 14^th Season

Glendale Girl, Isabella Bunting, performs lead role

Guest Performer from Hungary

The series of rehearsals for California Contemporary Ballet’s Snow Queen Ballet have been underway for over five hours, and for Isabella Bunting of Glendale, her most challenging rehearsal of the day lays ahead of her. She clearly dreads the process of putting on her Pointe shoes; but, when director Erin Holt enters the rehearsal studio, Bunting dutifully ties her shoe ribbons and tests her weight while balancing on her toes. With flaming red hair and a presence that suggests a level of maturity well beyond her thirteen years, Bunting is about to perform one of the most challenging roles in the ballet.

The role of Princess is normally performed by one of the professional ballerinas employed by the Company. In fact, many advanced- and professional-level dancers auditioned for the coveted role. However, Holt explains, “Since this is an original ballet with new choreography, we usually teach the role to a professional just as we would to a student. Isabella’s youth shouldn’t prove to be an obstacle, so long as she can handle the role, and she’s proving that she can. She is light and she works extremely well with her partner.” Reprising the role of Prince for a second year to Isabella’s Princess is Nicholas Zerman of Altadena. He effortlessly lifts Bunting high above his head in a spin and then gently places her back onto her toes. “It’s a difficult lift, but we’ll get it”, he says with a wide grin.

As the production’s choreographer and Artistic Director, Holt has faced many challenges during the 14-year run of the ballet at Glendale Community College. Many professional dancers seek out opportunities to perform in the myriad of Nutcracker productions, rather than face the challenges of learning new choreography afforded by an original ballet. After all, most Nutcracker variations are an integral part of the training curriculum offered in ballet schools around the nation, so good ballet dancers are already familiar with many sections of the Nutcracker before ever stepping into rehearsal. This certainly makes rehearsals faster for the dancer and easier for a director to produce. However, this is clearly not the case for any dancer who chooses to audition for the Snow Queen, where all of the choreography is new and the roles are unknown. “Some dancers are intimidated by the vast amount of new material they have to learn and some dancers just don’t feel they have the time to dedicate to the learning process”. Still, Holt boasts that the Company gets plenty of interest from professional talent looking for new opportunities. “We offer dancers the rare opportunity to be involved with something new.”

Since its inception of Snow Queen, California Contemporary Ballet has attempted to plant the seeds of a new tradition by integrating a cast of professional career talent with well trained, pre-professional dancers from the Company’s youth division. With a beautiful original musical score composed by Randall Michael Tobin, set against the backdrop of a Hans Christian Andersen story, audiences have the chance to meet a young girl and boy with lessons to learn, exotic creatures that perform aerial ballet, gymnastic gypsies, forest animals such as reindeer and crows and magical characters such an enchantress and guardian angel. With a supporting chorus to fill an array of characters such as snowflakes, rivers, flowers and trees, the cast numbers a total of 60 performers. This ballet, a delightful holiday favorite performed to sold-out audiences in Glendale for the past fourteen years, appeals to the entire family.

Bunting admits that she was initially apprehensive about her new role. However, once she dedicated herself to the challenge of the role, she became determined. While watching the couple rehearse, Holt observed, “It was important to them that they be cast together. They wanted to impress and make it happen. They earned their roles”. Recognizing that the roles of Prince and Princess are so demanding, Bunting and Zerman have committed to daily rehearsals until the date of the shows. Being a risk taker, Holt decided to follow a precedent established by a well-known choreographer. George Balanchine was famous for challenging his young, talented dancers, as evidenced in his famous “Baby Ballerinas”, when he thrust young teenagers into the performing spotlight. This has only added fuel to Holt’s enthusiasm. “There is something truly impressive about a thirteen year old who can handle such difficult choreography.”

The Snow Queen by California Contemporary Ballet will be performed at Glendale Community College on December 16 at 7:30pm, December 17 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and December 18 at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.snowqueenballet.com or www.calballet.com. Tickets purchased in advance: $25 for adults, $20 for child; tickets purchase at the door: $30 for adults, $25 for child. Group rates available. Call Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. For information, call California DanceArts 818-790-7924.

Zsolt Banki recently arrived in California from Hungary, where he was a graduate of the Hungarian Dance Academy and where he was voted Best Hungarian Dancer in 2007. He was the lead choreographer for the popular show “So You Think you Can Dance”, which actually originated in Hungary. He also received training at the Nazza Art Institute, and has also performed lead roles in “Spartacus 2076”, “Carmen”, “Cats”, “Evita” and “Jesus Christ Superstar”. After arriving in Los Angeles in 2010, Mr. Banki has worked with several Los Angeles-based dance companies, including Los Angeles Contemporary Ballet. This season, Mr. Banki will appear in the California Contemporary Ballet’s production of “The Snow Queen” on December 16 -18 at Glendale Community College, performing the principal roles of Reindeer and the Crow. He will also be seen as a gypsy. He enjoys living in Los Angeles very much and is learning a great deal about American culture. He particularly likes the California Contemporary Ballet’s version of “The Snow Queen”, as it is a very popular story in Hungary. Mr. Banki will appear in all four performances.

Alyssa Thompson (Snow Queen), (Canyon Country)

has been a principal member of California Contemporary Ballet (CCBallet) since 1999. She is a highly dramatic and technically versatile dancer with many principal roles to her credit, making her an essential company member. A remarkable dancer in any role, Alyssa has starred as the Snow Queen in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and now returns to the role for the 2011 season. Alyssa received her core training with founder/ director Erin Holt and the faculty at California DanceArts for over ten years. She also studied with Yehuda Maor, Gina Ness, Roberto Almaguer and Molly Lynch while attending many summer dance programs at the Los Angeles International Ballet Intensive. She has also trained and performed at Pittsburgh Ballet’s summer program, Salzburg International Ballet in Austria and American Ballet Theater in New York. She had the good fortune of traveling with CCBallet to the Czech Republic, where she performed in Ms. Holt’s original ballet titled Blind Journey and where she attended additional studies with Igor Vejsada and Jana Kurova at the Ostrava Ballet workshop. Alyssa is also a talented aerialist. Sure to delight surprised audiences this Snow Queen Season, Ms. Thompson will perform aerial ballet in her role as Snow Queen.

Rob Westin (Kai), (North Hollywood)

received his classical ballet training from the Miami City Ballet in Florida. In addition to ballet, Rob is also an accomplished hip hop, jazz and salsa dancer. Among his many performances in Miami, he was featured at the Amour Latin Music Awards. He has also recently performed with Odyssey Dance Theater in Colorado. He has been a member of Hart Pulse Dance Company since 2008 and as a company member, has performed in many Southern California dance festivals and concerts. Rob currently performs in multiple venues throughout Los Angeles. Rob is also a seasoned actor and dancer with both film and television credits to his name. He has performed for Disney as a motion reference in animation and co-starred in “Wizards of Waverly”. He has also performed lead and starring roles in films “Wiz Kids” and “Battle Planet” and performed the part of Raven on MTV’s “The Hard Times of RJ Berger”. A talented actor and dancer, Rob is pleased to have the opportunity to work with California Contemporary Ballet performing the role of Kai for his second year running.

Kelinda White (Gerda) (Pasadena)

debuts in the lead role as Gerda. Ms. White began her classical ballet training with Los Angeles-based teachers Crystal Peterson, Apphia Noel and Emira Hadzimusic. She is currently continuing her training at California DanceArts with teachers Erin Holt and Lynn Bryson Pittenger, and has recently joined California Contemporary Youth Ballet. Kelinda has performed with Pasadena Civic Ballet and is an award-winning lyrical dancer, having entered the Dance Exposition dance competition. She was crowned the 2010 Miss California Junior Teen Achieve, where she proved herself a talented dancer, performing a self-choreographed dance. The award also acknowledged her stellar academic achievements.

Nick Zerman (Prince), (Pasadena)

performs as the Prince for a second season. Now a 12-year veteran of “The Snow Queen”, he has dazzled audiences in many roles. A versatile performer, Mr. Zerman is also an accomplished aerialist and was recently featured in “Mission of the Artist” in Hollywood. He has received his core ballet and contemporary dance training from California DanceArts, where he has studied for the past eleven years with founder/director Erin Holt and such notable guest teachers as Yehuda Maor, Roberto Almaguer, Molly Lynch, Evelyn Cisneros-Legate and Israel Gabriel. He is a principal member of California Contemporary Ballet where he has performed many principal roles. In 2007, he traveled to the Czech Republic, where he performed with the Company and had the opportunity to train with Igor Vejsada and Jana Kurova at the Ostrava Ballet Workshop. Nick is an accomplished competitive gymnast and was awarded high scores for floor routine at the Peter Vidmar Invitational Competition. He is a boy scout with many merit badges to his credit. Mr. Zerman has also distinguished himself as an accomplished actor, having appeared at Burbank’s Banshee Theatre in lead roles in “And then there were none” by Agatha Christie and the 2007 production of “Blithe Spirit”. He currently attends California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Isabella Bunting (Princess), (Glendale)

has proven to be a lovely new addition to the principal cast of “The Snow Queen”, debuting in 2010 in the roles of the Crow’s Girlfriend and the Doe. This year, at her young age of thirteen, Isabella debuts as the Princess, one of the show’s most challenging roles. She has been a proud member of California Contemporary Youth Ballet since 2007. She also danced a role with the professional division of the Company last spring in their performance of Saudade. An award-winning performer in several competitions, Ms. Bunting is also a tap dancer, jazz dancer and hip-hopper. For the last four years, Isabella has dedicated herself to training in classical and contemporary ballet while studying at California DanceArts with founder/ director Erin Holt and Lynn Bryson Pittinger. For the past two summers, she attended the Los Angeles International Ballet intensive.

Ellery Bute (Rose), (North Hollywood)

started her ballet training at The Ballet West Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah, training exclusively with Bene Arnold. By the age of thirteen, she was invited to perform with the company in several productions including “Nutcracker” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. She was accepted and attended North Carolina School of the Arts’ year-round ballet program, where she excelled, and spent summers training with the Joffrey Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet and Ballet Chicago. Ellery also became captain of her high school dance team, guiding her team to first and second places in national competitions. An inspiring and positive personality, Ellery teaches ballet at California DanceArts and is excited to be a member of the Snow Queen cast, performing her favorite role. Ellery continues to dance while attending school at the Pasadena City College, where she is working towards a Bachelor of Science degree.

Amanda Hart (Enchantress), (North Hollywood)
joins California Contemporary Ballet as the Enchantress for a second seaon. A California native, Amanda’s early training began with the Sierra Performing Arts Center in Visalia, CA under the technical instruction of Susan Pallas and Melinda Cordell (ABT). After winning many awards in the world of competition dance, she was accepted by the Fresno Ballet Company where her professional career began. A talented ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern and tap dancer, Ms. Hart has appeared in numerous shows, including the Cal Arts Dance Ensemble at REDCAT, while working towards her BFA in Dance which she received from the California Institute of the Arts in 2005. Amanda soon fell in love with choreography and began creating new works performed throughout the Los Angeles areas. Ms. Hart was recently accepted into the Strathmore and Cambridge “Women’s Who’s Who” and was nominated for a 2009 Horton Award for Outstanding Production of a Festival or Series. She is the Artistic Director of her own Hart Pulse Dance Company, HartBeats Dance Outreach Programs and the annual MixMatch Dance Festival, and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles. She is currently a dance teacher at California DanceArts.

Kayla Stepanian (Gypsy Woman), (Glendale)

has been a dedicated and loyal student at California Dance Arts where she has received her core training for the past 8 years and is currently a proud member of California Contemporary Youth Ballet . She has enjoyed performing in “The Snow Queen” for nine seasons and last year joined the principal cast as the Guardian Angel. This season, Ms. Stepanian will debut as the spicy Gypsy Woman.  Kayla has attended the Los Angeles International Ballet Intensive for two summers where she received training from guest teachers Lynn Bryson Pittenger, Roberto Almaguer, Evelyn Cisneros-Legate and Gina Ness.  Kayla is a junior at the Clark Magnet High School in La Crescenta. When she is not dancing, Kayla distinguishes herself as a talented pianist, a girl scout and a volunteer at the Glendale Adventist Hospital.

As California Contemporary Ballet’s visionary choreographer and Artistic Director, Ms. Holt leads her company with the creation of several innovative new original works presented each season and the continuing evolution of the Company’s annual production of The Snow Queen, presented for the past fourteen years. Ms.Holt’s career began at the prestigious Lobero Theater located in Santa Barbara, California as the modern dance child prodigy of Fawn Pickett, a former Martha Graham student. She eventually became Ms. Pickett’s assistant and class demonstrator for Master Classes taught at colleges and universities in Southern California and Utah. Ms. Holt was awarded several classical ballet training scholarships by Valerie Houston, who currently serves as ballet professor at University of California, Santa Barbara, and Robert Hanlan and Carla Mosely, all hailing from the Santa Barbara and Ventura, California areas. Additionally, Ms. Holt attended studies with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company under the direction of Shirley Ririe. Erin attended the University of New Mexico on dance scholarship under the tutelage of professors Jennifer Predock-Linnell and Bill Evans. Again on scholarship, she received personal instruction and mentoring in choreography and apprentice teacher training from Charles Russell of the Joffrey Ballet who served as the executive assistant to Mr. Robert Joffrey. Later, she became a principal dancer for his choreography and performed in several Joffery produced projects. During her career, Erin has been fortunate to study and perform in a variety of original projects with choreographers from the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet, the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Momentum Dance Company and more. Holt is an award-winning international choreographer of theatrical events, stage productions and ballets. She has traveled to the Czech Republic as a guest teacher of contemporary dance several times and in 2007, presented her choreography for the Prague International Ballet. In 2009, Holt’s company was nominated for a Horton Award. In 1987, she founded California DanceArts, located in La Cañada, California, where she proudly boasts the development of her students, many of whom have gone onto professional careers. Contact Erin at 818-790-7924

Randall Michael Tobin, Composer & Orchestrator (Burbank)

Has been writing, performing and producing music for most of his life. As the owner/engineer of Theta Sound Studio in Burbank, California, Mr. Tobin has personally produced and engineered hundreds of commercially released music and spoken-word albums, film and television scores, and industrial soundtracks. Randall won the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) Award in 2005 as well as the 2006 Platinum Best of Show Aurora Award for original music and music production on the Friends of Narconon Drug Education Video. The Snow Queen soundtrack from the 1998 premier season is listed in the 42^nd Annual Grammy Awards Entry Book in the Best Classical Contemporary Composition category.

Contact Randall at 818-955-5888.

Established by Erin Holt, the company’s visionary choreographer and Artistic Director, the company continues to establish itself as one of Southern California’s burgeoning dance companies. Featuring Holt’s unique brand of classical and contemporary dance works, CCBallet is a non-profit company that provides its career dancers the opportunity to perform original dance projects in concerts, theatre and festivals. The company’s Snow Queen ballet, produced annually, is its biggest production with a cast of 60 performers and hundreds of community volunteers. In 2007, the company traveled to perform an original ballet by Ms. Holt at the Janacek Conservatory in Ostrava, Czech Republic under the auspices of the Prague International Ballet and in 2009 the company was nominated for a Horton Award. In an effort to encourage young dancers in their pursuits toward a career in dance, California Contemporary Ballet (CCBallet) continues to provide a youth division within its organization called California Contemporary Youth Ballet (CCYBallet). The company’s annual signature ballet “The Snow Queen” features the outstanding talents of both CCBallet and CCYBallet, together with dancers from the community. CCB also offers a self-produced spring concert featuring original works by Ms. Holt, guest choreographers, distinguished visiting artists and original music by local composers. The spring concert is a vehicle for the presentation of new works of classical and contemporary dance theatre to the community. Additionally, CCBallet is most pleased to serve and perform for many local, community and charitable organizations throughout Southern California. www.calballet.com

www.snowqueenballet.com

Founded in 1987 and dedicated to the tradition of ballet and the artistic expression of dance, California DanceArts provides dance training for all ages, pre-school through adult. In particular, the school has established a reputation for providing dance training designed for those wishing to pursue a career in dance. California DanceArts students have successfully secured scholarship awards for dance and theatre, gone onto television careers and Broadway style musicals as dancers, choreographers or directors. Students have entered performing arts schools and universities and have been accepted to professional dance and ballet companies for career opportunities. www.caldancearts.com