After a six-month hiatus, Diane Zink, artistic director for both the Santa Maria Civic Ballet and Everybody Can DANCE for the past 26 years, has returned to the area to mount an ambitious production of works by Marius Petipa, out of the Kirov Ballet tradition: “Kingdom of the Shades” from La Bayadere (1877) and “The Wedding” from Paquita (1847). Also on the program will be “Mother Goose,” a whimsical take on nursery rhymes that Zink created and in which she’ll perform. All three offerings can be enjoyed by children and adults.
The show will be on June 11 at 7 p.m. and June 12 at 3 p.m. at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, 487 Fair Oaks, Arroyo Grande.
Guest artist Sayat Asatryan, formerly of the Moscow Kremlin Ballet, will perform the male leads and partner alternately with Santa Maria Civic Ballet Principal dancers Stephanie Turner Deck and Candice Hull in “Shades,” and Miranda Poirier and Jasmine Gonzales in “The Wedding.”
“Shades” is one of the most celebrated excerpts in all of classical ballet, inspired by Dore’s illustration for Dante’s “Paradise” in the Divine Comedy.
The colorful “Wedding” from Paquita is known for the grand pas classique, for which various dancers perform a solo from their favorite ballets.
Tickets cost $10 for children and $17 for adults, available at the door. For more information, call 489-8444 or visit clarkcenter.org.
Arts Briefs is compiled by Arts Editor Shelly Cone. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2011.