The legendary Hotel del Coronado will be the setting for City Ballet of San Diego’s Creating Legends Gala on Saturday, October 13, 2018 as City Ballet of San Diego celebrates its 26th Anniversary Season. Honorary Chairs are Anna and Mario Scipione. City Ballet is very privileged to have their vibrant support and their boundless energy!
The evening’s Master of Ceremonies is none other than the host of the Emmy ® award-winning entertainment news TV show, “Extra”, Mario Lopez! Once again the effervescent and exciting Charity Benefit Auctioneer Darren Diess will auction off one-of-a-kind opportunities, such as Brunch with Mario Lopez at the historical Hotel del Coronado and a Stay at the historical Highclere Castle, the centerpiece for the PBS show Downton Abbey, including airfare provided by Delta Airlines! The Mighty Untouchables (one of San Diego’s favorite bands) will provide music for dinner and dancing. A fabulous evening is planned with proceeds benefiting City Ballet of San Diego’s performances and education and outreach programs serving over 200,000 children and patrons annually.
The Hotel del Coronado is also the Company’s Season Sponsor and they will host a delightful Champagne Reception where guests will have the opportunity to meet and take photos with Mario Lopez. The reception will also include legendary ballet characters, such as the Black Swan from Swan Lake, The Firebird, Carmen, Giselle and more. Ballerinas will happily pose with guests for memorable photo opportunities.
Guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner with wine pairings in the legendary Crown Room after a mini ballet performance. Mario Lopez and Darren Diess will have guests laughing and trying to outbid each other during the rousing live auction for one-of-a-kind experiences. The Mighty Untouchables follow and will have guests on their feet as they dance the night away.
Proceeds from the Creating Legends Gala fund City Ballet’s Performances and Education and Outreach Programs which include:
Discover a Dancer program provides free year-round ballet instruction for disadvantaged children and youth at risk. This program offers a creative alternative to violence, gang association, substance abuse and leaving school early for low income children.
Ballet Goes to School program offers a complete ballet education package for school children, including in-theater performances with teacher instruction packages and fun, as well as, informative in-school assemblies that give children a special, close-up look into the world of ballet. The current program is “Beauty and the Beast”.
Outreach Programs are specially designed to make ballet accessible to everyone in San Diego County with free and low-cost concerts throughout the county. Additionally, City Ballet volunteers its services by participating in many art festivals each year, reaching even more of San Diego’s population.
Summer Intensive is an annual 3-week summer program that offers dedicated, career-minded ballet students the opportunity to study with some of the finest ballet instructors assembled on the West Coast. Guest artists this summer include: Maria Kowroski (principal dancer with New York City Ballet), Gillian Murphy (principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre) and Daniel Ulbricht (principal dancer with New York City Ballet).
The critically acclaimed company, under the direction of Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich, both former Boston Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet dancers, is best known for its commitment to presenting ballets by the legendary George Balanchine. This season the company continues that commitment by offering three of Balanchine’s master works. “We are honored that the prestigious George Balanchine Trust in New York continues to grant us permission to present works by this great artist,” said Wistrich.
City Ballet’s 26th Anniversary 2018-19 Season performance offerings begin November 2-4 with “Tchaikovsky Spectacular”. The program includes, Swan Lake Act II, Black Swan Pas de Deux, and Tchai Celebration. Awarded the “Best Nutcracker” in San Diego by the Tommy Awards, the perennial favorite production of “The Nutcracker “follows with twelve public performances, December 7-23. “Balanchine Masterpieces 2019” offers three ballets by the legendary George Balanchine, including Apollo, Rubies from Jewels and The Four Temperaments March 8-10, 2019. The season concludes May 10-12 with “Mozart’s Requiem” and a World Premiere by Resident Choreographer Geoff Gonzalez. All performances are accompanied by The City Ballet Orchestra, conducted by John Nettles.
All ballet performances are at Spreckels Theatre, 121 Broadway, downtown San Diego. Tickets range from $29 – $89
Currently season ticket packages are offered at www.cityballet.org or by calling 858-272-8663. Single tickets go on sale September 1.
ABOUT CITY BALLET
Heralded as “a top-tier dance company” and “an oasis of classical dance in a city otherwise too often a desert”. City Ballet is San Diego’s world-class professional ballet company, now celebrating its 26th season under the direction of former Boston Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet dancers, Steven and Elizabeth Wistrich. City Ballet is a non-profit organization committed to furthering the ballet art form.
The company produces classic and contemporary ballet programs that critics rave as “polished, eye-catching and delightful.” and ‘highly entertaining and professional” in its home theater, the historic Spreckels Theatre, accompanied by The City Ballet Orchestra with John Nettles conducting. International dance critic Sheila Orysiek wrote, “San Diego finally has a classical ballet company that is worthy of the name”. The company is best known for performing works by George Balanchine. City Ballet is one of a few ballet companies to receive permission from The George Balanchine Trust in New York City to perform the works of George Balanchine. The Trust grants such permission only to those ballet companies it judges artistically competent to perform Balanchine’s masterworks.
Unsurpassed training programs for children and pre-professionals are offered at City Ballet School, the official school for the City Ballet Company, whose alumnae dance with companies including American Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet. City Ballet’s innovative, education programs range from arts outreach to inner-city children to bringing the world’s best ballet instructors to San Diego. City Ballet is partially funded by the City of San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, County of San Diego Board of Supervisors, Mandell Weiss Charitable Trust, US Bank, Qualcomm, The Hotel del Coronado and individual patrons.
