State Street Ballet’s Inventive Sleeping Beauty

For their penultimate season performance, State Street Ballet presents a modern take on the favorite Marius Petipa classical ballet, Sleeping Beauty on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 7:30 pm at The Granada Theatre. It is the newest story ballet in the company’s Family Series, appropriate for audiences of all ages. Performed to Tchaikovsky’s celebrated score, this is the world premiere of their originally staged full-length ballet. State Street Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty combines classical elements with modernized choreography by three different choreographers, Marina Fliagina, Megan Phillips, and Cecily MacDougall, and the innovative sets and puppetry were created with local Santa Barbara artists. Along with the treasured and symbolic classical ballet repertoire the imaginative staging includes a 15-foot tall wearable dragon puppet, a true mix of the old and the new.

The showstopping dragon was designed by local artist, dancer and choreographer, Christina McCarthy. As a puppet and mask designer and creator, she strives to create puppets that move like real creatures. This creation, which uses three dancers to puppeteer and is too large to fit through the rehearsal studio doors, is no exception. A former dancer herself, McCarthy says, “For the last twenty-five years, I have been  bringing together my interests in contemporary dance, aerial dance, theater, visual arts and film to create choreography for the concert dance stage, and for musical theater and plays. I love storytelling in the body and the intersection of theater and dance.” She has choreographed over 30 musicals and plays and numerous original contemporary modern dance works in addition to her work as puppet and mask designer and creator. McCarthy has taught contemporary modern dance technique, choreography and digital video editing for dance at UC Santa Barbara for the last decade and has worked in partnership with Santa Barbara High School as a choreographer for their  top-ranked performing arts program for fifteen years.

State Street Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty romantically reflects the cycle of the seasons, and therefore life, incorporating the company’s Pro Track dancers as well as students from Gustafson Dance school, to fill the 86 different character roles in the ballet. Running time has been truncated to 90 minutes.

Tickets are available at HERE. For more information and tour dates CLICK HERE.

State Street Ballet, now in its 25th year, is an internationally acclaimed dance company based in Santa Barbara, CA under the bi-coastal artistic direction of Rodney Gustafson and William Soleau. It is a pioneering collaborative supporting international ensemble members and consistently striving for new and innovative artistic opportunities that serve a broad audience. Each season is dedicated to bringing the highest standards of artistry and original quality to tried and true classical favorites plus original works that reflect the contemporary nature and talent of the ensemble. The company is comprised of 20 dancers representing six countries.

Public performances, educational outreach, community partnerships, and training programs are fundamental at home and in the communities where they perform on tour nationally and internationally. Gustafson Dance is the official school of State Street Ballet and provides instruction in dance for all levels of advancement, beginner through professional. CLICK HERE for the season schedule, to meet the company, purchase tickets, and more.