Civic Arts Education's Spring Dance Performance
May 1 & June 1 @ 7 pm
“This is really a fun concert,” says Diablo Ballet’s Lauren Jones. “We have students from as young as two years old through 18 performing tap, hip hop, and both contemporary and classical ballet.”
On May 30, students under 7 years of age perform a variety of short dances with a sneak preview of the dances from “Don Quixote” performed by the Professional Intermediate/Advanced Program (PIP) directed by Rebecca Crowell Berke.
The dance concert continues on June 1 with Ballet 3 and 4 and the PIP students performing 11 dances from primarily Act I of “Don Quixote.” According to Berke, the dances give her students a chance to perform in Spanish costumes with fans and shawls. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for them to do a period piece and be toreadors and flirtatious Spanish ladies. They’ll perform the original choreography and really get the flavor of this well-known ballet story,” she says. “It’s a nice repertoire ballet for them to learn and adds so much to their ballet education.”
Another highlight of the June 1 concert is a number from “Harry Potter” choreographed by Diablo Ballet instructor Erin Leedom. A former principal dancer with Oakland Ballet and Ballet West, Erin trained at the American Ballet Theatre and the Joffery Ballet in New York as well as the San Francisco Ballet. She has performed all over Europe and the United States and is the artistic director for California Academy of Ballet Company and School. “We are very fortunate to have instructors of Erin’s quality,” says Berke. “And, she has choreographed a lovely contemporary ballet based on Hermione’s theme. It has an element of mystery and magic to it.”
For more information on the May 30 and June 1 Spring Dance Concert, call 925-943-5846.
