Life as a ballerina isn’t all tutus and tiaras. By the end of each day, a typical dancer has sweated off her makeup, starved her way through hours of rehearsals, and fended off challenges by rivals young and old. The world of dance is one that’s filled with inherent drama, and the fragility of a dancer’s life lends urgency to the most mundane details.
Every two years, over one hundred dancers join forces to present an original, full-length, professional-caliber ballet just for the Central Valley. Since 1975, the Garden Ballet has carved out its own space in the Valley’s arts scene, creating a brand-new, unique experience with each outing. Previous Garden Ballets have included The Little Mermaid, Wizard of Oz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. This year, California Arts Academy presents Beauty & the Beast.
Theater Arts Alliance in Visalia is the new theatre kid on the block in the area, having just come together in 2015 with their inaugural season starting with the Nutcracker Ballet last November. We took a moment to chat with one of their founders, and their resident music director, Chavaleh Forgey.
Swan Dive wastes no time diving into murder with a text alerting Elli Lisbon that the Sugar Plum Fairy is dead. Elli is director of the Sea Pine Island Community Theatre's production of The Nutcracker, sponsored by the Ballantyne Foundation, and Elli has become accustomed to handling the often overwrought and exaggerated "emergency" texts from the artistic director.
Are the performing arts alive and well in Fresno?
They are alive and thriving and the next generation is catching the fire and setting the world ablaze with brilliance.
From the age of five and upwards, young people and families can learn to dance in any style from ballet to tap, jazz, ballroom, Irish, or hip hop and more. They can explore the possibilities of visual art, gymnastics, or cheering. They can take vocal and instrumental music lessons, study acting, or combine any of these skill sets in the context of the performing arts at California Arts Academy.
