Inland Pacific Ballet to Present BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 4/25-5/16

Southern California's premiere professional ballet company, Inland Pacific Ballet (IPB), celebrating its 20th season, presents Beauty and the Beast, a breathtaking full-length ballet based on the time honored fairy tale with 10 performances taking place from April 25 through May 16, 2015 in theaters within the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. A creative interpretation of this universal story of inner beauty, IPB's encore presentation promises a visual feast full of romance and drama. Stunning sets, brilliant dancing, gorgeous costumes and a stirring musical score that will transport audiences to an enchanted fairy tale world filled with fanciful characters, a charming village, an enchanted forest and the Beast's magnificent castle, all vividly illustrating the drama and romance of this beloved story and the transformative power of love.

IPB's version of Beauty and the Beast has Beauty, a young girl pure of heart, living at the edge of a mystical forest, when her father is accosted by a mysterious Beast after picking a single white rose from the Beast's beloved garden. Imbued with magical powers, the rose is passed between Beauty, her father and the Beast, as Beauty offers herself in exchange for her father's freedom, beginning a journey of love and transformation for both herself and the Beast. For choreographer Clinton Rothwell, the white rose represents both Beauty's pure heart and the transformation that takes place in the story.

"Prompted by the tremendous response Beauty and the Beast received last season, we are thrilled to once again be bringing this beautiful ballet to southern California audiences, and for the first time, to the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside," states Victoria Koenig, Artistic Director. "Nothing quite compares with the magic and grandeur of a big, fully produced ballet, especially one with such a captivating story. With rehearsals already underway and our dancers in top form, we are seeing Beauty and the Beast come back to life. We are especially excited to be presenting our exquisite ballerina, Meilu Zhai, in her debut as Beauty. Meilu's special qualities of delicacy, inner strength, impeccable technique and utter charm make her irresistible in this role."

The cast features brilliant young talent from southern California. IPB is delighted to have principal dancers Cameron Schwanz again dancing the role of the Beast, and Meilu Zhai, formerly with the National Ballet of China as Beauty. Jonathan Sharp also returns in the role of Beauty's Father.

The musical score for Beauty and the Beast was created by company choreographer Rothwell as a "sound collage" featuring compositions from many of the great classical composers such as Dimitri Shostakovich, Antonin Dvorak, Felix Mendelssohn, Jules Massenet, Sergei Prokofiev, Pytor Illyich Tchaikovsky, and Alexandor Glazounov. "Ballet is an extension of sound to me, it's moving sculpture, but it has to go with the music. Everything has to fit together," says choreographer Rothwell.

Award-winning set designer and scenic artist Daniel C. Nyiri designed the village, forest, garden and castle scenes that serve as backdrops for the jewel-toned costumes by designer Jeanne Nolden. Special masks for the Beast and a pack of menacing wolves were created by Bonnie Sinclair, who worked for many years with Maurice Sendak on projects including Where the Wild Things Are.

Tickets, starting at $34 with senior/child/group discounts are available online at ipballet.org. Saturday, April 25, 2015 at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm; Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Bridges Auditorium, Pomona College, Claremont; Saturday, May 2, 2015 at 1:00 & 7:00 pm; Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 1:00 pm at Lewis Family Playhouse, Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, Rancho Cucamonga; Saturday, May 9, 2015 at 2:00 pm & Sunday, May 10, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Arcadia Performing Arts Center; and Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm at Fox Performing Arts Center, Riverside.

Critically acclaimed Inland Pacific Ballet, enjoying its 20th season, is a professional ballet company of national stature in the Inland Empire of Southern California. The Company is committed to producing exquisitely staged productions of full-length classic story ballets as well as presenting the best in contemporary choreography. Their large studio facility in Montclair also includes in-house costume and scenic departments. In addition, through creative marketing and an extensive Educational Outreach Program, Inland Pacific Ballet strives to introduce new audiences to the magic of ballet, and to make the experience more available and accessible to all. For students pre-school through grade 12 enrolled in public, private and home schools, IPB offers "A Young Person's Guide to the Ballet," connecting the arts to learning through music and movement with four educational morning performances of Beauty and the Beast. The Company is also committed to the nurturing of new talent and provides an essential training ground for serious young dancers.

Inland Pacific Ballet's Founders/Artistic Directors Victoria Koenig and Kevin Myers, are southern California natives and bring a wealth of experience to their visionary leadership of this young Company. Over the past 20 years they have built Inland Pacific Ballet into the premiere ballet company and a key creative force in the region, enjoying critical acclaim while performing the largest and most varied repertoire in the area. The Company's repertoire includes such classics as A Midsummer Night's Dream, Les Sylphides, Graduation Ball and Swan Lake Act II. Full length classical masterpieces include Giselle, Coppélia and a lavish production of The Nutcracker. Contemporary classics include seminal works by the legendary George Balanchine including Serenade, Concerto Barocco and Who Cares? and a growing body of original work that includes creative adaptations of much loved stories such as The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Dracula.

Clinton Rothwell was born in England. His parents immigrated to the United States when he was a young boy and Clinton received a scholarship to the San Francisco Ballet School. Receiving a scholarship to study at the Royal Ballet School, he succeeded in performing with the first and second Royal Ballet Companies and was a member of the Royal Opera Ballet at Covent Garden in London, England. Returning to the U.S., Clinton became a principal with the San Francisco Ballet Company where he toured the U.S. Clinton next returned to Europe as a principal with the Het National Ballet of Holland. After auditioning for the National Ballet of Canada, he spent the remainder of his dancing career with them as a principal dancer traveling the world and performing in all the major opera houses throughout Europe and North America. Clinton was also on the teaching staff of the National Ballet of Canada. Since his retirement, he has taught his art to young students and professionals in Canada and the U.S. He now makes his home working with IPBA students and the members of the Inland Pacific Ballet Company.

A non-profit organization, Inland Pacific Ballet's programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts - Art Works, The Ahmanson Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Claremont Community Foundation, US Bank, The Haskell Fund, Target and Hank and Jean Voznick.