Westside Ballet Spring Gala to Feature Calvin Royal III of American Ballet Theatre
The MASTERS OF MOVEMENT gala takes place at Westside Ballet's Santa Monica home with an incoming artistic director making history
Westside Ballet's 2026 spring season features Calvin Royal III of American Ballet Theatre alongside an incoming artistic director making history, as ballet proves its enduring cultural relevance.
At a moment when the role of the arts in our cultural life has never felt more important, the Westside Ballet of Santa Monica presents an extraordinary celebration of ballet at its most compelling and alive. The 2026 Masters of Movement events and Spring Gala, taking place from May 29th to May 31st, feature outstanding talent from atypical backgrounds whose stories and artistry speak for themselves.
Across the three Masters of Movement performances and Spring Gala, world-class talent from across the world and emerging local talent will bring ballet's vitality into sharp focus. These performers prove that comments many will be familiar by the likes of Oscar-nominated actor Timothy Chalamet, that ballet and opera are dying art forms, to be utterly wrong. Westside Ballet's Spring events will demonstrate how a broader range of voices and experiences can be reflected within ballet, with talent onstage and behind the scenes whose pathways into the arts were anything but traditional-and how that range can be a source of genuine joy and inspiration for all audiences.
Spring is the season of renewal and rebirth; as such, the spring showcases, which occur at the end of May, just as the season itself gives way to summer, highlight the evolving world of ballet and Westside Ballet's commitment to ensuring that the art form is just as impactful in 2026 as it was in 1726. Most prominently, this spirit is on display during the Saturday, May 30th Spring Gala, which features a stirring solo performance by Calvin Royal III, Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre.
Unlike many at the top of the industry, Royal III didn't begin formal ballet training until the age of 14, following a childhood in a military family, which saw him move from army base to army base. Later, he and his family settled in Tampa, Florida, where his grandmother keenly fostered his passion for the arts, providing both musical instruments and emotional support. Thanks to this encouragement, just two years later, Royal III was a finalist in the Youth America Grand Prix, resulting in a scholarship to the American Ballet Theatre. This scholarship would stretch Royal III to his limits, and yet his dedication ensured he became a principal dancer within the theatre. Today, he stands out as one of the few Black principal dancers within a major ballet company. Royal III's Spring Gala performance offers audiences something genuinely rare - an up-close encounter with an artist at the very pinnacle of his craft.
Royal III is just one example of the broad talent on display during the spring showcases. Performing George Balanchine's Stars and Stripes Pas de Deux during the Spring Gala will be Los Angeles Ballet's Marcos Ramirez, a performer originally from Cuba (along with his equally talented fellow triplet brothers) who has performed for galas in his home country, Italy and the USA, as well as winning a number of prominent dance competitions, including the YAGP Philadelphia.Fellow Los Angeles Ballet lead dancer Kate Inoue will join Ramirez. Inoue proudly states that she was born and raised in Los Angeles, into a family with Japanese ancestry. Her training spans across the USA and the Pacific Ocean, due to her enrollments in the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and the Etoile Ballet School in Osaka, Japan, where she ultimately went on to be awarded second place in the Crea Ballet Competition in Hamamatsu. That two artists shaped by training on multiple continents are coming together to perform a beloved American classic speaks beautifully to ballet's universal language.
Also featured on the gala program is a musical theater medley performed by David Prottas - dancer, actor, and ballet teacher - who will sing and dance, accompanied by Adam MacDonald with choreography by Jeni Jones. Prottas' career highlights include ten years with New York City Ballet and the original cast of the Broadway revival of Carousel.
The Spring showcases also mark a major transition occurring within Westside Ballet's leadership. These shows will be the last to occur during the stewardship of Martine Harley, who has been the organization's artistic director since 2013. In early June 2026, Adrian Blake Mitchell will assume the title of artistic director. Mitchell's association with Westside Ballet stretches back decades. He initially trained under the ballet school's founder, Yvonne Mounsey, at the age of thirteen. Later, he would become the first black person to graduate from Russia's Vaganova Academy and the first black man to join a major Russian company as a soloist at the acclaimed Mikhailovsky Theatre. Since returning to Westside Ballet in 2022, Mitchell has served as Associate Executive Director, where he quickly made his mark by strengthening the school's artistic infrastructure and expanding opportunities for students. Under his leadership, the Boys Program has grown from just four students to more than forty across all levels. He also developed the Los Angeles Ballet Trainee Program in collaboration with Westside Ballet, establishing a clear professional pathway for advanced students. Harley, the outgoing artistic director, will remain an important part of Westside Ballet in the position of director of artistic operations.
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