Diablo Ballet Presents A SWINGIN HOLIDAY and More

Kick off the holidays in style with the first program of Diablo Ballet's landmark 25th Season, A Swingin' Holiday & More, November 9-11, 2018, at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek. This program features two ballets perfect for the whole family, audience favorite, A Swingin' Holiday and the charming and whimsical Carnival of the Imagination. "I'm incredibly proud to present Diablo Ballet's 25th Season opening program", stated Lauren Jonas, Artistic Director and Co-Founder.

The first program of Diablo Ballet's 2018-2019 season features A Swingin' Holiday by Broadway choreographer Sean Kelly (Associate Choreographer/Resident Director for the National Tour of An American in Paris). The ballet, created in 2012, will feature new dances choreographed by Kelly. The ballet is set to the exhilarating music of the 30's and 40's, with holiday favorites by legends Glenn Miller, Nat "King" Cole, and Wynton Marsalis, in addition to Ellington, as well as jazzy renditions of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite." This upbeat music will be performed live by the sixteen piece

Diablo Ballet Swing Orchestra under the Musical Direction of Greg Sudmeier.

The program also features the highly anticipated return of the charming and whimsical Carnival of the Imagination choreographed by Robert Dekkers and set to Camille Saint-Saëns' famous "The Carnival of the Animals." The ballet follows a young child named Seven on a magical journey through his world of make believe. Filled with dragons and unicorns, pixies and panda bears, a phoenix and a jackalope, this coming-of-age adventure celebrates creativity and inspires imagination. Dekkers' Carnival of the Imagination was created to awaken one's fascination and connect with the childlike heart that's bursting at the seams within each of us. Critics have applauded the ballet saying, "An all-around triumph, Dekkers' pieces prove over and over to be a magical phenomenon, which doubtless no one in attendance will soon forget."

A Swingin' Holiday and More performs November 9 at 8 pm, November 10 at 2 pm & 8 pm and November 11 at 2 pm* at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Boulevard, Walnut Creek.

*Prior to the November 11th matinee, Diablo Ballet will present its 2nd Annual Sugar Plum Party. This one-of-a-kind event starts with a family-friendly light lunch complete with tea and sweets, arts and crafts, and the opportunity to dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tickets are packaged with the 2 pm matinee performance and are limited to 50 guests. Visit www.diabloballet.org for more information.

For 25 years, Diablo Ballet has been the award-winning, professional dance company for Contra Costa County. Presenting acclaimed classical and contemporary ballets, the company is committed to exposing youth to the arts through its renowned PEEK Outreach Programs which have reached over 68,000 underserved school children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties since 1995. In addition, Diablo Ballet has served hundreds of at-risk teenage girls incarcerated within the Juvenile Justice system since 2015.

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