Diablo Ballet presents A SWINGIN' HOLIDAY and More

Diablo Ballet kicks off the holidays in style as the Company presents the opening program of its 2017-2018 season with A Swingin' Holiday and More, November 10 - 12 at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek.

Diablo Ballet, now in its 24th season, presents its annual favorite A Swingin' Holiday, created in 2012 by Sean Kelly, who is currently the Resident Director of the first national tour of "An American in Paris." The ballet is set to the exhilarating music of the 30's and 40's, with holiday favorites by legends Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Nat "King" Cole, and Wynton Marsalis, as well as jazzy renditions of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite", performed by the sixteen-piece Diablo Ballet Swing Orchestra under the Musical Direction of Greg Sudmeier.

The program also features the classic masterpiece, Valse Fantaisie by George Balanchine, originally created in 1953 for the New York City Ballet and set to a beautiful score by Mikhail Glinka. The ballet will be staged by Marina Eglevsky who grew up backstage at the New York City Ballet, with her famous father, Andre, who was a premier danseur for seven years at New York City Ballet. He created leading roles in numerous Balanchine ballets. Ms. Eglevsky has since inherited and stages several of George Balanchine ballets around the world. "I am so thrilled that Marina has returned to work with the Company to stage the original version of Valse Fantaisie which is very rarely performed. It's also one of the first Balanchine ballets that Diablo Ballet performed and that Marina set in 1995," states Artistic Director Lauren Jonas.

Also included in the holiday program is Resident Choreographer Robert Dekkers', No One Does It Like You. Set to the recordings of "In Ear Park" and "No One Does it Like You" by Department of Eagles. This touching duet, originally created for Arizona's NovaBallet, premiered in July of 2010 at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, Arizona.

Following each performance, ticket holders are invited to meet and mingle with the costumed dancers at a post-performance reception. Tickets are $25-49. For tickets, call 925-943-SHOW (7469) or visit lesherartscenter.org or diabloballet.org.

A Swingin' Holiday and More performs November 10-12 at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek.

The performances are:
Friday, November 10 at 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 11 at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Sunday, November 12 at 2:00 pm *

*Prior to the November 12th matinee, Diablo Ballet will present an exclusive Sugar Plum Party. This one-of-a-kind event starts with a family-friendly lunch complete with tea and sweets, arts and crafts, and an opportunity to dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tickets are packaged with the 2pm matinee performance and are limited to 50 guests. Visit diabloballet.org for more information.

Subscription packages for the 2017-2018 Season are still available. For more information, call the Diablo Ballet office at (925) 943-1775 or visit the website at diabloballet.org.

For 24 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 Program, which has reached over 65,000 under-served 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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