Snow Queen Ballet from California
Contemporary Ballet
December 18 – 20, 2009; 2010 Dates
TBD
The Snow Queen is Hans Christian Anderson’s
classic winter-time fantasy world where Good
prevails as personified by a little girl named
“Gerda” who saves her friend Kai from an evil spell.
The Snow Queen ultimately eradicates Evil when she
reverses the spell. Presented by the California
Contemporary Ballet, be transported into another
world, the world of The Snow Queen, through dazzling
performances by the professional cast from Europe
and Southern California. Brilliant lighting and set
design, gorgeous, ethereal hand-sewn costumes, and
an original, moving musical score enhance the
enchantment of this timeless fairy tale.
Where: Glendale Community College’s
theater, located at its Performing Arts Theater,
1500 N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale CA. 91208.
Show Times: 7:30 p.m. on December 18 and 19 and
matinee performances at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday,
December 19 and Sunday, December 20.
Tickets: Advance purchase tickets are $25
for adults and $20 for students. ($30 for adults and
$25 for students at the door.) For tickets
or information, call 818-790-7924, ccballet.net or snowqueenballet.com.
California Contemporary Ballet Ups the Ante with New
Professional Principal Cast, a final performance of
up and coming Czech Republic male star, a 12-year
‘Snow Queen’ Veteran and Career Cast Members from
Glendale, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Orange
County
For three days, thousands of ballet and holiday
entertainment seekers are transported to Hans
Christian Anderson’s fantasy world where good
prevails as personified by a little girl named Gerda
who saves her friend Kai from an evil spell. Evil is
set right when the spell is ultimately reversed by
the Snow Queen.
This year’s The Snow Queen marks the 12th annual
presentation of a great holiday and winter-time
fairy tale presented by the professional non-profit
company, California Contemporary Ballet. Brought to
life by the creative vision of the company's
Artistic Director and choreographer, Erin Holt, the
Snow Queen ballet is presented complete with
brilliant lighting and set design, custom hand sewn
costumes, an original moving musical score by
Randall Michael Tobin. The career dancers of the
company transform audiences to another world- the
world of The Snow Queen. The professional principal
cast will be accompanied by the California
Contemporary Youth Ballet. For three days, Friday
through Sunday, December 18 -20, 2009, the CCB will
perform at the Glendale Community College’s theater,
located at its Performing Arts Theater, 1500 N.
Verdugo Rd., Glendale CA. 91208. Show times are 7:30
p.m. on December 18 and 19 and matinee performances
at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday,
December 20. Advance tickets are $25 for adults and
$20 for students and $30 for adults and $25 for
students at the door. For tickets or information,
call 818-790-7924 ccballet.net snowqueenballet.com.
For Erin Holt, the company’s visionary choreographer
and Artistic Director, the 2009 production of the
annual The Snow Queen is an evolutionary milestone
marked by changes within the company which began
primarily as a youth organization. Today, the
company is one of Southern California’s burgeoning
professional dance companies featuring the talent of
career dancers and Holt’s unique brand of classical
ballet and contemporary dance. In an effort to
continue the encouragement of young dancers in their
pursuits toward a career in dance, CCBallet
continues to establish a youth division within its
organization, California Contemporary Youth Ballet,
consisting of career motivated pre-professionals
will appear in supporting roles along-side the
company’s professional principal cast in the Snow
Queen ballet.
Visiting starring dancer from the Czech Republic
Filip Stanek, a graduate of the Janacek Conservatory
in Ostrava, Czech Republic has enjoyed the ballet
and his role so much that he has returned each
season since 2007 to dance with the company. Due to
demands on his career in Europe, this may be the
last opportunity for audiences to see his
outstanding performance and portrayal of his
starring role- that of “Kai” who suffers at the hand
of the Snow Queen. This year’s ballet also features
exciting new principal dancers from around the
Southland, local Glendale and Tujunga dancers in
starring roles such as the portrayal of “Gerda”, “an
Enchantress”, “A Crow” ect… and one Pasadena-based
principal cast member who has danced through the
show’s evolution, having performed in all 12 of the
show’s seasons as he has risen through the ranks to
the starring role of Prince.
Says Holt, “We always wanted to offer a refreshing
holiday presentation of Hans Christian Anderson’s
The Snow Queen versus the standard Nutcracker fare.
We finally feel that we have developed a technically
strong and dramatic professional ballet company that
can tell the story full of winter-time fantasy
combining both the light and sometimes dark aspects
of the tale.” The charming fairy tale’s metaphors
and messages embrace values of love, learning,
staying true to ones friends, persistence toward
obtaining goals and over-coming obstacles…obstacles
such as evil spells, raging rivers, tress that are
alive and creatures of the forest. Says Holt, “This
is a story that is as relevant today as it was when
written by Hans Christian Anderson. The lessons
learned and the stories characters are appealing.”
Holt sites this appeal for the company’s 12 year
success of the show and points out that the company
continues to change and update the ballet for its
audience. This year there is an effort to magnify
the mood of fantasy where forest creatures perform
Aerial ballet, the use of other effects and
choreography. Holt says, “The ballet is held dear in
the hearts of the company’s loyal fans of all ages
who return to enjoy the production each year to be
enchanted by the story and mesmerized by the
performances, which have continued to be developed
and has evolved from year to year.” CCB’s The Snow
Queen ballet features more than 60 dancers who
portray characters that meet up with the young Gerda
along the path she travels during her quest to find
her friend Kai. The Snow Queen is a pleasant
alternative to the numerous Nutcracker productions
at reasonable ticket rates.
Whether audiences enjoy the performance featuring a
child Snowflake or dancers from their youth ballet
who play flowers, gypsies, trees, or the remarkable
talent of the company’s professional career dancers
in the starring roles, the entire company of
California Contemporary Ballet passionately take
their audience on a journey to the inner realm of
the Snow Queen.
A partial list of the starring principal cast
members includes:
Samantha Hoe (The Snow Queen), North Hollywood: A
member of California Contemporary Ballet, Ms. Hoe
debuts this season in the starring role of The Snow
Queen. A Native of New York, Samantha began her
training with Roya Curie, former prima ballerina of
the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. After Curie’s
passing, Samantha continued her studies with Peter
and Lisa Newman of New York City Ballet and Valerie
Feit of Alvin Ailey. Samantha attended many summer
intensives programs with the Joffrey Ballet School,
Alvin Ailey, and the American Academy of Ballet. In
2002, Samantha was accepted and attended the
University of Hartford’s Hartt division on
scholarship under the direction of Peggy Lyman. In
2004, Samantha was again awarded a scholarship to
attend Point Park University’s Conservatory of
Performing Arts where she received her Bachelor’s
Degree in Dance Performance and Dance Pedagogy in
2006. She performed two seasons with Bodiography
Contemporary Ballet as a soloist and became a member
of the prestigious Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
teaching faculty. Currently, Samantha is a member of
the teaching faculty at California DanceArts.
Laura Mauldin (Gerda), Orange County: Began figure
skating at the age of four and she began dancing
when she was six. During a thirteen-year competitive
skating career which took Laura and her
brother/partner all over the U.S. and to Europe for
competitions, ballet got pushed to side and
eventually abandoned. But Laura returned to ballet
at age eighteen after retiring from ice skating when
she began attending Moorpark College, where her love
of dance was reborn. Little did she imagine as she
began the struggle to regain her ballet strengths
that six years time would see her as a graduate of
UCI with her bachelor’s in dance and with an
opportunity to begin a professional career with
California Contemporary Ballet.
Filip Stanek (Kai), Czech Republic: With career
demands back home, this year may be Mr.Stanek’s
final performance in the USA for some time. Stanek
is a graduate from the Janacek´s Conservatory in the
city of Ostrava within the Czech Republic where he
excelled in his academic studies and training in
dancing and acting. This is where he met CCB
Artistic Director Erin Holt who invited Stanek to
join the 2007 Snow Queen cast performing the role of
"Kai." By popular demand, Stanek returned to perform
the role in 2008 and again during the 2009 season.
As a classical ballet dancer he has performed a wide
variety of classics and is an award winning ballet
dancer for several competitions winning prestigious
awards. In 2009 he began his professional career
with the Moravian-Silesian National Theatre under
the direction of Igor Vaisada. He is also an award
winning tap dancer having placed first at the
Country Championship of Czech Republic and 16th
place at World championship in Germany. Additionally
Filip enjoys performing in variety entertainment
having performed in the prestigious Luxembourg at EU
ambassador’s ball and appeared nightly at the
Croatia hotel’s resorts. He has performed in a
musical theater production of Music Man and in
Juliet and the Darkness. Stanek performs the role of
“Kai” with music and choreography created
specifically for him.
Heather Toner (Princess), Beverly Hills: Has been
dancing for as long as she can remember. She began
her training with Louise Mandel in Los Angeles and
studied on scholarship at numerous ballet schools
including The Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Met, Milwaukee
Ballet and Ballet Austin. She was a finalist in the
1998 Los Angeles Music Center’s Spotlight Awards for
ballet, and performed with the Mandalone Project
Company before graduating from high school and
joining the Milwaukee Ballet Company. Heather danced
with Ballet Austin under the direction of Stephen
Mills. She earned her B.A. Degree in American
Literature from UCLA and currently teaches ballet at
California Dance Arts. Heather is thrilled to be
dancing with California Contemporary Ballet.
Ryan Morrison (Prince), Pasadena: Morrison is a
12-year veteran of the Snow Queen, and has dazzled
Snow Queen enthusiasts with his dramatic
performances in the Snow Queen since the shows
inception having performed in starring roles as Kai,
the crow, the Reindeer and the Prince in 2004-2008,
a role he will perform again this season. Ryan is
now an advanced dancer at California DanceArts where
he has received his core training for the past
fourteen years studying with Erin Holt and notable
teachers such as Yehuda Maor, Roberto Almaguer, Gina
Ness, Israel Gabriel, Sean Green and Rudy Perez. He
is a principal veteran member of the California
Contemporary Ballet and in 2007 traveled to the
Czech Republic where he performed with the company.
He has also studied and performed with Universal
Ballet, Hubbard Street Chicago, Salzburg Ballet and
more.
Jaclyn Stryker (Enchantress), Tujunga and La
Crescenta: Jaclyn is a principal member of the
California Contemporary Ballet and a member of the
Snow Queen cast since its beginning twelve years ago
when she first appeared as the Princess. She may be
recognized from several of her other memorable past
performances including the Rose and Enchantress. She
reigned as the Snow Queen in 2008, a role she has
performed twice before. Jaclyn has received her core
training from Erin Holt at California DanceArts.
Additionally she has studied with Nancy Colahan,
Peter Breuer and Valerie Huston. She graduated from
the Los Angeles High School of the Arts on the
campus of Cal State L.A and received a BFA, with
honors from the University of California, Santa
Barbara. Ms. Stryker has trained and performed
internationally with the Salzburg International
Ballet in Austria. In 2007 she performed as member
of Santa Barbara Dance Theatre where she was given
the opportunity to join their performance tour of
China.
Emma Mesrobian (Gypsy Woman) from Glendale: Emma
began her training as a young child who at eleven
years of age became a member of Nare; an
international Armenian Dance Troupe where her dance
studies and performances caused her to fall in love
with dancing for the rest of her life. She later
attended Glendale College and in 2003, she
transferred to California State University Long
Beach where she proudly received her Bachelor of
Arts Degree in 2006. During the course of her
studies she was awarded the Jose Limon Scholarship.
She is the co-founder of her own dance company
called Couture Dance Company and is a member of the
faculty at California DanceArts. She enjoys
performing with California Contemporary Ballet and
loves her role, performed for the second season.
Susan Vishmid, (The Rose), Santa Monica: A
classically trained ballerina from the age of four,
Susan began her studies under Rosemary Valaire and
Yvonne Mounsey at the Westside Ballet School and
continued her serious studies at the San Francisco
Ballet School, Pacific Northwest Ballet School and
the Rock School (formerly the official school of the
Pennsylvania Ballet). Susan holds a degree in
Communication and Philosophy from
the University of Southern California. Susan is also
a registered yoga instructor and caters her style of
yoga to the dance community because of the profound
effects it has had on her own dancing and in working
with other dancers.
In addition to the 60 dancers in the show, there are
more than 50 volunteers who produce one of the most
professional and elaborate holiday dance productions
in Southern California. This year’s production
features a more magical, fantasy-filled patina with
new elaborate hand-made costumers, extensive light
and set designs and composers enlisted to constantly
elevate the quality of the presentation.
CCB emphasizes the demanding physical technique of
classical ballet but goes well beyond just the
physical requirements of the art. All proceeds from
The Snow Queen will go toward producing CCB shows
throughout the year.
About California Contemporary Ballet:
CCBallet is a non-profit company that providing its
career professional dance members with the
opportunity to perform an exciting repertory of
innovative and original dance projects performed in
concerts, theatre and festivals throughout Southern
California. CCBallet recently performed in the
Celebrate Dance Festival during the 2009 season at
the Alex Theater in Glendale, as part of a special
dance series produced by Los Angeles presenter and
choreographer Jamie Nichols. The festival premiered
a recent choreography by Ms. Holt entitled,
“Quintessence”. CCBallet was also recently selected
to perform at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium as part
of an evening presented by the Pasadena Dance
Festival where the company performed excerpts from
Ms. Holts works entitled, “Blind Journey”. In 2007
the full length version of “Blind Journey” was
performed at the Janacek Conservatory in Ostrava,
Czech Republic, under the auspices of the Prague
International Ballet.
Formally operating under the name, California
Theatrical Youth Ballet, the company had to change
its name when the formation of the professional
company, California Contemporary Ballet (CCBallet)
was established in 2008. In an effort to continue
the encouragement of young dancers in their pursuits
toward a career in dance, CCBallet continues to
establish a youth division within its organization,
California Contemporary Youth Ballet. CCB is the
resident company who partners with the affiliate
school, California DanceArts, located in La Canada
who provides members of the youth company a
challenging training program for serious young
dancers.
The school and company share one goal, "to nurture
and encourage students professionally and to develop
artists and audiences in the creativity, imagination
and joy of dance." With the establishment of
CCBallet and as a testament to the innovation that
the company provides, dancers from the Academy and
the community have found a home for their artistic
expression and careers.
About CaliforniaDance Arts:
Founded in 1987 and dedicated to the tradition of
ballet and the artistic expression of dance,
California DanceArts and the California Contemporary
Ballet provide the most progressive quality dance
education and inspired theatrical experiences for
its dancers, community and Southern California.
Its current location in La Cañada is nestled among
several schools and recreational facilities. The
studio features a sprung wood floor designed to
prevent fatigue, 20-foot high ceilings geared for
unobstructed jumping, wall mirrors and air
conditioning. To illustrate its versatility, the
studio is often turned into a theatre for intimate
performances utilizing drop-down backdrops, theater
stereo equipment, state of the art theater lighting
and more.
The Academy’s dance curriculum has expanded over the
years by providing classes for all ages, pre-school
through adult. In particular, the school has
established a reputation for providing dance
training designed for the pre-professional ballet
dancer transitioning to professional level, with
small class sizes for individualized attention.
California DanceArts students have successfully
secured scholarship awards for dance and theatre,
gone onto television careers and Broadway style
musicals as dancers, choreographers or directors.
Students have entered performing arts schools and
Universities and have been accepted to professional
dance and ballet companies for career opportunities
in dance.
About Erin Holt:
CDA Director and CCB Artistic Director and
Choreographer, Erin Holt, has been teaching modern
dance and classical ballet for more than 25 years
and is a certified dance educator and member of
Dance Masters of America. She began her career at
the prestigious Lobero Theater of Santa Barbara,
Calif. as the Modern Dance child prodigy of former
Martha Graham student Fawn Pickett. Holt has
received personal instruction and mentoring in
choreography and apprentice teacher training from
Charles Russell of the Joffrey Ballet (Executive
Assistant to Mr. Robert Joffrey) and became a
principal dancer for his choreography.
Holt has been fortunate to study and perform with
the companies and choreographers of the Martha
Graham Dance Company, the Joffrey Ballet, the Utah
Repertory Ballet, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Miami City Ballet,
Allegro Ballet Florida and Momentum Dance Company.
Groomed as a choreographer by her teachers, Holt is
an award-winning choreographer for theater events,
stage productions, competitions and ballets. Holt's
versatile choreography ranges from classical ballet,
contemporary ballet, neo classical, modern dance and
jazz styles.
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