A quick look of Pop Culture Production Rehearsal

Dear friends,

It was so nice to have all of you came to join us for our Sleeping Beauty production, hope everyone had a lovely, wonderful Valentine's day.

We are starting to rehearse our next production which going to present at PAC in the middle of the March, please find more info at www.tulsaballet.org. It's going to be another wonderful production for those of you who loves contemporary ballets!

Also, I am posting a link that will show you a little bit of my rehearsal for our Pop Culture production in our K-Studio Theater in April, 3 world premieres/creations will be presented here at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hope you all will also join us for all these wonderful programs/productions!

A new creation by Ma Cong, Studio rehearsal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooEwe8ySpbc

Thanks!

Ma Cong

Ma Cong's Temporal debuts in Ohio

Tulsa Ballet's own (we can claim him forever, right?) Ma Cong continues to share his art with the world. His recent creation for BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio was very well received and further establishes him as a truly talented and innovative choreographer on the national level. Read the review of opening night here.

Ma, your Tulsa audience eagerly awaits your next creation. Ma's next work will premiere in Tulsa on April 15 at Studio K and will run through April 25.

THIS WEEKEND ONLY-THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

THREE SHOWS ONLY, THIS WEEKEND. Tulsa Ballet performs The Sleeping Beauty at the Tulsa PAC, Feb. 12--14 with sets and costumes designed by 2-time Tony Award winner, Desmond Heeley. Tickets begin at only $15. www.tulsaballet.org

Shop & Donate to Tulsa Ballet

Shop Barnes & Noble (both locations) this weekend; a portion of sales is donated to Tulsa Ballet -- mention TB at check-out.

Sundays at Studio K

Sundays at Studio K - Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Susan Ford Bales, chairman of the board of the Betty Ford Center and only daughter of the late U.S. President Gerald R. Ford and his wife Betty, will speak at TULSA BALLET's STUDIO K on Sunday, February 28th at 2pm.

Tulsa People has a wonderful preview article (link)
Rock on, Rex!

Tickets? (link)

Sake Tasting for a Cause

Nicole Morgan and Jessica Hudgens

We had a great turnout at the Sake Tasting Saturday. Megan and Elliot Nelson generously sponsored the fundraiser and Barre Society event, and Nicole Morgan was the event chair. Thanks also goes to Mark Perkins, the Barre Society chair, and Barre members and Tulsa Ballet board members Cassie Reese, Isaac Rocha, Amy Anderson and Lindsay Hutchson.

In addition to being a really fun evening, it was also educational. The staff was so knowledgeable about sake! They had a rep from the distributor come out to lead the discussion about the different kinds of sake. Did you know there is sparkling sake? And it’s really good! Several of our members and dancers came out, as did some new friends to the ballet. It was great to meet new young professionals interested in supporting the arts.

Check out the photos from the event on our Facebook page. Don’t miss the next Barre Society event – a Bella Cucina cocktail party on February 27th. More info coming soon!

Invitation: Sake Tasting @ Yokozuna

The Barre Society of Tulsa Ballet and Megan and Eliot Nelson invite you to a special Sake Tasting event at the newest addition to the downtown Tulsa restaurant scene, Yokozuna. Join this group of Young Professionals, along with Tulsa Ballet Dancers, on Saturday, January 23 at 5 pm at Yokozuna, 2nd and Detroit in downtown Tulsa. Tickets for this fundraising event are only $25 each and are FREE for Barre Society members. Register and find out more at www.tulsaballet.org.

New Year's Resolution?

Happy New Year! It's the time of year when it is not uncommon to hear the term “New Year’s resolution” being tossed around by friends, family and co-workers. Our annual resolutions encourage us to look within ourselves and identify an area for which to make a change for the coming year. Perhaps we plan to lose weight and get in shape? Or, maybe give up a bad habit? Regardless of how we personally plan to approach the coming year, we also use this time to reflect on the events of the past twelve months and the impact they have had on our lives.

This past year has brought about several remarkable milestones for Tulsa Ballet in 2009: Record-breaking ticket sales for Cinderella, a successful Big Apple Tour to New York City and then again record-breaking ticket sales for the Oklahoma Premiere of Dracula this past fall. In light of all the bad news that seems to be pervading the performing arts industry across the country, it’s exciting to be a part of an organization that continues to defy the odds.

Great things are definitely in store for Tulsa Ballet in 2010. The company will continue to represent the state of Oklahoma as a leader in the arts with new world premieres, dynamic educational outreach programs and a trip to our nation’s capital to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

So, rather than dwell on setting a specific resolution for Tulsa Ballet this year, let’s consider the words of T.S. Eliot as we look to the months ahead: "For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."

The end of 2009 is only the beginning for Tulsa Ballet. Thank you for your continued support.

Hope for the Holidays

What an amazing event last night! I love sharing the magic of the Nutcracker and the holiday season with such grateful children and adults who, for some reason or another, don't have the same advantages most of us do in life. Tulsa Ballet partners with social service agencies like Youth and Family Services, Mental Health Association, Tulsa CARES, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Tulsa Boys Home,and many others to provide an unforgetable experience for clients of the agencies. Giving this gift to 2,000 individuals every year is something that we all look forward to. It truly is better to give than to receive.

Nutcracker: Behind the Curtain

When Marcello Angelini created a new version of the most well-known ballet in the country, many thought he was crazy. Sometimes, people get comfortable with tradition and change is unwelcome. If you ask me, those people haven't seen Marcello's The Nutcracker. Stunning sets and costumes compliment the complex and exciting choreography. The children actually dance (!) and one can witness the pure classical talent of the entire company, down to the corps and apprentices. As I've said before, I'm not a dancer, and I don't know a Frappe from a Cappucino, but I have seen a lot of ballet, and I know when I'm watching good dance and when I'm not. This version premiered in December 2002, and since then, ticket sales have climbed each year, even when the Rockettes and Cirque du Soliel visited in the same month!

A couple of years ago, we made this documentary, which aired on OETA and on Channel 6, about the making of The Nutcracker. Enjoy! And I hope to see you at the theater!

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

An evening with Edwaard Liang

Edwaard Liang had only been in our studios for several hours when we invited a few of our supporters to observe him creating a new ballet on Tulsa Ballet dancers. He was working on a pas de deux, with 5 couples learning the parts. We watched for nearly an hour as he listened to the music, worked out the choreography in his mind, and then had the dancers perform it. Here are a couple of stills from the video I shot:





It was really fascinating to hear how Edwaard came to be a part of this season's evening of creations, to be preseted in April, and how he creates the ballet for the dancers who will perform. Although Edwaard says his ballets tend to be classically inspired, in keeping with the theme for the evening, Pop Culture, he has chosen a beautiful song by Rufus Wainwright.

I can't wait to see the full ballet in spring.

What do Desperate Housewives, Facebook and Chase have in common-- in order to help non profit organizations across the country?

I just found out about this interesting collaboration between Facebook and Chase and thought it might be worth passing along . I am encouraging all of our TB fans to join me in voting for Tulsa Ballet!

Chase and Facebook Launch Innovative Giving Program for Small and Local Charities

For the first time ever, Facebook®: users will be able to choose from more than 500,000 small and local charities to decide which community organizations they want to receive donations totaling millions of dollars from a corporate philanthropy fund. Chase and Facebook today announced the launch of Chase Community Giving: You Decide What Matters, a grassroots campaign to inspire a new way of corporate philanthropy.

Chase is enlisting Facebook users to vote for which small and local non profits will receive donations totaling $5 million. The eligible charity receiving the most votes will be awarded $1 million, the top five runners-up will receive $100,000 each and the 100 finalists, including the top winners, will be awarded $25,000 each.

Additionally, a special Advisory Board featuring members who are active in philanthropy, including actress Eva Longoria,(of Desperate Housewives fame) Do Something founder Nancy Lublin and NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson, will allocate a total of $1 million to the nominated charities of its choice.

In Round One of the Chase Community Giving program, Facebook users will vote for non-profit organizations they think should receive a portion of Chase's philanthropy funds. Facebook users will be able to nominate non profits that serve the general public in the following areas: education, healthcare, housing, the environment, combating hunger, arts and culture, human services and animal welfare. On December 15, the top 100 qualified vote-getters will be announced to receive $25,000 each, and will move on to the next round.

In Round Two, the top 100 organizations will have the option to submit a Million Dollar Grant proposal to Facebook users, detailing the difference they would make in their local community with the significant extra resources. Facebook users will vote starting January 15, and on February 1, the qualified organization receiving the most votes will be announced as the winner of a Million Dollar Grant from Chase. The next five organizations with the most votes will receive $100,000 each. Additionally, the Advisory Board will donate $1 million to the nominated charities of its choice.

For more information and program requirements, visit http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving.

Join me in voting for Tulsa Ballet!