Media City Ballet of Los Angeles Presents A WORLD OF HOLIDAY DANCE at the Alex Theatre 12/29

Natasha Middleton, Artistic Director of Media City Ballet of Los Angeles (MCBLA), will present "A WORLD OF HOLIDAY DANCE," a multicultural celebration featuring six diverse Los Angeles-based dance companies, to be presented at the Alex Theatre; 216 N. Brand Boulevard; Glendale, CA 91203 on Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. This event is made possible in part through the generous support of The School of Business at Woodbury University, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader, La Cañada Valley News and The International Dance Academy.

Natasha Middleton said: "A WORLD OF DANCE will feature a culturally diverse program of dance forms from India, Ireland, México, Armenia and America, representing the work and choreography of six Los Angeles-based dance companies. The program will consist of two acts. The first act will consist of performances from our Five Guest Artist Dance Companies, while the second act will feature Media City Ballet of Los Angeles performing highlights from ‘The Nutcracker.'"

Dance Companies participating in the festive cultural extravaganza include: blue13 dance company (Indian Bollywood-Tech); Cleary Irish Dance; Ballet Folklorico México Azteca; Nari Armenian Dancers of Los Angeles; Breakdance Artist Lamonte "Tailz" Goode; and Media City Ballet of Los Angeles performing highlights from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker."

Tickets to "A WORLD OF HOLIDAY DANCE" are currently on sale at the Alex Box Office by calling 818-243-ALEX (2539). Discounts are available for Groups of 15 or more are available. For information on Group Sales, please call the Alex Theatre at 818-243-7700. To purchase tickets online, please visit the website, www.alextheatre.org. For further information, please about Media City Ballet of Los Angeles, please visit the website, www.mediacityballet.org.

Performers will include:
- From Media City Ballet of Los Angeles: Guest Artists: Raul Machorro (The Nutcracker Prince) of Houston, TX (Houston Grand Opera; "So You Think You Can Dance" Finalist); Rachel Speidel Little (Sugar Plum Fairy) of Minden, NV (Sacramento Ballet) and Jekyns Pelaez (Cavalier) of San Francisco, CA (Chautauqua Ballet, Ohio Ballet, Diablo Ballet), along with MCBLA Lead Dancers, Arsen Serobian and April Mcleod; Company Members Gabielle Palmatier, Kristin Gregorian, Michael A. Hamilton, Natalie Kramer, Lauren Farrell, Nick Müller and Philippe Liebzig. Julie Applegate, an Apprentice (of Glendale, CA), will appear in the role of Clara. Other Apprentices will include: Audrey Young, Hannah Hart, Hannah Record, Tina Yedgarian, Dalar Ghanbari and Ruzanna Avetisyan. Pre-Apprentices will include: Sara D'Elia, Francesca Alayra and Lexi Wong. Youth Company Extras will include: Meghan Maddigan, Amanda Martinez, Danielle Haber, Kaitlyn Maddigan and Irena Gharibyan.

- From blue13 dance company: Achinta S. McDaniel; Arun Mathai; Kory Keith; D. Valentine; Tammie Johnston' Gitit Kohavie; Beejoli Shah; Dana Nott; Jimmy Arguello; Miquelle Franzese and Rohit Bal.

- From Cleary Irish Dance: Competitive Dancers from Cleary Irish Dance.

- From Ballet Folklorico México Azteca: Members of the dance company will perform a set is titled "Navidad en México," celebrating the traditional holiday Mexican festivity with a "Posada," in commemoration of Mary and Joseph's cold and difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in search of shelter.

- From Nari Armenian Dancers of Los Angeles: Members of the group will perform "Traditional Armenian Holiday Dances" with the highlight being their celebration of their New Year Holiday.

- Breakdance Artist Lamonte "Tailz" Goode.

Now celebrating its Eighth Annual Season under the guidance of Artistic Director Natasha Middleton, The Media City Ballet of Los Angeles (MCBLA) is dedicated to providing Los Angeles and the surrounding communities with quality live ballet productions, utilizing the inspired and creative talents of the local community, as well as professionals from around the world. MCBLA is the only ballet company in Los Angeles presenting performances in the tradition and philosophy of the legendary Ballet Russe de Serge Diaghilev. Natasha Middleton's grandmother, Elena Wortova, was a Soloist in the original Ballet Russe, which included other legendary dancers like Anna Pavlova, George Balanchine, Alexandra Danilova and Vaslav Nijinsky. Middleton's father, Andrei Tremaine, was a Principal Dancer with The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, and Soloist with the Ballet Nacional de Mexico and the Colon Opera Ballet of Buenos Aires.
Natasha Middleton, a "Ballet Russe Baby," was a Principal Dancer for her father's ballet company, Pacific Ballet Theatre, as well as a member of the Joffrey II Ballet Company in New York City, before taking on the responsibilities of Artistic Director for Media City Ballet Company. Media City Youth Ballet trains young dancers, and prepares them for the organization's professional company. MCBLA is overseen by a distinguished Board of Directors and supported by a Guild whose chief mission is to support the ballet company and produce fund-raising activities. For more information about Media City Ballet of Los Angeles, please visit the website www.mediacityballet.org.

Under the artistic direction of Achinta S. McDaniel (of Venice, CA), blue13 dance company's mission is to advance experimental and non-traditional contemporary dance, while preserving and cultivating the cultural and classical forms of India. Passionately translating dance into enduring societal contributions, blue13 dispels cultural stereotypes and connects diverse communities through cross-genre and multicultural classes, workshops, and live performances that inspire global unity and togetherness. Since 1999, blue13 has performed to sold out audiences all over the globe in its signature contemporary styles, Bollywood-Tech and Neo-Kathak. The company is renowned for staging highly theatrical and critically acclaimed dance productions like the Alice in Wonderland inspired "PAHELIYAN: The Story of Alice," slated to tour in 2010/11, as well as recent World Premieres performances of: "Bollywood Delicious," "KHEL! A Bollywood Bedtime Story," and the International Tour of "FEZ: Queen of Cities." For further information about blue13 dance company, please visit the website, www.blue13dance.com.

Cleary Irish Dance under the direction of Margaret Cleary (of North Hollywood, CA) was established in 1988 when Margaret Cleary ADCRG introduced Irish Dance classes for adults at St. Ambrose Parish Hall in West Hollywood. The Adult Group was known as The St. Ambrose Ceili Dancers and grew to be a reputable Irish organization within the Southern California community. They have attained five National titles for Ceili dancing. In 1993, Cleary added classes for children. Classes are now offered for students of all ages and levels. They study the traditional art form of Irish Dance (reels, jigs and hornpipes) in both soft and hard shoes. They perform regularly at events throughout the Southland and have appeared many times on local and national television as well as Irish TV (RTE). The group has been featured in the Disney video "Doing the Jig with Tig." Members of the group have performed with the Chieftains, the Irish Rovers, Cherish the Ladies, Solas and other notable Irish entertainers at the Hollywood Bowl with the Disney Young Symphony Orchestra, Descanso Gardens with the Pasadena Pops and in Las Vegas. Cleary Irish Dance has successfully established it's presence in competitions at the regional and national level. Members of the group qualify every year to represent the Western U.S. Region at the World Championships held annually at Easter in Ireland. Cleary Irish Dance is proud to perpetuate the traditions and culture of Ireland in Los Angeles. To learn more about Cleary Irish Dance, please visit the website www.clearyirishdance.com.

Ballet Folklorico México Azteca, under the direction of Founder/Director Amy Navarrete. The Ballet Folklorico México Azteca of Saint Finbar hails from Burbank, CA and is one of the city's most successful dance programs. Director Amy Navarrete organized the group in 1987 with only six members, which has now flourished to 53. The members range in age from three-years-old up to 35-years-old. Each member, and their families, bring a personal touch and creativity to the Folklorico experience which engages audiences in the deep-rooted culture expressed in the dancer's movements. To learn more about Ballet Folklorico México Azteca, please visit the website www.mexicoazteca.org.

Nairi Dance Studio was founded on May 1, 1998. The studio's choreographer, Louiza Khachatryan, moved to United States in 1997 and made a promise to continue her art and with that preserve the Armenian culture. Louiza Khachatryan was the soloist of the Armenian State Dance Ensemble for over 20 years. In United States where she established her studio, she continues to pass her skills and her pedagogical, artistic activities to her students. The students of this studio perform Armenian, Classical, and Ballroom dances. Currently, Janna Khachatryan, Louiza's mother, is Ballet Master of the studio. To learn more about Nairi Dance Studio, please visit their website at www.nairidancestudio.com.

Breakdance Artist Lamonte "Tailz" Goode is a pioneer in Breakdancing and Hip Hop dancing. He specializes customized stretches, balance training, dancing and physical movement for his students. "Tailz" has been entertaining for over 15 years. A member of California's most respected dance crews. As part of the West Coast Rockers crew alongside Lil Rock, Enerjetik and Friction, he helped to set the standard for b-boying in Southern California. "Tailz" is also a member of the all-star b-boy crew, Killafornia which boasts several of the world's top dancers on its roster. Within and outside of his crews, "Tailz" has established himself as a premiere dancer, starring in the famous head-slide scene in "You Got Served" and displaying his b-boy skills in numerous video spots, commercials and features on BET and MTV. He recently toured with Hip-Hop greats like Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie and Slick Rick and has shared the stage with such legends as L.L. Cool J., Wyclef Jean and Stevie Wonder. "Tailz" has morphed the b-boy dance style into an innovative new movement he calls acrodance. This new style combines acrobatics and circus-influenced balancing with traditional b-boy moves with the result of a technical, theatrical performance with an added complexity of strength, balance and gravity-defying movements. To learn more about Lamonte "Tailz" Goode, please visit his website, www.bboytailz.com.

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