BACKSTAGE: San Gorgonio Ballet

Editor's Note: The San Gorgonio Ballet of Banning performed Sunday at the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs. This report was submitted by Elizabeth Olsen, general manager of the San Gorgonio Ballet.

Back Stage before the Curtain Goes Up…

One by one the dancers arrive and you can feel the excitement building. The little ones head to their dressing area in the "Black Box" located just behind the stage.

The older students head over to join the professional dancers in the warm up class on the stage of the empty theater. A tech rehearsal follows the warm up.

This is where the dancers find their proper places on stage, the lighting technicians, and sound technicians make the final preparations before the curtain goes up.

Sounds of the audience gathering in the house side of the closed curtain signals the dancers that performance time is near.

The energy levels build for dancers and technicians alike. The back stage area is filled with children who sound like tiny mice as they giggle and try hard not to make much noise while they prepare for their first real onstage performance.

The magic is about to begin. The little mice are followed by the appearance of various characters including dolls of all kinds, a toy maker, and a lazy looking cat.

The Children's Ballet Theater is ready for the curtain to go up. Others begin to gather in the wings, all well-rehearsed and ready for their turn on the glorious stage.

The artistic director sends the children to their places on the stage as the opening music begins.

The curtain opens. The children dance in perfect order as if they had done this many times before. Enchanted dolls come to life and entertain the enthusiastic audience. A round of applause from the capacity-filled theater fills the air as the show goes on.

Beautiful ballerinas in fancy tutus, sassy musical theater numbers, song vocals by a famous Hollywood actor, and the premiere of a most amazing piece of modern choreography. It is a grand performance.

All too soon the curtain closes and the performance is over, at least for now. With the sound of applause ringing in their exhausted ears, the performers pack up.

Tired, sore, and filled with the joy of their chosen craft they leave the theater knowing why they have spent those many hours of hard grueling rehearsal, late hours and aching muscles.

They do it because performing on a beautiful stage before a wonderfully appreciative audience is what they were born to do. They will rest a bit and then it will be off to rehearsal again.