SLIDESHOW: San Gorgonio Ballet to Perform in Palm Springs

The San Gorgonio Ballet of Banning will perform Sunday, May 8, at the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs.

The professional ballet company and school, based at 240 W. Ramsey St., will stage a mix of dance pieces, including the premier of a piece choreographed by ballet master Evan Knapp and Julia Olsen-Rodriguez, artistic director for the San Gorgonio Ballet.

The ballet's Children's Storybook Theatre will also premier a dance segment during the performance, Olsen-Rodriguez said.

"We will be showcasing what the Ballet Company and School has in its repertoire," Olsen-Rodriguez said Tuesday. "The whole day will be filled with free events and workshops for the entire family."

The San Gorgonio Ballet performance begins at 11 a.m. May 8 and is admission is free. The Annenberg Theater is located in the Palm Springs Art Museum at 101 Museum Drive.

Olsen-Rodriguez, 26, was raised in Banning. She is a seven-year full merit scholarship student of the elite Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program.

She has been accepted to such schools as American Ballet Theatre, the Kirov, the Bolshoi at Vail, the Houston Ballet, the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, and the School at Jacobs Pillow.

She has performed with companies including the American Ballet Theatre, the Inland Pacific Ballet, the Redlands Festival Ballet, the Palm Springs Ballet, the California Riverside Ballet, and the Bre Dance Theatre in Riverside.

The San Gorgonio Ballet offers ballet instruction, tutoring and classes. For more information call or leave a message for Olsen-Rodriguez at (951) 922-8820.