Community Corner
Seven South Bay Dancers Take the Stage at Westside Ballet's Spring Performances
From Marius Petipa to Bob Fosse: the range of work local students are tackling at the Broad Stage May 29-31.
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On any given weekday afternoon, a handful of South Bay students leave school and make the drive to Santa Monica, where the Westside School of Ballet is their second home. This season, the seven local dancers performing in Westside Ballet's 2026 Spring Performances are tackling an unusually broad range of repertoire: nineteenth-century classical works choreographed in the courts of Imperial Russia, neoclassical Balanchine, Bob Fosse's jazz from Sweet Charity, and brand-new contemporary pieces. Masters of Movement runs May 29-31 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at Santa Monica College.
The headline performance comes on the May 30 Gala, where American Ballet Theatre principal Calvin Royal III will dance a solo set to Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man, choreographed by Silas Farley. The same evening features the Stars and Stripes pas de deux by George Balanchine, danced by Los Angeles Ballet principals Kate Inoue and Marcos Ramirez. Inoue began her ballet training in the South Bay at Palos Verdes Ballet School, before continuing her studies in Osaka, Japan, and at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Ramirez, born in Trinidad, Cuba, trained at the Cuban National Ballet School and began his professional career at 17 with the National Ballet of Cuba.
The Gala will also honor Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery, President of Santa Monica College, with the company's BRAVO! Award, and Eula Fritz of the Santa Monica Police Activities League with the Huntley Santa Monica Beach Hotel Community Award.
The local students performing this Spring come from across the South Bay: Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Carson, Torrance, Redondo Beach, and Palos Verdes Estates. Their ages range from 9 to 16. Some are first-year students; others have been training at Westside for years.
Manhattan Beach makes its mark
Manhattan Beach Middle School eighth-grader Lex Vancura is enjoying a remarkable first year at Westside. After just months at the school, she has landed the lead role of "Ponytail Girl" in The Rich Man's Frug from Sweet Charity, the Bob Fosse jazz piece staged by Westside's jazz director Michele Bachar Mendicelli. "Being 'Ponytail Girl' has given me the opportunity to practice and learn a style outside of ballet," she says. "It's been fun being a leader in the dance and inspiring other dancers to go full out and express themselves."
Also from Manhattan Beach, Ilaria Depase, a 10-year-old fourth grader at Rolling Hills Country Day School in Palos Verdes, joins her fellow young dancers in My Favourite Things, an original new ballet by choreographer Katarzynka Kropinski set to music from The Sound of Music.
An El Segundo student's breakthrough season
Method School’s sophomore Drew Cortez has been at Westside for three years, and this season her work is showing. The 16-year-old is performing in four pieces: a featured role in Excerpt from Les Sylphides (the Fokine classic to Chopin), plus Paquita (Petipa), Excerpt from Who Cares? (Balanchine to Gershwin), and Algorithm (a contemporary work by Michele Bachar Mendicelli to music by Goldfrapp). "Something I love about my roles this year is that they all showcase very different styles and personalities," Drew says. "In Paquita I have to be very sassy while it is also very classical. Who Cares? is super jazzy and has a lot of energy. And Les Sylphides is pretty much the opposite, where all the movements are very soft."
Brothers in the corps
In Carson, brothers Gérard Barber (age 11) and Jean-Miche'l Barber (age 9) both have roles this Spring. Gérard, a sixth grader at Madrona Middle School in Torrance, performs in Excerpt from Act I Giselle: Peasant Dances, a nineteenth-century work with choreography by Coralli and Perrot to music by Adolphe Adam. Jean-Miche'l, a third grader at Hickory Elementary in Torrance, is one of the young dancers in Children's Polonaise, the festive opening of Paquita.
And from Redondo Beach
Parras Middle School seventh-grader Gwyneth Korns (age 13) is performing in two pieces this Spring: Excerpts from Faust (with original choreography by Westside founder Yvonne Mounsey) and The Rich Man's Frug from Sweet Charity.
Palos Verdes rounds out the lineup
Beyond the aforementioned guest artist Kate Inoue, the neighborhood's ballet connection continues with Marlborough School eighth-grader Ivy White, of Palos Verdes Estates. Now 13, Ivy began studying classical ballet at age 3 and danced her first Nutcracker at age 5 as "the youngest and tiniest mouse on the stage." Her summers since have included training at the School of American Ballet in New York (twice), the Royal Ballet School in London, the Paris Opera Ballet École de Danse, American Ballet Theatre in New York, and Ellison Ballet. At Westside this Spring, she has a featured role in Excerpts from Faust, dances in The Rich Man's Frug, and is an understudy for Excerpt from Les Sylphides.
The work pays off
Whether they have been at Westside for one year or several, all seven dancers have spent the months leading up to Spring Performances in daily rehearsal. They are dancing the work of choreographers from across two centuries. The audience sees only the polished result. The dancers know what it took to get there.
Westside Ballet's Masters of Movement Spring Performances run May 29-31 at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage at the Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center. Spring Showcase performances are May 29 at 7 PM, May 30 at 1 PM, and May 31 at 1 PM ($50). The Gala is May 30 at 5:30 PM ($195), featuring American Ballet Theatre principal Calvin Royal III. Tickets and more information at westsideballet.com.
The non-profit, preprofessional performance company was founded in 1973 by Yvonne Mounsey (New York City Ballet) and Rosemary Valaire (Royal Ballet), six years after the two opened the affiliated Westside School of Ballet in 1967. Among the school's alumni who have gone on to professional careers: Tiler Peck and Andrew Veyette of New York City Ballet, Anna Liceica of American Ballet Theatre, and Melissa Barak (Barak Ballet).
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