Attention, Bay Area dance fans! Last week, we announced that Camera 3 in downtown San Jose is offering DISCOUNTED TICKETS for showings of FIRST POSITION: A Ballet Documentary when you mention “BALLET SAN JOSE” at the door. Next Thurs., May 24, is your LAST CHANCE to see First Position at Camera 3! Visit the Camera 3 website for updated show times and take advantage of this great offer.

Then, once your appetite for ballet is whetted, come out to the California Theatre on Sunday, May 27, to see Ballet SJ School’s Spring Performances! :)

And every day! #balletfinds

And every day! #balletfinds

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We’re suckers for photos of kids dancing. :) #balletfinds

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Tags: dancers kids cute

Starting today, visitors to the California Theatre in downtown San Jose may catch a glimpse of this gorgeous poster for the Ballet San Jose School shows on May 27, featuring a lovely photo by Chris Hardy. Remember, tickets for BOTH performances (open division and pro division) are currently on sale! Buy online at www.balletsj.org, or call the Box Office at (408) 288-2800. Local ballet students: are you planning to attend? And if so, which performance are you most excited to see? :)

Starting today, visitors to the California Theatre in downtown San Jose may catch a glimpse of this gorgeous poster for the Ballet San Jose School shows on May 27, featuring a lovely photo by Chris Hardy. Remember, tickets for BOTH performances (open division and pro division) are currently on sale! Buy online at www.balletsj.org, or call the Box Office at (408) 288-2800. Local ballet students: are you planning to attend? And if so, which performance are you most excited to see? :)

In just two short weeks, Ballet San Jose will host a series of Master Classes taught by Franco De Vita (Principal, JKO School at American Ballet Theatre) and Raymond Lukens (Artistic Associate, ABT/NYU Masters Program) from May 30 through June 4! Download the official flyer for more information (link will begin PDF download from www.balletsj.org). To reserve your spot for this fantastic experience, contact Ballet SJ School’s Registrar at (408) 288-2820 x223 or registrar@balletsj.org. Don’t wait! Class size is limited, and spots will fill up quickly! Will we see you there?

Gorgeous promo photo © Chris Hardy for Ballet San Jose School’s 2012 Spring Performance on May 27 at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Buy tickets online at Ballet SJ’s website!

Gorgeous promo photo © Chris Hardy for Ballet San Jose School’s 2012 Spring Performance on May 27 at the California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Buy tickets online at Ballet SJ’s website!

The ballet world has been a’twitter with talk of the new documentary First Position, which has already received rave reviews from critics and opens this Friday, May 11th, at Camera 3 in downtown San Jose. Camera 3 is offering DISCOUNTED TICKETS for only $7 when you buy at the door and mention “BALLET SAN JOSE.” Visit their website for show times and additional information! See you there!

FIRST POSITION: Follow in the footsteps of six gifted ballet students, ages 9 to 19 and from disparate social, regional, economic and ethnic backgrounds, as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious competition where the world’s top dance companies and schools prospect for new talent. Filmmaker Bess Kargman gains unprecedented (and exclusive) year-long access to this event which can make or break futures in the ballet world.

Photo 1: Alexsandra Meijer as Cinderella in Ballet San Jose’s production of Ben Stevenson’s Cinderella.

Photo 2: Jing Zhang as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.

Photo 3: American Ballet Theatre’s Sascha Radetsky danced the role of Prince Charming.

(All photos © Robert Shomler, 2012)

As might be expected, there were platoons of children in the audience from small to tall, mostly girls, almost all dressed in ballet-appropriate finery and they could be seen at intermission squealing and running with joy or being restrained from same or having their photos taken or eyeing the many photographs of ballets past that line the corridor in San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts. Their joy was infectious, prompted by an exquisite production of “Cinderella” choreographed by Ben Stevenson and set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev, who I now realize is my favorite ballet composer and whose modernity trumps Romanticism while retaining and amplifying powerful emotion.

Photo © Chris Hardy

Photo © Chris Hardy