Most ballet companies only rehearse and perform from September until May, giving professional dancers a long summer break in which to occupy themselves. Some dancers take that time to work other jobs, others to travel, or even to dance with summer “pick-up” companies. Here are just a few stories of what the company has been up to since we performed Jazz & Dance in May.
Dancers Izzy Overstreet, Adam Bloodgood, and Ryan Walker all danced as guest artists in Sierra Nevada Ballet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. According to Izzy, one of the best parts was performing at the lakeside amphitheater of Sand Harbor’s Shakespeare Festival. The outdoor space is a perfect, dreamy fit for Shakespeare’s story of mischievous woodland fairies and romance, and made for a magical experience for all three dancers.
On a three-week road trip, Cindy Case balanced six college credits while climbing her way across the nation. Logging over 6000 miles through 18 states, she visited 6 rock-climbing gyms along the way. Look closely at the picture on the right and see if you can spot her scaling a 90 foot route at Climb Up in Oklahoma City!
Georgie Parfitt, a native of London, England, spent two weeks in Copenhagen as part of the Royal Danish Ballet’s Elite Summer Intensive. This gave her an incredible opportunity to learn the Bournonville technique from directors and dancers of the Royal Danish Ballet, as well as to immerse herself in the Danish culture of historic Copenhagen.
Company artist Zoe Marinello-Kohn also traveled to Europe this summer, notably stopping in France, The Netherlands, and Germany—on the right, you can see her posing at Marksburg Castle, which overlooks the Rhine. Having a chance to rest after a busy season is always a welcome change, Zoe says, but that relief is quickly followed by a restlessness and urgent desire to be back in the studio! Once she returned to San Diego, she began developing choreography for a work that will be featured in Homegrown II in November. One highlight of her summer has been creating a pas de deux on Stephanie Maiorano and Adam Bloodgood (pictured below).
With a long summer behind them, these dancers and the rest of the company are excited to get back to the thing they love most: rehearsing six days a week to bring San Diego Ballet’s unique works to the stage. Although SDB makes supporting its company a priority, the dancers would not be able to live and work in a beautiful city like San Diego without contributions from donors. To learn more about each dancer and how to become a sponsor, visit our Adopt A Dancer page.