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Imperial Valley Press
El Centro, Imperial County, California
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The San Francisco Opera Ballet, a unique year-round company, represents a successful experiment in American dance. Founded two years ago under ballet master William Christensen, it has grown into a world-class ensemble with a permanent headquarters, school, and nearly 300 students. It will perform in El Centro on January 15.
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San Francisco's opera ballet, which appears in El Centro January 15 under the auspices of the Imperial Valley Music Teachers association, represents a unique and successful experiment in opera ballet.
It is unusual for an opera association to give particular significance to its ballet: under ordinary circumstances an opera company engages a ballet for a season of opera, allowing the dancers to disband when the season is ended. San Francisco keeps the ballet intact during the entire year, including artists, the ballet master and the business staff.
The ballet is housed in its own permanent headquarters in San Francisco just across the street from the opera house where may be found the rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, offices, etc.
This whole plan and movement is a significant one in the American dance. Two years ago, the project began with a list of talented artists gathered together for the initial trial and from this band has grown a mature company of dancers, which with practically no changes in personnel and with daily rehearsals during the two-year period, in addition to many performances, has emerged as a company which ranks with the world's best.
William Christensen, talented young Danish American artist, has been ballet master and choreographer during this two year period. In addition to his genius for creating theatrical dance compositions he has an uncanny talent for developing dancers. Most of the principal dancers of the present San Francisco opera ballet were developed by him.
A school is maintained by the opera association in connection with the ballet, and at the present time nearly 300 young people from all parts of the country are enrolled, sometimes participating in particular operas or understudying the professional dances in rehearsals.
From this student body it would be possible to create over night a ballet company which would give a most creditable performance.
This innovation has made the San Francisco opera ballet a recognized leader in American dance development.
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Location
San Francisco
Event Date
Two Years Ago
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The San Francisco Opera Ballet began as an experiment two years ago, gathering talented artists into a permanent year-round company under ballet master William Christensen, who developed principal dancers and choreographed compositions. Housed near the opera house with a school enrolling nearly 300 students, it has become a leader in American dance and will perform in El Centro on January 15.