The Danes are Coming!

After more than 15 years since their last visit to Southern California, the Royal Danish Ballet will kick off its highly-anticipated U.S. tour here in Orange County on Tuesday, May 24. For a sneak preview of some of the works they will perform, click on the video above to watch a recent Works & Process segment from the Guggenheim Museum where the RDB's Artistic Director Nikolaj Hübbe speaks with John Meehan, professor of dance at Vassar College.

For more exclusive looks at the RDB during its tour, download the compay's brand-new iPhone app. And you can also read the most up-to-date happenings on their tour blog.

Emerson String Quartet Honored

Congrats to the Emerson String Quartet - the ensemble has been inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. The nine-time Grammy® Award-winning Emerson has performed in Segerstrom Center's Concert Series 15 times, more than any other group or artist. The American Classical Music Hall of Fame recognizes artists who have made significant contributions to classical music and, by doing so, inspire and build interest in classical music. Also honored this year were two composers well known to Center audiences: William Bolcom and Phillip Glass. The Center commissioned Bolcom's song cycle Canciones de Lorca for the opening of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in 2006, and was performed by Placido Domingo with Pacific Symphony. Glass's works were recently featured at the Center during "The Passion of Phillip Glass" by Pacific Symphony. His The Passion of Ramakrishna was also performed as part of the Concert Hall inaugural festivities. You can see the Emerson when they return to the Center on September 21 to open the 2011-2012 Concert Series.

5/9 is all about 9 to 5

On May (5) 9, Broadway's 9 to 5: The Musical will be the 'show du jour' in Orange County. Enjoy a 5/9 Happy Hour from 5 to 9 at Pizzeria Ortica, located at 650 Anton Blvd. in the South Coast Metro area. The special Happy Hour menu will include select wines for $5, select pizzas for $9, and the first 100 guests will receive a free 9 to 5: The Musical tumbler!

And 9 to 5: The Musical star Diane DeGarmo will sing the National Anthem and Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the Angels' game (against the Chicago White Sox) that same evening in Anaheim. (Just off the 5 freeway and the 91 - OK, we'll stop with the numerology now.)

Don't miss this hilarious show which opens on May 10 for one week only at Segerstrom Center, featuring 12 new songs from Grammy®-winner Dolly Parton!

Sonora Elementary Students Pitch the Arts to City Council

Members of the Costa Mesa City Council received special gifts from the children of Sonora Elementary on Tuesday, April 19. The youngsters - Russel Zuniga , Samantha Nguyen , Lesly Marin, Tristin Taber, Sarah Ashley and Kaelee Mills - joined Sonora Principal Christine Anderson, teachers Peggy Roberts and Terri Munroe and the Center's Vice President, Education Talena Mara to underscore the importance of the arts in their school work. Anderson and Mara explained the seven-year partnership between Sonora and Segerstrom Center's ArtsConnect education program. The teaching artists of ArtsConnect work with students and teachers during special residencies. These have included composing, puppetry and, most recently, ceramics. The artists show how these arts disciplines and forms relate to and enhance other core curriculum, such as history, social studies, reading, creative writing and science. The children presented each councilmember with one of their creations made in the ceramics class.

Free Inside Dance Lecture-Demonstration

Our intern Jake McIntyre writes about the upcoming Inside Dance event, which is free and open to the public. More details are in his blog post below.

If you enjoy ballet, you undoubtedly get the basics: the athleticism, music and costumes. But have you ever wondered what the choreographer’s message or point is or how the dancers can even do that? Don’t be embarrassed because many of us feel that way somtimes. Segerstrom Center has answers for you with a special free Inside Dance event led by dance historian and interim Associate Dean of the College of the Arts at California State University, Long Beach, Cyrus Parker-Jeanette. Inside Dance will be held Saturday, April 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Samueli Theater. This will be an animated, interactive and informal discussion, full of demonstrations by local dancers, Lisa Ushino, Bernadette Torres and Ya Xi Fu.

Cyrus will lead the audience through the changing trends in ballet, from classical to contemporary, with the dancers performing examples of each style. The excerpts will be choreographed by Lorin Johnson, a professor of dance at CSULB. Lorin is a former dancer with San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and a wonderful teacher. I’ve had the pleasure of taking one of his classes, and I am excited to see the works he has created.

Inside Dance is perfect for anyone who likes ballet and/or dance and wants to learn more. While this event is free, you will need to reserve a ticket for you and your friends. To reserve a ticket for Inside Dance, call (714) 556-2787.

Photos

Top image: (L to R) Bernadette Torres, Lorin Johnson, Lisa Ushino and Ya Xi Fu
Lower image: Lisa Ushino(front) and Ya Xi Fu (behind)

Wicked Star Sings Anthem at Ducks Game

Lesley McKinnell from the cast of Wicked wowed a crowd of nearly 18,000 people at the Honda Center this past Monday. She sang the National Anthem before an Anaheim Ducks game against the Colorado Avalanche (the Ducks won!). Lesley is from Southern California and a graduate of Cal State Fullerton. She is a member of the ensemble and the understudy for Glinda the Good Witch. For a sampling of what the fans enjoyed, click below. You can see Lesley in Wicked, which is here through Sunday.

Broadway Saturdays Hit High Note

Last month, more than 20 local musical theater students participated in Segerstrom Center’s brand new Broadway Saturdays program. Over three Saturdays, students learned musical theater technique, scene work, monologue interpretation, improvisation, lyric analysis and audition advice from instructors Tony® Award nominee and Broadway star, Erin Dilly, and Broadway veteran Stephen Buntrock (pictured above), who most recently starred in A Little Night Music opposite Bernadette Peters.

The students weren’t the only ones who learned invaluable lessons. Erin (pictured above) said “Broadway Saturdays was such a revelation for me as a teacher. To watch these kids arrive from all different high schools, different places in their learning, strangers and then to watch them leave as friends, inspired, cheering for each other...wow! It reminded me of why I got into theater when I was young – the community! In three weeks I watched each student make remarkable progress. And at the end, a group of strangers had become a joyful little band of players – a real family. It warmed my heart.”

If you or anyone you know is interested in pursuing musical theater, Erin and Stephen will be back at the Center this summer for the Six Days of Broadway camp June 27 – July 2 (for ages 11-13) and July 5 – July 10 (for ages 14-18). For more information and to reserve a spot, call (714) 556-2122 x4333, option 4 or email stars@SCFTA.org. Last summer’s camp sold out.