Funds raised will help pay for student scholarships
The beauty and artistry of classical ballet was showcased Saturday night by the young dancers of the West Side Ballet (WSB)and their alumna direct from the prestigious New York City Ballet (NYCB). Stunning performances were danced for a glittering crowd at the Broad Stage Santa Monica in an effort to give thanks to the community for its support and raise funds to provide dance scholarships to students in need.
WSB, Los Angeles’ premier ballet training company, was hit hard by the Palisades Fire. 55 members, including four in Malibu, including teachers, its Artistic Director Martine Harley, and Executive Director/Owner Allegra Clegg all lost their homes in the Palisades Fire.
While other organizations may have been crushed by such a devasting blow, the catastrophe has brought the dance company closer together and strengthened its mission to provide young dancers with training and performance opportunities so vital to their growth and to share their art by focusing on equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the ballet world. In the words of WSB, “to enrich children’s lives through ballet.”
That mission was on display at the company’s 51st Spring Gala, the highlight of a weekend celebrating movement and performances. A number of the featured performers were trained at WSB including principal NYCB ballerina Tiler Peck, now appearing in the TV show Etoile. Peck and her NYCB dance partner and fiancé Roman Mejia performed a dance choreographed by the celebrated Jerome Robbins, especially for Mikhail Baryshnikov. The piece is rarely performed, needing permission from the Jerome Robbins Foundation. The pair flew in from New York one day before the performance in support of WSB and to help honor another WSB alum, Andrew Veyette, who just days earlier retired from the NYCB after a 25-year career with the company.
Despite taking his final bow on stage at Lincoln Center less than a week before receiving an award from WSB, Peck persuaded Veyette to reprise a role as a top hatted ring master in a delightful circus themed dance number performed earlier in the evening.
In a moving tribute, another award was presented to Santa Monica first responders in thanks for their swift action, courage, and deep commitment of service especially fighting January’s horrific blazes. A video taken during the Palisades Fire and screened for the audience showed firefighters battling huge flames and smoke and also retrieving photos and keepsakes from residences. The Santa Monica Fire Department and Police Department received a standing ovation.
Harley commented, “I’m so glad that this is happening tonight. This gala is everything and it is a testament to the enduring legacy that is West Side Ballet, that so many of the families here have lost their homes, and West Side Ballet has been their touchstone. This community came together and took care of each other, took care of me, and made this evening happen. So, it’s really, really important and special that everybody’s here tonight.”
Clegg’s mother, Yvonne Mounsey, a dancer with the NYCB under the direction of George Balanchine, cofounded the nonprofit. Clegg served as emcee for the gala. Before the curtain rose on the first spectacular number featuring a majestic presentation of the full company of 130 dancers, she commented, “With West Side Ballet, you realize that we are a community, and we are that community’s home. We first dealt with this with COVID, and we opened up very early and the kids that came felt like they had a place to be, as did the adults, and it was a sanctuary for them. They felt very isolated otherwise. And then this happened to us this year, these tragic fires, and so many of our families didn’t know what to do. They felt just so lost. I lost my home. Martine lost her home, along with so many others, and it was again that place that held them together, the glue.”
When this reporter asked Artistic Director Harley about the challenges faced post-fire in staging such an elaborate production in just four months she was surprised by the answer. “There haven’t been challenges. It’s just the opposite, that the children are so eager to be here and to perform and to work towards the performances. So, it’s been the opposite. I’m sure there are challenges for the parents, but for the children, it’s just been their place to be.”
More than $100,000 of funds raised will be awarded to fire-affected students for dance lessons.
