SoCal Ballet Scene is returning to the stage this month, with performances at the Irvine Barclay Theater on September 13, 2025. In addition to celebrating the wealth of dance talent in Southern California, the festival is incorporating additional educational opportunities, bringing in students from throughout the area, and features some truly stellar talent. There are two shows, at 2 and 7 pm.
Artistic Director Rena Kamariotakis shared news about the upcoming performances, the organization’s outreach to underserved communities, and her hopes for the future.
SoCal Ballet Festival – Photo courtesy of SoCal Ballet Scene.
Adult ballet is burgeoning across the country and has found a welcome home in Southern California. Numerous dance studios, including but not limited to Align Ballet, Anna Cheselka Dance Center, Dance Arts OC, and Southern California Ballet, focus on the adult dancer, not as a dancer returning from, extending, or sunsetting a professional career, but as one embarking upon a new adventure. SoCal Ballet Scene takes it one step further, incorporating these dancers into their professional shows.
Ms. Kamariotakis is the artistic director and board president of SoCal Ballet Scene, which is going into its third year as a nonprofit organization. SoCal Ballet Scene is dedicated to increasing access to ballet performances, particularly among youth from underserved communities. It provides a platform for Southern California dance artists to network, perform, and connect with non-professional dance lovers and participants, and unites Southern California artists, fostering new collaborations.
SoCal Ballet Scene – Photo by Hannah Cox.
Ms. Kamariotakis is thrilled by how the organization is expanding and maturing. Rather than a bi-annual festival, the festival is now yearly. They have moved from the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach to Irvine’s Barclay Theater. She eventually hopes to expand, first to Los Angeles proper, and then again south to San Diego.
SoCal Ballet Scene – Photo by Hannah Cox.
This year, the festival has an eclectic lineup of classical and contemporary work. There are 46 professional dancers, and the corps de ballet is augmented with 17 advanced dancers from the open classes. The main draw is Le Corsaire; Act 1 and the pas de trois, starring Matisse Love (first soloist of the Russian State Ballet, Bunheads, and Étoile) and Eduard Sargsyan (Armenian National Ballet). Contemporary pieces by José Costas, Anaheim Ballet, Hollywood Ballet, The Realm Company, and Ballet Project OC round out the programs. Ms. Kamariotakis emphasizes the local angle; though dancers have international credits, they are all based locally and work in the Los Angeles dance market. She emphasizes the wealth of talent in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.
SoCal Ballet Scene – Photo by Hannah Cox.
There is just a lot of really great soloist talent; there are so many great dancers here.
This year also marks an increase in the number of community dancers, adult dancers who are performing with the professionals. This phenomenon is growing all over the country. It benefits both the organizations, increasing interest and participation, as well as adult dancers who are living out their dreams. Many of these dancers believed that those opportunities had been lost to them forever.
SoCal Ballet Scene Artistic Director Rena Kamariotakis – Photo courtesy of the artist.
The organization is once again donating a significant number of tickets to youth dance organizations in underserved communities. Recipients include The Wooden Floor in Santa Ana, Anaheim Ballet’s Step Up Program, and Dance for Joy. The free tickets afford the organizations involved the opportunity to augment their missions and programming.
SoCal Ballet Scene remains dedicated to its mission, increasing ballet’s reach and accessibility one class, one performance, one fulfilled dream at a time.
For tickets, click here.
Written by Nancy Dobbs Owen for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: SoCal Ballet Scene – Photo by Hannah Cox.
