Sacramento Ballet Announces its 2011 – 2012 Season
(click here to see our digital brochure)
To purchase a Season Subscription (new subscriptions only), click here

Here We Dance!

Artistic Directors Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda have announced a Sacramento Ballet 2011-2012 season that promises enough thrills, chills and frills to satisfy every age, taste and interest. With a tip of the hat to the story ballets, the Company will feature some of its most popular works, along with new choreography by some of the country’s most eclectic and exciting choreographers. You will be able to enjoy the gothic chills of Dracula, just in time for Halloween; live the fairytale all over again with a Valentine’s Weekend presentation of Cinderella; enjoy the sheer exuberance of a Modern Masters that truly “rocks”; share the holiday wonder of The Nutcracker, and take part in numerous behind-the-scenes opportunities to see the dancers up-close-and-personal in studio performances.

What’s new this year? There is a Main Stage package that lets you see three performances at the Community Center Theater for as little as $45. With a storybook package of well-known titles, this season is perfect for the whole family.

The company will offer single Orchestra Level seats at the Community Center Theater for as little as $25! Also new this year, Modern Masters will become the fourth production of the Season Package, and will be performed in the beautiful and intimate new $50 million Three Stages Theatre at Folsom Lake College. With a spacious stage, and acoustically dynamic seating area, it is the perfect setting for groundbreaking choreography.
In addition to breathtaking repertory, the company continues its mission to entertain, inspire, and educate with its sustained commitment to bring the art of dance to audiences through such programs as Beer & Ballet, Inside the Director’s Studio, The Genius of Balanchine, Second Saturday Living Sculpture, and more.

Season Highlights

Dracula
Join us at our season opener for the “revival” (pun definitely intended) of Ron Cunningham’s chilling work about Transylvania’s favorite son – Count Dracula. Dance becomes the perfect vehicle for the sensual story of love beyond the grave in this powerful and dramatic production. Of its last performance in Sacramento, Sacramento Bee reviewer Patricia Beach Smith said of it, the “spectacularly creepy Dracula stole the show”……and the ballet “was rich with clever and beautiful choreography, costumes, sets and lighting.” (Sacramento Bee, October, 2005) Also on the program are Serenade, America’s first ballet masterpiece by George Balanchine, and Second Before the Ground by Trey McIntyre to African-inspired music by the Kronos Quartet, “one of the most exciting and impressive contemporary ballets of the 21st century.” (Jim Carnes, SacBee, Feb 12, 2010)

October 22 - 7:30 PM
October 23 – 2:00pm
October 27 – 7:30pm
October 28 – 7:30pm
Community Center Theater
Individual tickets on sale September 6th, 2011

FREE with purchase of ticket: Enhance your enjoyment of the performance by joining Ron Cunningham 45 minutes prior to curtain for an informal and entertaining inside view of the performance.


Ron Cunningham’s
The Nutcracker

Be part of a tradition that has become the heart of Sacramento’s holiday season. Whether a cherished family tradition or your first visit to The Nutcracker, your experience of this wonderful classic will warm your spirit and stay with you forever. From the moment the lights dim, you will be transported to a time and place filled with magic: marching toy soldiers, waltzing snowflakes, giant mice and a Christmas tree that seems to grows forever; not to mention the wonderful characters found in the Land of Sweets reigned over by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Enjoy the beautiful Waltz of the Flowers, the exciting Russian Dance, the hilarious Mother Ginger, and all the rest. It’s the perfect holiday treat for the whole family to share.


December 9 - 7:00pm
December 10 - 2:00pm and 7:00pm
December 11 - 1:00pm
December 16 - 7:00pm
December 17 - 2:00pm and 7:00pm
December 18 - 1:00pm and 5:00pm
December 22 - 2:00pm and 7:00pm
December 23 - 2:00pm and 7:00pm

Community Center Theater
Individual tickets on sale September 6th, 2011

Cinderella
One of the world’s most beloved fairytales, Cinderella is the ideal ballet for Valentine’s Day Weekend, and Ron Cunningham’s telling of the “rags to riches” love story is a treat from start to finish. Pageantry and humor, magnificent dancing, and glorious music, characters we have known for decades seen through the magic of dance. Cunningham’s Cinderella has been seen in major cities throughout the world. It was the first American ballet to be performed in the People’s Republic of China, and the live broadcast of the production was aired to over 30 million people. This production has not been seen in Sacramento since 1997, so from the hilarious Stepsisters, the handsome Prince, to Cinderella and her pumpkin coach, experience the fun all over again – quick, before the clock strikes twelve.

FREE with purchase of ticket: Enhance your enjoyment of the performance by joining Ron Cunningham 45 minutes prior to curtain for an informal and entertaining inside view of the performance.

February 9 - 7:30 PM
February 10 - 7:30 PM
February 11 - 7:30 PM
February 12 – 2pm
Community Center Theater
Individual tickets on sale September 6th, 2011

Modern Masters
Fluctuating Hemlines and new works TBA.
Septime Webre’s saucy and irreverent Fluctuating Hemlines teams up with Tigger Benford’s live percussion ensemble to turn up the heat for an evening of bold contemporary dance. The best and brightest of today’s choreographic talent assemble to create works of astonishing creativity and provocative imagination, in a Modern Masters that “rocks” the beautiful new $50 million Three Stages in Folsom.

March 29 – 7:30pm
March 30 – 7:30pm
March 31 – 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM
Where: Three Stages at Folsom Lake College
Individual tickets on sale September 6th, 2011


Here’s a sampling of what else we’ll be up to in 2010-2011:
Inside the Director’s Studio
Join us throughout our season and get behind the scenes with Ron Cunningham, Carinne Binda and the dancers of the Sacramento Ballet. Discover the ins-and-outs of the artistic process and what it takes to produce a ballet from the beginning of the rehearsal process to the final, spectacular stage presentation.
Where: Sacramento Ballet Studios – 1631K Street, Sacramento CA
Tickets: (916) 552-5800 x2
Check our website beginning in September for dates, times and prices.

In Studio Previews & Open Rehearsals
Sacramento Ballet offers previews and open rehearsals in our studios. Watch excerpts from the shows in an intimate setting.
Where: Sacramento Ballet Studios – 1631K Street, Sacramento CA.
Tickets: (916) 552-5800 x2
Check our website for dates, times, and prices

Beer & Ballet
Next spring, enjoy beer, wine, or soda as you watch edgy new works created by the dancers of the Sacramento Ballet themselves. See the dancers in an up-close-and-personal in a setting both informal and intimate. Many followers of the Company say that THESE programs are the ones that made them dance lovers forever.
Where: Sacramento Ballet Studios – 1631K Street, Sacramento CA.
Tickets: (916) 552-5800 x2
Check our website in January for dates, times, and prices

“Genius” Series
George Balanchine was, without doubt, the preeminent choreographer of the 20th Century, and these programs will show you why. Enjoy excerpts from his vast collection of masterworks with commentary by Artistic Directors Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda. In looking at the history of art, Balanchine must be considered an equal in every way to his two friends and collaborators Pablo Picasso and Igor Stravinsky, and his legacy will endure with theirs for generations to come.
Where: Sacramento Ballet Studios – 1631K Street, Sacramento CA.
Tickets: (916) 552-5800 x2 These programs are Donation Only.
Check our website in January for dates and times.

Second Saturday “Living Sculpture”- FREE
View Sacramento Ballet dancers as they improvise “Living Sculpture” in selected art galleries during Second Saturday Art Walks.
Where: Art Galleries TBA
Check our website at the beginning of each month for times

Pre-Performance Lectures – FREE with Admission to performance
Join artistic director, Ron Cunningham in the Grand Tier of the Community Center Theater 45 minutes prior to every performance for anecdotes and stories about the creative process, the artists, and the evening’s selection of works. Available for Dracula and Cinderella only.
Where: Sacramento Community Center Theater

Season Subscriptions On Sale Now! To become a season subscriber, please go to our website to download a subscription form or contact the Sacramento Ballet’s Ticket Coordinator at: 916-552-5800 x2. Season subscribers receive up to 20% off tickets in addition to other great benefits.

Individual tickets for the entire season are on sale through the Community Center Theater Box Office, 916-808-5181, or Tickets.com, 800-225-2277. For Modern Masters tickets call the Three Stages Theater directly at 916-608-6888. Individual ticket prices range from $15.00 - $40.00 for Children ages 12 and under, and $15 - $68 for Adults. Groups of 10 or more get 10% off individual tickets. Groups of 20 or more receive 20% off individual tickets. (Groups may consist of adults and children; the adult ticket price will reflect the discount, children’s ticket prices are a set price and will not receive an additional % off) For more information http://www.sacballet.org. Don’t forget to become a member of our online family on Facebook and MySpace. Log in and search for ‘Sacramento Ballet.’