A Platform for Local Pros: Inside the SoCal Ballet Scene Festival

Kaitlin Wright
Sep 12, 2025
5 min read

By pairing established troupes with emerging voices and even recreational adult dancers, the festival highlights the range of Southern California ballet talent on one stage.

*“Kismet,” choreographed by Claire Dewey, presented at the 2024 SoCal Ballet Scene Festival. Photo courtesy of Jazley Faith*

Orange County has built a reputation for ballet training that reaches far beyond the region. Students from its schools regularly appear at Youth America Grand Prix and join companies worldwide, and the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center has added another pipeline to the national stage. Smaller professional groups, including Anaheim Ballet and Festival Ballet Theatre, anchor the local ballet scene. What the county lacks is a large, full-time resident troupe, leaving freelance dancers and returning professionals with fewer consistent opportunities to perform.

That’s the gap the SoCal Ballet Scene Festival aims to fill. Now in its third year, the one-day ballet-only event, this year at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, brings together performers who live in Southern California. The lineup spans established organizations such as Anaheim Ballet and younger groups like Ballet Project OC alongside repertory staged specifically for the festival.

For dancers, the appeal is clear: contracts to perform classical and contemporary work in a fully staged production. For audiences, the value is different – a format designed to welcome newcomers as well as longtime ballet-goers. SoCal Ballet Scene founder Rena Kamariotakis said accessibility is built into the festival’s format.

“It comes down to the way that we present different pieces in the festival. For example, we have our emcee speakers who give the audience insights about what they're about to see,” she said.

Even a brief plot explanation or choreographer’s note, she added, “enriches the experience … especially for newcomers to ballet.”

A Locals-Only Rule

The festival’s other hallmark is its insistence on featuring artists who live in the region. “I have a hard rule. If you don't live in SoCal, you're not allowed on the stage,” Kamariotakis said. “The whole purpose of it is to showcase the local dancers that live here in our community.”

That approach resonates with performers. Chris Flores, who grew up in Seal Beach and now freelances with Hollywood Ballet and Anaheim Ballet, said, “I love that the focus is on Southern California dancers, so we're not getting guests from other companies. The art of ballet is alive in Southern California.”

PHOTO 1: Rachel Hutsell in SoCal Ballet Scene's presentation of “Act 1 Don Quixote” in 2024. Photo courtesy of Jazley Faith. PHOTO 2: Dancers from the SoCal Ballet Scene Festival in costume for “Le Corsaire – Act I,” the story ballet that opens this year’s program. Photo courtesy of SoCal Ballet Scene

Beyond a Showcase

Unlike many festivals that only present existing company repertory, SoCal Ballet Scene also mounts its own productions – this year including “Le Corsaire – Act I.” That balance, said choreographer and dancer Samantha Bell, sets it apart.

“It is not just a mixed rep type of festival. It’s homegrown. We’re staging a whole act of a full-length ballet, which is pretty remarkable to see that happening with freelance dancers coming together versus a company,” she said.

For freelancers, the chance is rare: “In the freelance world, you’re not really given the opportunity to do a full-length classical ballet very often. It’s wonderful to dive into classical repertoire without it just being a variation or a pas de deux excerpt.”

Paid work, professional atmosphere

From the start, Kamariotakis has made sure dancers are compensated. For Flores, that decision has had tangible effects. “Because of (my participation in the festival) last year, I got gigs every month as a freelance dancer. I had to say no to some dance work because I was so booked and I could leverage that for better pay.”

He added that pay changes the culture of rehearsals: “I'm holding up my end of a contract. So it does change the atmosphere and does make you work harder.”

Local dancers onstage at the SoCal Ballet Scene Festival. Photos courtesy of SoCal Ballet Scene

Different generations, side by side

The festival also blends professionals with trained adult recreational dancers – a combination that is unusual in the ballet world.

“They are actually dancing. Not just acting in the “Party Scene” (from “The Nutcracker”). There is an entire corps section and it is fast and it is tough and they are dancing,” Bell said.

Flores noted the broader trend behind that choice.

“Anaheim Ballet has multiple adult classes per day, so opportunities like this give those students a goal. Something more than just a recital. Putting them on stage with professionals. I think it's amazing.”

Archival photo from Anaheim Ballet's 2017 performance of "Bellum, Pax et Spes” at Samueli Theater at the Segerstrom Center. Dancers pictured are Bridgette Burnett, Roman Frey, and Saxon Wood. Photo courtesy of Ricky J. Hernandez

Companies in the mix

Established companies also contribute original work. This year, Anaheim Ballet presents “Bellum, Pax et Spes,” which translates to “War, Peace and Hope”, choreographed by Sarma Lapenieks Rosenberg to music by Maurice Pinto.

For Rosenberg, the value of appearing at SoCal Ballet Scene goes beyond presenting a single piece. “Ballet gets a bad rap. People think they know ballet, but by having more exposure, they find out the ballet gives many, many versions of it,” she said.

“I’d like to see more mixed audiences. That’s one of our motives in our organization, to make dance kind of an everyday thing.”

Her husband and co-director Larry Rosenberg emphasized the variety audiences should expect. “It won't be the same company with different pieces. It'll be different. An absolutely different look,” he said.

Anaheim Ballet’s participation in the festival also sends a message. “We’re definitely saying, we value dance,” he said. “We think the community will value dance, and we think you'll benefit by dance.”

Gateway for Audiences

This year’s program is divided into two halves. The first features “Le Corsaire – Act I,” with Medora danced by Matisse Love, a former first soloist of the Russian State Ballet Theatre and a television actress (“Bunheads,” “Étoile”). After intermission, the festival shifts into a mixed repertory program that includes excerpts from “Giselle” and “Coppélia” staged by SoCal Ballet Scene, José Costas’ “The Target” set to tango music, Anaheim Ballet’s “Bellum, Pax et Spes,” Hollywood Ballet’s “Hurwitz Pas de Deux” inspired by La La Land, a new work by The Realm Company, and Ballet Project OC’s “Chronos.”

Bell said the variety is part of what makes the festival accessible. “It’s a good gateway show to just have a nice night out, be entertained, and maybe, hopefully, leave inspired.”

Flores has seen that in action. “I had so many friends go last year who had never seen ballet, not even a ‘Nutcracker,’ so it was cool for them to see how encompassing ballet is and what's possible with ballet. Definitely an eye opener to people.”

Looking Ahead

Kamariotakis admits the scope has grown faster than she anticipated. “I never imagined I would be getting to this point. I never even imagined I would be running a nonprofit organization, but I do believe we're filling a hole,” she said.

For Flores, the festival’s value is civic as much as it is artistic.

“I think it also legitimizes local companies and local dancers so that it doesn't just become a novelty. We are part of not just the art scene, but also the culture of our cities.”