Celebrating its 26th year, Diablo Ballet will kick off the holiday season with two family-friendly ballets

A short-length version of The Nutcracker Suite, and A Swingin’ Holiday accompanied by a live 16-piece orchestra.

(September 23, 2019) WALNUT CREEK — Mark the start of the holiday season with Diablo Ballet’s perennial favorite, A Swingin’ Holiday, and a freshly reimagined tale of another beloved celebrated Christmas classic, The Nutcracker Suite, from November 8 – 10 at the Del Valle Theatre in Walnut Creek.

Now in its 26th season, Diablo Ballet presents the much-anticipated return of A Swingin’ Holiday, created in 2012 by Sean Kelly (currently the Associate Choreographer/Resident Director of the first national tour of “An American in Paris”). Featuring new dances added specifically for this season, the ballet is set to the exhilarating tunes of the ’30s and ’40s by legends Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Nat “King” Cole, Wynton Marsalis, and performed live by the 16-piece Diablo Ballet Swing Orchestra under the Musical Direction of Greg Sudmeier.

The holiday program also includes an imaginative twist to a timeless tale of The Nutcracker Suite by Julia Adam, former principal dancer with San Francisco Ballet and world-renowned choreographer. Audiences will be swept away by Clara’s adventure as the story unfolds when the Diablo family and their daughter Clara reserve the Nutcracker Suite at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill for Christmas Eve — combining a fresh, new local twist to the timeless holiday classic storyline. Capturing the magic and anticipation of the night before Christmas, see what happens in their wondrous journey that will delight every member of the family.

“I was very excited when I was asked by Diablo Ballet’s Artistic Director, Lauren Jonas, to create a holiday ballet because I wanted to create an experience of a warm, intimate holiday evening and a ballet that will complement A Swingin’ Holiday,” said Julia Adam.

Following each performance, ticket holders are invited to stay for a dessert and coffee post-performance reception where they can meet and mingle with the dancers. Tickets are $15-50. For tickets, call 925-943-SHOW (7469) or visit lesherartscenter.org or krissyg.sg-host.com.

A Swingin’ Holiday & More performs November 8-10 at the Del Valle Theatre, 1963 Tice Valley Boulevard in Walnut Creek.

Performances: Friday, November 8 at 8 pm
Saturday, November 9 at 2 pm & 8 pm
Sunday, November 10 at 2 pm*

*Prior to the November 10th matinee, Diablo Ballet will present an exclusive Sugar Plum Party. This one-of-a-kind event starts with a family-friendly lunch complete with tea and sweets, arts and crafts, and an opportunity to dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tickets are packaged with the 2 pm matinee performance and are limited to 50 guests. Visit krissyg.sg-host.com for more information.

Season Subscriptions are available. Please visit www.krissyg.sg-host.com for information or to subscribe.

About Diablo Ballet

Since 1994, Diablo Ballet has been the award-winning, professional dance company for Contra Costa County. Presenting acclaimed classical and contemporary ballets, the company is committed to exposing youth to the arts through its renowned PEEK Outreach Programs which have reached over 68,000 underserved school children in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties since 1995. Also, Diablo Ballet has served hundreds of at-risk teenage girls incarcerated within the Juvenile Justice system since 2015, and in 2019 the company began working with teenagers housed at the Behavioral Health Unit at John Muir Hospital, Concord. This summer, Diablo Ballet opened the first Ballet School in Contra Costa County run by a professional ballet company, located in Pleasant Hill.

This November, Diablo Ballet opens its 2017-18 season with A Swingin’ Holiday by Broadway choreographer Sean Kelly, performed live by the Diablo Ballet Swing Orchestra, the classic masterpiece Valse Fantasie by George Balanchine, set to a beautiful score by Mikhail Glinka, and the touching duet No One Does It Better Than You by Robert Dekkers. The season also offers the romantic pas de deux from A Cinderella Story by Val Caniparoli, an exciting world premiere by former Netherlands Dans Theatre ballerina Danielle Rowe, the exotic Milieu by Robert Dekkers, an excerpt from Val Caniparoli’s Stolen Moments, the lyrical Norwegian Moods by Lew Christensen, and a highly anticipated World Premiere of The Red Shoes by Robert Dekkers. The 24th Anniversary Celebration at the Lesher Center will feature the bravura Black Swan Pas de Deux and Coda from Swan Lake, the dramatic Solas by former Royal Winnipeg Ballet choreographer Salvadore Aiello, an exciting World Premiere film by award-winning filmmaker, Walter Yamazaki, the return of Robert Dekkers’ From: Now On and an encore performance of Trait d’union by Sonya Delwaide.

Shannon Stowe
Public Relations Manager
Diablo Ballet Diablo Ballet
925/943.1775 
marketing@diabloballet.org