It's still summer in the studio!

 

September 2024 schedule Wednesdays 6:45-8:15PM - Beginner ballet 8:15-9:15PM - Beginner jazz (just like a super fun Dance Party!) Thursdays 6:30-8PM - Basic ballet 8-9:30PM - Open level ballet Saturdays 9:30-11AM - Beginner ballet 11AM-12PM - Pointe/pre-pointe Sundays 10-11:30AM - Intermediate ballet 11:30AM-1PM - Basic ballet SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE Please consider posting a review! If you have posted one already on Yelp, Google or FB, thank you SO MUCH! And if you haven't, I would truly appreciate it. Positive words from current students really encourage new dancers to try a class. Thank you in advance! Review on Yelp Review on Google Review on Facebook     LPBC News Early bird savings until 9/7 for the return of "Sweet Sorrow"! October 19 & 20, 2024 at the Lanterman Auditorium in La Canada, CA! Have you missed our zombies and our tragic star-crossed lovers? Well, mark your calendars for their rise from the crypt this October. And if you can't see it in person, we'll be streaming on Halloween weekend. Even if you've seen this show before, we have NEW characters, NEW music, NEW storytelling. We are never satisfied - we constantly evolve to respond to our audience and give them more reasons to come back to the theater. READY TO BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW? Tickets are on sale now with an EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT!! Get them at Eventbrite! See you at the show! Check out some of our dancers in rehearsals for the stage. Werewolves and Ravens, oh my!

Happy Halloween! Ballet & jazz & zombies - oh my!

 Students, please take note I am not teaching on 10/11 and 10/12!

October 2022 schedule - In-studio and online! Sunday (Inspire Dance Studio) 10AM-11:30AM - Intermediate ballet 11:30AM-1PM - Basic Ballet Tuesday (Live Arts LA) *Note below!* 7-8:30PM - Beg/Intermediate ballet Wednesday (Inspire) *Note below!* 6:30-8PM - Beginner ballet 8-9PM - Beginner Jazz Thursday (Inspire) 7:10-8:40PM - Basic ballet Saturday (Inspire) 9:30-11AM - Beginner ballet 11AM-12PM - Pointe/pre-pointe SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE Slight changes to the schedule: Sunday 11:30AM-1PM class is now Basic Ballet - the SAME level and class as on Thursday nights so you have 2 opportunities to take this level class and build your confidence, strength and vocabulary. Thursday Basic Ballet begins at 7:10PM now. We will finish at 8:40PM. No classes on October 11 and 12 so I can spend time with my family who are visiting for our show (psst! get your tickets now! Link below!). Get ready for Halloween class! This year we'll celebrate Halloween on Sunday, October 30 in both classes (10AM & 11:30AM)! Plan your costume now - I'll bring the fun music and the treats! This is a GREAT class to bring a friend who has always wanted to try ballet but might feel shy. We have a lot of fun and there's no experience necessary for the 11:30AM Basic class! LPBC News "Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet" is back for its 5th and last performance before it returns to the crypt until 2024! LAST CHANCE On Stage: October 8 & 9! Tickets on sale NOW for my company's iconic show, the sequel to Romeo & Juliet. This year we have a few surprises in store, including new dances, new music and new characters! Can't make the stage show? No problem! We'll be streaming a cinematic edited version all Halloween weekend! Tickets are available for the stream now too! **If you are interested in a group discount, please contact me or the company and inquire. We love bringing in groups of audience members.** October 8 & 9 Lanterman Auditorium 4491 Cornishon Avenue La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011 Get your tickets here!

It's Fall already! Here's the schedule for September and links for Sweet Sorrow!

 

September 2022 schedule - In-studio and online!

Sunday (Inspire Dance Studio)
10AM-11:30AM - Intermediate ballet
11:30AM-1PM - Gentle Basic Ballet
Tuesday (Live Arts LA) 

7-8:30PM - Beg/Intermediate ballet
Wednesday (Inspire)
6:30-8PM - Beginner ballet
8-9PM - Beginner Jazz
Thursday (Inspire)
7-8:30PM - Basic ballet
Saturday (Inspire)
9:30-11AM - Beginner ballet
11AM-12PM - Pointe/pre-pointe

SIGN UP FOR ALL CLASSES HERE

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Ready to try something new?
Gentle Basic Ballet is my most elementary class but offers a lot to any level student. Great for a long barre and a fun center, with all the things you like about a flowing, dancey ballet class but no allegro!
Beginner Jazz is a huge amount of fun! We have a great time dancing to good music and learning a fun combo. It's like meeting your friends on the club dance floor but without the headache the next day!
Pointe/pre-pointe is excellent for dancers who want to get en pointe as well as those who are very experienced. I break down all the elements of pointe work so you feel confident and are strong.
 

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LPBC News

"Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet" is back for its 5th and last performance before it returns to the crypt!

Mark your calendars for my company's iconic show, the sequel to Romeo & Juliet. This year we have a few surprises in store, including new dances, new music and new characters!


**If you are interested in a group discount, please contact me or the company and inquire. We love bringing in groups of audience members.**

October 8 & 9
Lanterman Auditorium
4491 Cornishon Avenue
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011

Get your tickets here!
 

December class news, updates and fun links!

 

Outdoor class at Inspire! December 2020 schedule All classes in session as scheduled (view here) except Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. On Thursday 12/24 &Thursday 12/31, Open Level class will be held at 10AM rather than the evening. Fun music and community to celebrate the holidays! Please sign up for all Zoom classes in advance here.   Mark your calendar: Easy Basic Partnering workshop! Saturday, Dec 5th 5-6PM! A fun and easy workshop for you and your friend or family member. You need only know how to do first arabesque and attitude derriere. We will learn a short combo to wow your friends on Zoom. Sign up here!   Access to YouTube video archives The current Intermediate and Beginner playlists will expire 12/31/20. A new Beginner/Intermediate with Pre-pointe playlist will be offered instead (available from 1/1/21 through 6/30/21). The current Friday playlist will also expire 12/31/20; a new Friday video playlist will be offered that will include November & December 2020 through 6/30/21. Links will be on my website on 12/30/20.   Extra fun! Did someone say Outdoor Class? Julie Paige, the owner of Inspire Dance Studio, has set up two outdoor "studios" in her back parking lot. Weather permitting, I am offering Saturday open level class 12-1PM, limit 6 students. Masks must be worn and distance maintained. No walk-ins; you must sign up online. Because of Julie's Nutcracker performance, the next available time for class is Saturday,December 26. Fingers crossed our beautiful weather holds!   Psst...Are you on Instagram? Every Wednesday around 11:30AM, I do a 5-10 minute "Ballet Break". Join me for some gentle stretches, plies and tendus to get us up and away from our desks. And on Thursdays, I always do a bit of choreography!   LPBC News More fun links featuring the dancers of Leigh Purtill Ballet Company! Company Member Spotlights! Last month I shared a new feature from the company YouTube channel: Company Spotlights created by Alexes Ciardi. The newest one is an interview with company member Rae Aaselund, below.  Be sure to subscribe to our channel to see more in the series! Spotlight on Rae Aaselund And....the big project is a short film! Because we couldn't perform our annual "Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet," we produced a short version of it! Rehearsed over Zoom, we filmed outdoors in Griffith Park with a cast of 14 dancers in masks and socially-distanced. Filmed and edited by Rawl Paredes, we are so pleased to present this to you. Please click the image below and enjoy!

You Are Cordially Invited...

Leigh Purtill Ballet Company

You Are Cordially Invited to the 2020 Leigh Purtill Ballet Company Gala   The Leigh Purtill Ballet Company presents the second annual LPBC Gala, an elegant night of performances, music and great food.

We are kicking off our fourth season with our annual Gala, commemorating the work of the past three years and sowing seeds for growth in the year ahead. We are inviting you, our incredible community, to join us for a sophisticated night of live dance performances, music and delicious food!   Our community of dancers and supporters has grown immensely and with more company members than ever before, we are looking forward to this year's production of LA's only Zombie ballet, Sweet Sorrow.  A silent auction of incredible items ranging from private lessons with our Artistic Director Leigh Purtill to custom pet portraits, will be taking place through the event, with all proceeds going towards making our 2020 season the best one yet.   We couldn't have made it this far without your support and we hope you will join us for this elegant celebration of all we have accomplished together!

RSVP HERE

If you are unable to attend but would still like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company you can do so here!

DONATE

2020 LPBC Gala - Buy Tickets Now! Saturday, April 18 6-10pm War Memorial Building 435 Fair Oaks Avenue, South Pasadena, CA 91030

Questions? Shoot us an email at leighpurtillballetcompany@gmail.com

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Tickets for Sweet Sorrow™ A Zombie Ballet are ON SALE NOW!

Have you gotten your tickets yet?

No? Why not!

This year's show is going to be even bigger and better than last year (which was pretty awesome!) and I know I have said that before but this time, it really will be.

How?

New characters:
Benvolio - Romeo's cousin and possibly in love with Rosaline
Werewolves - what's a supernatural ballet without werewolves?

New music:
Witches!
Werewolves!

New venue:
The brand new gorgeous Manoukian Performing Arts Center!

And of course, many dances have changed because I have such tremendously talented dancers. Roles that weren't en pointe are this year. Some dances are longer, some are more complex. I have two lovely pas de deux!

But most important is story. Last year we introduced some plot lines and character relationships but this season those are all more fully developed. Where things might have been confusing, I have tried to simplify or clarify. Where music wasn't quite supportive of the movement or emotion, I changed it.

When: Saturday October 26 at 7PM & Sunday October 27 at 4PM
Where: Manoukian Performing Arts Center, 2495 East Mountain St, Pasadena CA 91104

Until the end of September, we have discounts on our General Admission seats (we also have reserved seating for the first seven rows but honestly, there is not a bad seat in the house!).

Here is the link to our Zombie Ballet website where you can find the discount codes and links to purchase tickets.

Come see us!

Please help us launch Sweet Sorrow™ for 2019!

This year's production of Sweet Sorrow™ A Zombie Ballet is

BIGGER!

More characters, more dances, more story!

BOLDER!

Special effects - what???

BADDER!

1 word: Werewolves!

We need YOUR help to make this happen. 

**If you can donate to our Indiegogo campaign, we would be so grateful. 

**If you can also spread the word to others about it, we would be doubly thankful.

**If you can donate, tell others and come see the show in October, well, we would be over-the-moon happy.

 THANK YOU!

Schedule update!

Hello beautiful local dancers!

This is to let you know I will not be teaching next Monday 10/22 and Tuesday 10/23, which are the days immediately following my company's performances (see link below if you are interested!). My parents will be visiting from the East Coast so I will be spending some time with them before they return home.

ALL classes are as usual for the rest of the week and leading up to and including the morning of the first show. If you have any questions, just ask!

Sweet Sorrow A Zombie Ballet tickets

Happy dancing!

Fun links! Fun fun fun!

Hi all!

Rather than put out a whole bunch of emails that clog up your inbox or blog posts that you lose track of, I figured I'd just put all my cool info here and you can peruse at your leisure.

Leigh & Company In the News!

First up, we were at ScareLA being all zombie-ish and ballerina-y and generally having an awesome time like we always do. And lots of people captured it on video! A couple are below because they featured us really nicely.

Here are Vic Mendoza's highlight reels (a short one and a longer one, both very cool, thank you!):

Teaser reel by Vicscover Art

Full reel by Vicscover Art

Here is IdeateTV's interview with me, which I am so very grateful for:

 IdeateTV interview with Katrina Lee

Next, I was profiled at the Dance Network blog by Bridget Conrad and although there was a lot of focus on me, the talk turned to my company and its vision, which Bridget absolutely got spot-on. I could not have presented our company's mission any better. Thank you SO much for this:

Dance Network blog profile

Third, this is something I wrote for Dance Advantage's website, a review of Terez Mertes Rose's forthcoming novel, A DANCER'S GUIDE TO AFRICA, as well as an interview with Terez herself. I'm a big fan of her and her books so it was great to get to read a new one ahead of its release. Be sure to pre-order it!

Review & interview with Terez

And finally...our production! Discounted tickets for "Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet" available until the end of September. Get your tickets to either show and the Sunday Afterlife party!

Tickets on sale!

Happy reading and happy watching and, of course, happy dancing~

SAVE the date for Coffee with the Company!

On August 18th, from 6-9PM, the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company will be hosting a FREE event to benefit the company - and you as well! There will be yummy food, special coffee drinks, performances by company members, and a SUPER COOL silent auction!

~MARK YOUR CALENDARS~

Catching up!

Happy Autumn!

My favorite time of year: Halloween and dried leaves on the sidewalk and 90 degree weather.

Oh that's just us in Southern California!

I wanted to catch you all up on some fun things that have been going on.

First of all, my ballet company's debut performance was on October 8 at the Lanterman Auditorium. It was the world premiere of my original full-length ballet, Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet and it was amazing! I am so incredibly proud of all of my dancers and I am thrilled with how the show turned out, from costumes to lighting to set design to program design. Everything was so professional!

For those of you who wanted to make it but couldn't, here is a promo reel to tide you over until next year:

Doesn't that make you want to see the whole thing?

Next I have a couple of fun article links, both about my company and interviews with me:

The Advocate article about Sweet Sorrow A Zombie Ballet

And

Footloose Mission Health and Wellness Blog

I am so honored to be profiled and to have my company featured on both of these sites.

So now that all of that is over for another year, we can take a break, yes? No!

Bring on Nutcracker! 

That's right, I'm preparing my brain for a Waltz of the Flowers invasion (I use a short version but it just sticks in my brain no matter how long it is!). We perform with Classical Ballet Theater at the Norris Theater in Palos Verdes, CA. It's a gorgeous stage and there is balcony seating, so classic and classy. We have a great time with Kotomi's students and we enjoy the camaraderie with her young students. We will be performing two matinees on Sunday, November 19, at 1PM and 4PM. Tickets will go on sale soon and I'll post the link.

Whew! Happy dancing, everyone~

6 weeks til showtime!!

Hello beautiful dancers and friends of dancers and zombie lovers and friends of zombie lovers!

Did you know...

--"Zombie Ballet" won the second episode of the Gong Show this summer?

--We were invited to perform for the second year in a row at the ScareLA horror convention in Los Angeles?

--An hour long production is coming in 6 weeks?

On October 8, at the Lanterman Auditorium in La Canada Flintridge, the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company - the nonprofit company I formed in January - will present the premiere of "Sweet Sorrow, A Zombie Ballet." Shows are at 4PM and 7PM. Tickets are on sale now through Eventbrite; $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

Don't wait! Get your tickets now!

Thank you very kindly for your support!

Update: ScareLA, Tips from the Pirouette Workshop and Show Tickets!

Wow, it CAN'T be August already, can it? That means the "Sweet Sorrow" world premier is just 2 months away! Oh my goodness! But first there is ScareLA.

Last year, the horror convention was held in Pasadena. It was our first time there and we had a blast! And the audience loved us too, so the con asked us back for more. This time the convention will be in downtown LA. We'll be doing the dance again (always a bit different, of course!) and we'll also host a table and sell merchandise and show tickets. Want to see us?  Get tickets at our website, zombieballet.com and go to "Events." If you buy ScareLA tickets through that link, we'll get a small percentage too. Thank you!

And to tease you, this is what it looked like last year:

And if you want to get your tickets to the show in October, we've got those on-sale now at Eventbrite:

Buy Show Tickets

And finally, tips from the workshop on Sunday, which was loads of fun, even if most attendees did have sore legs the next day!

Pirouette Tip #1: wrap your arms in first position like you're holding something that doesn't want to be held.

Pirouette Tip #2: practice getting over your leg by springing to releve degage derriere from a 4th position demi-plie. The longer you can hold this position, the better and more stable your turn will be.

Happy dancing (and turning and ScareLA-ing)!

Trailers!

Hello beautiful dancers and friends!

Many of you following me on Facebook know the Leigh Purtill Ballet Company's first production of SWEET SORROW, A ZOMBIE BALLET is October 8, at 4PM and 7PM at the Lanterman Auditorium in La Canada. If you're in town, I hope you'll come see us! And if you're not in town, then why not get a cool t-shirt instead?

But you don't have to live around here to enjoy the trailers that Rachel Swetnam (our Juliet!) put together. Check them out! The first one is a bit of a teaser:

While the second one is a behind-the-scenes peek! (Hey, that's me!)

Enjoy! And please share! We want everyone to know about our new company and our first big show.

Happy dancing~

Friday Fun Links! Interviews & More!

Hello beautiful dancers and Happy Friday!

If you're not on Facebook, you probably haven't seen the interview links I posted on my Leigh Purtill Ballet page. I was so honored and thrilled to be interviewed on 2 different sites, one an e-zine called Voyage LA as one of their "Inspiring Stories" (what?!!) and the other a dancewear site called BDancewear. I love BDancewear's blog because they offer all kinds of super cool DIY costume hacks and tricks. Check them out!

Here is the link to the Voyage LA article (feel free to comment and please re-post if you like! Thank you!).

And the link to the BDancewear interview (again, a comment is always awesome and it's nice to get retweets/posts/likes! Thank you!).

In both interviews, I try to let people know about my personal teaching philosophy as well as all the wonderful students who dance with me. They are the reason I do what I do! (Yes, YOU!)

So those were the interview links....what about the MORE?

How about a link to a gorgeous new t-shirt, designed by my student and soon-to-be Romeo in SWEET SORROW, A ZOMBIE BALLET? That's right, Bill Reiss - an incredibly talented artist - has designed another amazing shirt. You will probably want one in black and maybe another one in white and possibly one as a gift for a friend. Great quality shirts, as usual from Galloree, with organic cotton that holds its shape and colors really well. Best of all, the profits on the shirts go to the new ballet company, Leigh Purtill Ballet Company. It's a great deal for you because you get a really super cool new shirt for an excellent price and a deal for us because we, well, we need the cash to get our company up and running. (And we have a production in October!)

Want one? Check out the shirts here!

 And one last self-serving link: my website has been redesigned by student and company member Celia Green. It's got info for both my classes and the nonprofit ballet company. Pictures, blogs, social media links and much more. Take a look!

Okay, that's a lot of links. Enjoy the weekend! Happy dancing~

Introducing LPBC and Sweet Sorrow!

Hello everyone!

Some of you may know that I recently formed a nonprofit ballet company called Leigh Purtill Ballet Company. I did this because I wanted to create an opportunity for adult ballet dancers of all skill levels, backgrounds, and ages to perform; to present ballet to a diverse audience which might not normally seek out ballet performances; and to do what I can to foster ballet as an inclusive art form.

It is my belief that ballet is for everyone.

For eight years I have been developing an original ballet called SWEET SORROW which is loosely based on my novel of the same name. It's a sequel of sorts to Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare - which is why A ZOMBIE BALLET is its subtitle. Because Romeo and Juliet are dead.

Structurally, the ballet follows a similar trajectory to the classic Nutcracker, a winter holiday favorite and one that audiences are familiar with. But the story itself is a unique one: at the funeral for Romeo and Juliet, a strange woman raises the lovers from the dead with a potion. While others cringe and run away, only Juliet's cousin Rosaline is intrigued. In the cemetery, Rosaline meets the woman again who reveals herself to be Queen of the Zombies. She uses her horde of beautiful dead ballerinas to entice Rosaline to consume a potion and follow her to the Underworld, where she meets Vampires, Witches - and Romeo and Juliet.

We've performed small sections of this with various dancers, both modern and classical, and in various venues. Invariably the question from the audience is always the same: when is there going to be MORE?

The answer is: October 8, 2017 at 4PM and 7PM at the Lanterman Auditorium, a theater in La Canada not far from where I teach and rehearse. We are over-the-moon excited! Every single dancer involved has been magnanimous with his or her time, energy and resources. I am so proud to be presenting this passion project of mine with these wonderful people.

While SWEET SORROW is the first original production for LPBC, it will not be the only one. We have much more in store for our future!

Two weeks ago we launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for theater rental, costumes, rehearsal space, and so on. We are a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax-deductible. On our campaign page, you will see a trailer (created by Rachel Swetnam, our Juliet) and some stunning artwork (designed by Bill Reiss, our Romeo). We need to get the company up and running!

The campaign continues for another week. If you can donate, wonderful! If you can share the link and info, terrific! And if you're in town on October 8, I hope you'll make plans to see the show.

Thank you for your support. Happy dancing~

From Page to Stage!

It feels like it's been a million years since I wrote the opening lines to my novel, Sweet Sorrow:

The whisper blew a chill across her cheek. It tickled her eyelashes and curled around the delicate pink shell of her ear. The voice of her beloved echoed in her head, calling her name, and despite her best efforts to reach out to him, her body remained stubbornly rigid.

And now it's a ballet and Nancy Evans Dance Theatre will be putting on the first half of it in less than two weeks! I can hardly believe how far it's come and how beautiful it's shaping up to be, even in its more grotesque moments (remember, there are zombies!).

When you write a novel, you have no idea where it will end up: in a bookstore or online, most likely, or just stuck on your hard drive. It's unlikely you think it will be a ballet! Except that's how it all began, with a phrase I used in my ballet class about six years ago. Costumes, lighting, bottles of potions and even a crypt! Who could have guessed when I tossed a short but intense adagio into a Halloween ballet class that it would evolve the way it has?

The most exciting part for me has been to see how excited other people get when they talk about it or hear about it. Dancers have been overwhelmingly positive; friends and family have been extraordinarily supportive; and I've had the luxury of collaborating with Nancy and her dancers, who have shared their gifts with me as I develop the story.

For the next week and a half, I'm not going to plug the show relentlessly nor will I bombard people with emails entreating them to SEE THE SHOW! And DONATE IF YOU CAN! lol...beyond today, of course. 

Here's the link to the crowdfunding campaign. This is the last week of it, just a few more days. If you can donate, that's awesome. If you can share the link, that's awesome too. As you can see we've raised 1/3 of the funds, which is still amazing - and we thank every single person who has donated or shared. You are all fantastic people and I wish/hope that you can also see the show come to fruition!