As we wrap up the 2021-2022 season at Mobile Ballet, we want to take a moment to reflect on this amazing year, and to thank you for the role you play in making it possible.
This season has been remarkable in so many ways. Coming out of two years of pandemic and all the associated challenges, we are so grateful to see sold out shows at theaters filled with diverse and enthusiastic audiences of all ages, and studios full of eager and talented dancers.
Mobile Ballet fills an important role in the state as the premier classical ballet school and performing company in south Alabama, providing world class performances for the community, impactful outreach programs, and the highest quality dance training from beginner to pre-professional. We are happy to be able to share the beautiful artform of dance with generations of dancers and patrons in our community.
Our work is deeply rewarding because of you – our supporters, students, families, audiences, partners, volunteers, and community truly bring the meaning of our mission into focus and make us LOVE what we do!
We thank you for being a part of the past season, and we invite you to join us for our upcoming 35th Anniversary… stay tuned for an exciting new 2022-2023 Season!
Safely Spaced or Vibrantly Virtual – Performances, Training and Outreach Dance On
Navigating a global pandemic has been a dance… for all of us. With a priority on the safety of our dancers and patrons, Mobile Ballet postponed performances and offered virtual class instruction once COVID-19 dropped the curtain on life as we knew it last spring. Just as our community needed the inspiration and solace the arts so uniquely provide, we were forced to retreat. Now, we reimagine. Mobile Ballet’s 2020-2021 “Season Reimagined” includes plans to present our most beloved performances in an innovative combination of safely spaced and vibrantly virtual audience options.
Performances:
December 18th-20th – The Nutcracker. The unmatched tradition and magic of The Nutcracker continues this Christmas season with a presentation both in the theater and online. Mobile Ballet has made this beloved masterpiece a hallmark of the holidays for more than 30 years and 2020 will be no exception. We are working closely with the City of Mobile and Civic Center management in a safely spaced theater seating plan for in-person audience. A virtual Nutcracker experience will also be available.
March 19th-21st – Beauty and The Beast. This original production by Artistic Director Katia Garza celebrates the 18th century tale with new choreography, exquisite new costume and set designs, and some of Mobile Ballet’s favorite guest artists. Generations of children have loved this tale as old as time… in a love story at first terrifying but ultimately joyously beautiful. We’re thrilled to bring this COVID-19 postponed performance back at last.
Additional special events and special free community performancesare also being planned — look for future announcements!
The pandemic leaves the nation’s arts community dotted with seasons that never were, shows that never opened and productions that closed mid-run. Only the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 can measure a similar blow to live performance. We are far from alone in our struggle to continue not just performances but the instruction and training essential to our dancers.
Artistic Director Katia Garza and Ballet Master Israel Rodriguez led free online classes that captured new audiences seeking dance training options while homebound. Mobile Ballet’s dedicated faculty led virtual instruction and re-arranged in-studio classes to greatly reduce the number of students. Painful decisions were made to postpone or cancel productions as well as the Nutcracker Charity Ball, a treasured tradition and the Ballet’s largest fundraiser. All this as our studio needs expansion, many students need scholarship support, and the community needs our performances as a vital part of Mobile’s economic engine and quality of life.
Adjusting, adapting, and planning to configure classes safely and envision a new season has been a challenge to both finances and imagination. A challenge our sister organizations in the Mobile Bay Area are facing as well. Please consider making a donation to your local arts organizations now to support the cultural fabric of our community. Mobile Ballet is working in partnership with the City of Mobile in building arts alliances that keep us stronger together and more vibrant than ever before. We look forward to sharing more soon.
Mobile Ballet brings the treasured masterwork considered the world’s first true ballet to the stage this month – with Giselle. Considered a legend since its debut in 1841, Giselle is the origin of the term “the willies” as well as the classical ballerina white tutu, and marks an additionally emotional milestone in the 25-year career of Artistic Director Katia Garza. Dancing the part of Giselle, this will be her final principal role in a full-length classical ballet.
Giselle is the story of mad love that turns
to madness… and ultimately forgiveness. A peasant girl who dies of a broken
heart on discovery her lover Albrecht is betrothed to another, Giselle is
transformed to a “wili” – the ghostly spirits of dead girls jilted on their
wedding day (ever wonder where we get the phrase “that gives me the willies?”).
These virgin spirits lure young men to their death in revenge by drowning or
dancing until they fall off a rocky cliff. Giselle haunts the forest with the
wilis, but inevitably saves her true love’s life.
Mobile’s celebrated scribe Eugene
Walter described the story in program notes from its 1991 performance: “One
could easily utilize the ballet Giselle
and its history as the cornerstone… for an encyclopedia of the so-called
Romantic movement and upheavals in western culture occurring in the 19th
century. It has all the interests of the day… a folk celebration with country
dances, the world of peasants and woodsmen, a nobleman in disguise, and a
sensitive heroine betrayed and driven to madness and death.”
Garza is joined by ballet master
Israel Rodriguez and guest artists Paul Branco and Raul Peinado. Considered
“the Hamlet” of theatrical ballet, Giselle
is a powerful production with a lasting legacy. Don’t miss this spectacular
beginning to Mobile Ballet’s season!
Things are spicing up for Mobile Ballet! With Katia Garza as the new artistic and school director and her husband Israel Rodriguez as the ballet master, this season promises to be nothing short of hot, hot, hot.
We are also excited to announce Mr. Israel Rodriguez, Katia’s husband, will be joining us as Ballet Master. Israel was born in Camaguey, Cuba and studied at the famed Vocational Art School. In 1994, Israel became a Principal dancer with Ballet de Monterrey in Mexico. He went on to dance with Orlando Ballet as a Principal dancer where he performed a vast array of classical roles. Israel brings more than 26 years of experience performing, teaching and choreographing all over the world.
Please join us in welcoming Katia and Israel to Mobile Ballet and our community!
The Mobile Ballet Board of Directors is thrilled to announce Mrs. Katia Garza as its new Artistic Director and School Director. She has just completed an exciting season as guest Artistic Director, producing a newly choreographed “Nutcracker” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” These performances featured a cast of over 60 local Company members and children from the Mobile Ballet School. Mrs. Garza is a native of Mexico and joined Ballet Monterey in 1995, under the Direction of Fernando Bujones. In 2000, Katia joined the Orlando Ballet as a Principal dancer, a position she held for 14 years. She performed a vast repertoire of roles and was also a finalist in the 2002 International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Mrs. Garza has been the subject of an inspirational documentary Katia Garza My Life in Dance, and has received numerous awards including Outstanding Teacher of the Year from Youth American Grand Prix in 2015 and 2017. Mrs. Garza will also serve as the Director of the Mobile Ballet School. Her talent, vision and love of teaching will greatly benefit our community for years to come.
What’s New?
A Look Back at Mobile Ballet’s 2021-2022 Season Learn more >>
Mobile Ballet’s 2020-2021 Reimagined Season Learn more >>
Mobile Ballet 2019-20 Season Opens with Katia Garza’s Final Principal Role in Giselle Learn more >>
