Up until now, anyone looking for a chance to see a ballet either
has needed to head for San Jose or check out a a local recital.
This week, however, fans of the ballet don’t need to go any farther
than Gavilan College, where the South Valley Ballet Company will be
performing
”
La Fille Mal Gard
ée,
”
the first full-length ballet in South Valley.
Up until now, anyone looking for a chance to see a ballet either has needed to head for San Jose or check out a a local recital. This week, however, fans of the ballet don’t need to go any farther than Gavilan College, where the South Valley Ballet Company will be performing “La Fille Mal Gardée,” the first full-length ballet in South Valley.
“La Fille Mal Gardée” (The Badly Guarded Daughter), a comedy, is the story of the rich Widow Simone and her beautiful daughter, Lise.
The widow signs a contract promising her daughter to a neighboring famer’s son, Alain. However, Alain is a laughable dimwit, and Lise is already in love with a farmhand named Colas. Lise and Colas spend the ballet trying to outwit Widow Simone so they can marry.
The cast of “La Fille Mal Gardée” is made of up students of the South Valley Ballet Company, members of the community and two professionals. Maximo Califano, a professional dancer with the Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, plays Colas. William J. Brown III, a professional actor from San Jose, plays Alain.
Putting on a full-length ballet presented a new experience for many students. “I’ve done recitals before, but not a ballet with a full story line,” says Stephanie Garces, a student dancer from Gilroy. “It’s pretty intense.”
The South Valley Ballet Company is a nonprofit dance studio in Morgan Hill with dancers from throughout the South Valley.
The focus is on developing skills, not competition, as well as community involvement. Recently, the studio has participated in the Rebekah Children’s Home fund-raiser.
Margaret Garces, Stephanies’ mother and a volunteer at the studio, sees ballet as both a benefit to the students and the community. “Ballet is a way for the children to develop their poise, maturity, grace and strength,” she explains.
Garces also added that it helps children appreciate not only dance as an art form, but classical music as well. “It’s an incredible way to bring culture to a community,” she says.
Performances of “La Fille Mal Gardee” are June 3 at 7pm, and June 4 at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets are $15, and can be purchased at Porcella’s Music and Accessories in Gilroy, Booksmart and The Music Tree in Morgan Hill or the Gavilan College box office.
