4819 Ronson Court, San Diego, CA 92111
CaliforniaBallet.org
CALIFORNIA BALLET COMPANY ANNOUNCES
The West Coast Premiere of Septime Webre’s
The Great Gatsby
AT THE SAN DIEGO CIVIC THEATRE
OCTOBER 23-25, 2015
Choreography by Septime Webre
Score by Billy Novick
There will be a press invitational at the San Diego Civic Theatre on October 22, 2015. Please RSVP with
Joe Shumate to attend: [email protected]. Limit two attendees per organization.
San Diego, CA - California Ballet Company presents the West Coast Premiere of Septime Webre’s The
Great Gatsby. Opening the season October 23-25, 2015, this contemporary ballet adaptation of F. Scott
Fitzgerald’s 1920’s classic is set to live music. The production fuses contemporary ballet, jazz and tap with
narrative to bring to life the iconic story of obsession, wealth and excess.
Septime Webre’s The Great Gatsby first premiered in Washington DC with the Washington Ballet
Company in 2010. The Kennedy Center premiere received critical acclaim and popular success, soliciting
an encore production the very next year. October’s Civic Theatre production will be the first time Webre’s
Gatsby has been produced on the West Coast. Jared Nelson, who originated the role of Jay Gatsby in
2010 will restage the ballet for California Ballet Company, as well as reprise the title role.
The original score, arranged and composed by Billy Novick, will be played live by the composer and his
Boston band The Blue Syncopators.
Appearing on the Civic Stage in lead roles are Jared Nelson as Jay Gatsby, Kirsten Bloom Allen as Daisy
Buchanan, Ana da Costa as Myrtle Wilson, Trystan Merrick as Tom Buchanan, Jeremy Zapanta as Nick
Caraway, Allyson Barkdull as Jordan Baker, and Justin Flores as George Wilson.
Attendees are invited to dress in their best 1920’s attire and join us on the Civic Plaza prior to each
evening performance for a pre- performance jazz celebration with live music, themed cocktails for
purchase, and a red carpet photo opportunity.
Tickets: $25 - $110 - may be purchased online at www.GatsbySanDiego.com or at (858) 560-6741
About The Great Gatsby:
Return to the splendor and frivolity of the Roaring Twenties with F. Scott Fitzgerald’s passionate, thoughtprovoking and complex literary classic. The Great Gatsby is told through the eyes of World War One
veteran Nick Caraway. He experiences the rise and fall of the Jazz Age as he is unwillingly immersed in
the excess, intrigue, and infidelity of the Long Island upper class of the 1920’s. The story of romance and
desire serves as a cautionary tale of unbridled passion and obsession, and how the American Dream can
go desperately awry.
Featured dancer bios on reverse.
Jared Nelson began dancing professionally at the age of 14 with the Sacramento Music Circus and
became an apprentice with the Sacramento Ballet that same year. Most recently a principal dancer with the
Washington Ballet in Washington DC, Mr. Nelson originated the role of Jay Gatsby for the World Premiere
of the production at the Kennedy Center.
Kirsten Bloom Allen was a principal dancer with the Sacramento Ballet for over 15 years. She also
danced with the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, performing multiple Balanchine programs at the Kennedy Center in
Washington DC. She toured China with the Shanghai Ballet, and danced a private showing of Giselle for
George Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush. Ms. Allen and her long-time dance partner Jared Nelson have recently
created The Artist Society, a charitable performing arts group.
Ana da Costa joined California Ballet as a principal in 2014 when she first appeared on the Civic Theatre
stage in the title role of Giselle. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and received her ballet training from
Centro de Danca Rio. She started her professional career at 16 with the Young Ballet of France in Paris,
before joining the Theatro Municipal de Rio de Janeiro where she rose through the ranks to soloist.
Trystan Merrick joined California Ballet as a Principal in 2014. He has appeared with such companies as
the Nevada Ballet, Malashock, Owen Cox Dance, and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. He
regularly appears with Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, and is an instructor at the California Ballet
School.
Jeremy Zapanta was born in the Philippines and moved to the United States at the age of 1. He began his
dance training at the age of 13 at the Burbank School of Ballet, and continued his training at the University
of California, Irvine where he worked with the great Donald McKayle. He joined California Ballet in 2013 as
a member of the Corps de Ballet, and was promoted to Soloist in 2014.
Allyson Barkdull received her training at the New West Ballet School, San Elijo Dance Academy, and the
Pittsburgh Ballet Graduate Program. She performed with the Anaheim Ballet before joining California Ballet
in 2013 as a member of the Corps de Ballet. She was promoted to Soloist for the 2015-2016 season and
will make her solo debut as Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby.
For more information on The Great Gatsby please visit www.GatsbySanDiego.com
or email Joe Shumate at [email protected].
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