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Manhattan 12_06_12

The Weekly Newspaper of Manhattan Beach Herald Publications - El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 Vol. 5, No. 14 December 6, 2012 Inside The Nutcracker to LifeSouth Bay Ballet Stars Bring This Issue Business & Professional.......................7 Calendar...............................2 Classifieds ...........................7 Faith ......................................2 Food ......................................6 Pets.......................................8 Under the artistic direction of Diane Lauridsen, nationally known South Bay Ballet delivers a holiday confection for savvy ballet audiences who are looking for impeccably trained artists and a creative, accessible interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic. South Bay Ballet’s rendition of The Nutcracker will be showing for one weekend only on Friday, Dec. 14 through Sunday, Dec. 16 at El Camino’s Marsee Auditorium located at 16007 Crenshaw Blvd. For more information, please call 310-329-5345 or visit www.centerforthearts.org. Photo by Michael Khoury, courtesy of the South Bay Ballet. South Bay Ballet’s Formula for Police Reports....................3 Politically Speaking...........4 Success Begins with The Nutcracker Sports ...................................5 Courtesy of South Bay Ballet etiquette, and simply how to balance school dancer. In her ninth year with South BayKarrie McGillivray is one such seniorquestions about classes, technique, rehearsalThroughout her career Diane Lauridsen and her staff at Lauridsen Ballet Centre have and home life with so many hours dedicated Ballet, McGillivray has benefitted from trained thousands of young people in ballet to ballet each week. See South Bay Ballet, page 3 discipline. She has come to believe that the mentoring of young talent is central to both the continued growth of dance as an art form Students Recognized at and her mission as an artistic director and teacher. In 2006 this philosophy gave birth to Lauridsen’s performing company’s South Coordinating Council Lunch Bay Ballet mentoring program. Weekend one generation passing knowledge onto Month awards at the Manhattan Beach of the Drama Club and a pianist.activities, she helps take care of her youngerbrothers and sisters. She is also a memberThree students received Student of theBy Lynne GrossUnlike many other art forms, ballet isan oral tradition. Its survival depends on Forecast tradition at the start of each new season Verandas on Thursday, November 15. restructuring the Manhattan Beach MiddleCailin Stroyke has been instrumental inCoordinating Council luncheon held atthe next. South Bay Ballet continues the with the company’s senior dancers being paired with those in the junior company. Under Lauridsen’s supervision, the mentors work with their mentees during the nine Friday months of rehearsing, learning and creating. Sunny The mentees receive not only the benefit of their mentor’s guidance, but also develop a 62˚/54˚ sibling-like bond that strengthens the core of this pre-professional company. As a new season begins, South Bay Ballet is intensely rehearsing its version of Saturday The Nutcracker, which tells the story of a young girl on Christmas Eve, dreaming a Partly |lush and vivid fantasy of her faithful Cloudy Nutcracker Prince escorting her to the Kingdom of Sweets, where she becomes his 61˚/54˚ beautiful, grown-up ballerina. Lauridsen’s expertise has been put to the test this year with the company reaching an all-time record of 111 company members – including ten Sunday young men and ten boys which is a rarity Mira Costa High School.From left to right: Ella Baxter of American Martyrs, Cailin Stroyke of Manhattan Beach Middle School, Michael Whinfrey of Sunny mentoring program helps such a large group Ella Baxter of American Martyrs School School yearbook by giving it a new focusfor any ballet company. Lauridsen says the 63˚/49˚ to find balance and sustain organization was praised for her intellectual curiosity and new energy. Her teachers appreciate throughout the season. and her extensive volunteer work with the her work ethic, and one teacher said, Her goal for all junior company members children of Friendship Circle. In her own “Her gentle ways make her a friend to is to shadow a dancer who has been in family, she is the oldest of six, so when all.” She comes from a family of several the program for a while. Ask him or her she is not engaged in school or volunteer See Coordinating Council, page 3


Manhattan 12_06_12
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