SC Ballet Company Presents: The Sleeping Beauty

SC Ballet Company

Friday April 26 | 7:00-8:30pm | Bovard Auditorium

The SC Ballet Company (BCo) is a student-led organization at the University of Southern California that is devoted to practicing, performing, and choreographing classical and contemporary ballet. In its 18th year, BCo provides performance opportunities and a support network for people who share a love of ballet. Attending ballet classes, learning classical variations, choreographing original pieces, and hosting a bi-annual showcase are some of the highlights of being part of this company. Formal auditions are held every Fall and Spring.

Costumes San Diego Civic Youth Ballet New Ballet

Photographer Avery Van Harte

Videographer Hyuk Lee

Bovard Auditorium Mister Marley Dance Floors

Dear friends and family, From all of us at BCo, welcome to The Sleeping Beauty. As we gather here tonight, we embark on a journey into the realm of timeless fairy tales, brought to life by all of our talented dancers.

Preparing for this production has been a labor of love and a testament to the unwavering dedication and passion of our dancers. They have poured their hearts and souls into this performance, and their hard work shines brightly on stage tonight.

Putting on our performances every semester takes about $10,000 and 60+ hours of rehearsals and company classes. I would say it’s nothing short of a miracle how we manage to pull it off every semester; but, in reality, it is all attributed to the endless amount of time and effort these dancers– who, mind you, are all also full-time college students–put in week after week.

To our company members and Executive Board members, thank you for your tireless hard work and boundless friendship over the past few months. I would not trade my BCo family for anything in the world. I am beyond grateful for all of you and the community we have been able to build together.

To our audience, your presence here today is a gift beyond measure. Your support sustains us, inspires us, and reminds us of why we do what we do.

Thank you for choosing to spend this evening with us, and we hope that you will be swept away by the magic of The Sleeping Beauty. May this performance fill your hearts with wonder and memories to last a lifetime.

With deepest gratitude and warmest regards, Aivy Levan Artistic Director SC Ballet Company

Once upon a time in a faraway land, a princess named Aurora was born and a grand celebration was arranged for her christening. All the fairies of the kingdom are invited and the Fairies of Tenderness, Playfulness, Generosity, Serenity, and Courage each bestow their gifts on the princess. At last it is the Lilac Fairy’s turn. But before she can bestow her gift, the Fairy of Darkness appears, blazing with anger. She had been forgotten; no invitation was sent to her. She, too, has something for the baby: a curse. One day Aurora will prick her finger on a spindle and die. The Lilac Fairy has yet to make her offering.

The benevolent Fairy cannot remove the Fairy of Darkness’ curse, but she can soften it. She promises that Aurora shall not die from the prick of her finger, but will fall into a deep sleep for one hundred years and be awakened by a prince’s kiss.

Sixteen years have passed, and the kingdom is celebrating Princess Aurora’s birthday. During the revelry, Aurora pricks her finger and falls to the ground.

Having fulfilled the curse, the Fairy of Darkness vanishes in triumph. But the Lilac Fairy returns to mitigate the curse, as promised. She weaves a spell of sleep over the entire Imperial court, and creates a forest that grows magically and covers the palace. One hundred years have passed, and The Lilac Fairy takes a young prince through the magical forest, leading him to the hidden palace where Aurora sleeps. When the Prince finds the Sleeping Beauty he awakens her with a kiss. The spell is broken. The entire kingdom joyously celebrates the wedding of Princess Aurora to Prince Desiré. All pay tribute to the bride and groom, while individual characters such as Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, and Bluebird dance for the delight of the court. And they all lived happily ever after.

SC Ballet Company’s Sleeping Beauty includes excerpts from the ballet. With inspiration from The Bolshoi Ballet, we have created our own rendition of the ballet classic. Follow along as we celebrate Princess Aurora’s 16th birthday.

Opening Remarks Lilac Fairy Corps Performed by SC Ballet Company

Lilac Fairy

Performed by Mia Glasser

Songbirds Fairy Performed by Mae Hawkins

Crystal Fountain Fairy Performed by Sabrina Atkin

Enchanted Garden Fairy Performed by Emma Anderson

Woodland Glade Fairy Performed by Kaitlyn Kumar

Golden Vine Fairy Performed by Rachel Lin

Dance of the Maids of Honor Performed by Emma Anderson, Sabrina Atkin, Arianna Bollens, Kylie Conlon, Mia Glasser, Ava Landen, Aivy Levan, and Emily Wang

Aurora Act I Variation Performed by Ashley Zhou

Maids of Honor Coda Performed by Emma Anderson, Sabrina Atkin, Arianna Bollens, Kylie Conlon, Mia Glasser, Ava Landen, Aivy Levan, and Emily Wang

Aurora Act II Variation Performed by Liliana Megharief

Cinderella Pas de Deux Performed by Emily Lai and Mark Willenbring

Jewels Pas de Trois Performed by Sapphire Fairy: Christina Hanf Gold Fairy: Lucia Perez Valles Emerald Fairy: Eunjae Baek Diamond Fairy: Kennedy Sheriff

Aurora Act III Variation Performed by Cathy Chen

Princess Florine Performed by Emma DeAngelo

Little Red Riding Hood & Wolf Performed by Thomazin Jury and Mark Willenbring

Aurora’s Finale Performed by Kylie Conlon

Garland Waltz Performed by SC Ballet Company

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Aivy Levan Artistic Director

Emma DeAngelo Assistant Director

Liliana Megharief Finance Chair

Emily Wang Finance Chair

Cathy Chen Public Relations Chair

Kylie Conlon Public Relations Chair

Emma Anderson Event Operations Chair

Lucia Perez Valles Event Operations Chair

Eunjae Baek Apprenticeship Chair

COMPANY

Sabrina Atkin

Arianna Bollens

Mia Glasser

Christina Hanf

Mae Hawkins

Thomazin Jury

Kaitlyn Kumar

Emily Lai

Ava Landen

Rachel Lin

Mark Willenbring

Kennedy Sheriff

Ashley Zhou

It is with great joy and sadness that we send off our graduating seniors as they embark on new journeys. It has been an absolute joy watching our dancers grow. SC Ballet Company is forever grateful for the time and effort you have given over the semesters, and we cannot wait to celebrate you in all your future endeavors.

Graduating Class of 2024 Emma Anderson Sabrina Atkin Arianna Bollens Cathy Chen Christina Hanf Kaitlyn Kumar Rachel Lin Emily Wang Ashley Zhou

Special thanks to our donors who have helped fund SC Ballet Company this fall. Without their support, The Sleeping Beauty would not be possible.

Diamond Donors The Baek Family The Wang Family

Platinum Donors Jennifer Atkin Gretchen Bollens Anita Norris-DeAngelo

Gold Donors Cathy Chen Yong Lai Yu-hua Lin Aki Ohseki

SC Ballet Company is made possible with your help!

Along with funding from USC, BCo relies solely on donations in order to put on productions. On average, it costs around $10,000 to put on a bi-annual performance such as The Sleeping Beauty. We are beyond grateful for any and all donations that we receive. Please consider donating to SC Ballet Company to support our Fall 2024 showcase!

Donations can be made through our Ignite SC page.

Click here to donate or scan the QR codes below.