The Pasadena Civic Ballet Center is a pre-professional dance school and home of the Pasadena Civic Ballet Company.
Our Mission
The mission of the Pasadena Civic Ballet is threefold:
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To provide quality instruction in the art and technique of dance, with an emphasis on ballet as the foundation for discipline and vocabulary.
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To create performance opportunities to allow the dancers to grow as artists as well as develop self confidence, poise and presentation skills.
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To provide a nurturing, supportive environment that emphasizes dance as an avenue to growth as an individual and as an artist through dedication, discipline, creativity, and camaraderie.
The School
The Pasadena Civic Ballet Center offers classes in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, musical theater and character with an emphasis on developing the student as an artist and an individual. Involvement in the Center can begin as early as 3 1/2 years of age and can continue for life.
Ballet serves as our base of instruction because of its sound principles of correct alignment and wide vocabulary of movement, as well as its beauty and power. The fundamentals of movement taught in ballet technique can be applied to all forms of dance. It demands focus and concentrated effort, and provides a sound basis for learning all movement disciplines, including sports. It also promotes health and physical fitness. The discipline and tenacity developed in class can be applied to other endeavors. The friendships made and support received in the dance environment will be a positive influence on their development as dancers and as individuals.
The Company
Formed in 1980 by Elly Charlotte Van-Dyke, the Pasadena Civic Ballet Company (PCB) is a not-for-profit organization of pre-professional and professional dancers. The Company has been directed by Diane De Franco Browne, Tania Grafos, and Zoe Vidalakis since 2000.
Pasadena Civic Ballet has been training children and adults in the art and discipline of dance for over 40 years. Members of the Company are serious, talented ballet students who are accepted by audition or judgment of the directors. Referred to as the "Company", the PCB has three divisions: the Junior, Teen, and Senior Companies.
Artistic Directors Diane De Franco Browne, Tania Grafos, and Zoe Vidalakis bring over fifty years of dance training, choreography, and performance experience to the school. PCB dance faculty has an acclaimed reputation with backgrounds ranging from American Ballet Theater, Beijing Dance Theater, Joffrey Ballet, and Hungarian State Ballet. In addition, faculty members have collaborated with and performed works by renowned choreographers including George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Twyla Tharp, Martha Graham, and Agnes De Mille.
Pasadena Civic Ballet Company is committed to presenting original productions to stimulate the development of its students and to enhance the artistic offerings available to our community. Company members have the opportunity of performing in major productions before large audiences. The Company's original presentations have included "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," "The Wizard of Oz," "The Little Mermaid," "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and "Peter Pan." These performances provide a wonderful showcase for all of the dancers, with ensemble and solo opportunities. Dancers also perform in our annual "Solo Fete" and the PCB Center Showcases, as well as invitational events, charity groups, in-studio concerts, and guest appearances.
MEET THE DIRECTORS
Diane De Franco Browne
Diane De Franco Browne is a Los Angeles-based choreographer and producer.
She is a Director of Pasadena Civic Ballet, ArtistsPlus Productions, and owns Theatre Threads, a costume design company. Current projects include immersive performances at Heritage Square Park and sponsorship of choreographic collaboratives at Stomping Ground and Los Angeles Dance Project. Other projects include commissions and collaborations with the American Youth Symphony, Music & More SummerFest in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Angeles Chorale, ArtNight Pasadena, Bel Canto Chorale and Orchestra, LA Art Show, LACMA, MUSE/IQUE, International Masters of Musical Whistling and other Pasadena museums and arts organizations.
Zoe Vidalakis
Zoe Vidalakis received her MA from USC’s Annenberg School in Entertainment Management, where she pioneered the largest student musical in the US. She also directed “A Tribute to Bob Hope” and other productions at the Shrine Auditorium and the Greek Theatre. As a dancer, she performed with the Alberta Ballet and Alberta Civic Opera in Canada, and was guest artist with the Long Beach Classical Ballet and Santa Barbara Ballet. Zoe and Tania are especially known for their character work. They performed as folkloric soloists and choreographers with the Hayastan Dance Ensemble, under master Iosef Izrailvov of the Moiseyev Dance Company, and with the Kalinin Dance Company. Zoe and her sister Tania co-founded Belle of the Ball, a children’s couture line.
Tania Grafos
Tania Grafos and sister Zoe Vidalakis both studied with former prima ballerina of the Ballet Russe and Berlin Opera Ballet, Mme. Maria DeBrovsky. Both also trained with the Los Angeles Junior Ballet under the renowned John Clifford, and performed with the LA Ballet. Tania was the youngest student accepted to the Los Angeles Junior Ballet, and attended the prestigious Elmherst Ballet School in London. She apprenticed with the Hungarian State Ballet in Budapest , where she studied under dancers from the Kirov and Bolshoi. She also studied with Mme. Gerard Pierre, former prima ballerina of the Paris Opera and partner Roland Petit. After her career on stage, she received a BA in History from the University of Southern California.
MEET OUR FACULTY
