City Ballet has permanent downtown digs for its 2009–2010 season. After spending nearly two decades performing around San Diego County, all of the company’s shows will be performed at Spreckels Theatre, starting with “Giselle” on Nov. 6. “In my view, it’s the best theater to showcase ballet in the entire city. Ballet just looks really, really good there,” said City Ballet artistic director Steven Wistrich. Having a single home for performances enables City Ballet to sell season tickets for the first time, and Wistrich hopes ballet fever will catch on downtown. “A lot of people say you either have to go to San Francisco or New York to see a company of this caliber,” Wistrich said. “You wouldn’t expect to find that here.” City Ballet started in 1992 but has not had a permanent performance home until this season. Just last year it staged performances in La Jolla, La Mesa and at a pair of venues downtown. “We’ve been performing at Spreckels Theatre for several years now, but we hadn’t been doing all our performances there, so this is new for us,” Wistrich said. City Ballet’s 2009-2010 season starts with the company premiere of “Giselle” on Nov. 6, 7 and 8. Wistrich described “Giselle” as a story ballet about redemption. “It’s been a favorite classic since the 1800s,” he said. “It’s one of the few romantic ballets that have actually survived through the years.” The second performance of the season is the “The Nutcracker.” The holiday classic opens Dec. 11. “Peter Pan” kicks off City Ballet’s spring slate, opening on March 20. Wistrich said the show is a spectacular visual performance. “Everybody is flying,” Wistrich said. “Peter Pan just comes zooming in through the windows of the daring house and sprinkles his magic dust. When he comes through it just takes your breath away.” The season concludes with “Celebrate Balanchine,” a collection of works from famed choreographer George Balanchine. “Celebrate Balanchine” opens May 7. “He’s considered to be probably the greatest ballet choreographer of the last century,” Wistrich said. “We have a very close affiliation with the New York City ballet and the George Balanchine Trust. We have a big following here for the Balanchine repertoire. People love seeing his choreography in San Diego.” In the spirit of Balanchine, Wistrich said City Ballet handpicks dancers for all of its performances. The result is a polished on-stage product. “It’s not in any way a student endeavor. We don’t usually put students on stage,” Wistrich said. “These are people that have all been hand-picked to join the company. The level is very high.” Spreckels Theatre is located at 121 Broadway downtown and City Ballet’s studio is located at 941 Garnet Ave. in Pacific Beach. For more information or tickets to performances, call (858) 272-8663 or visit www.cityballet.org.