Pacific Beach-based City Ballet of San Diego will present “The Rosin Box,” choreographed and directed by its dancers Carly Topazio, Jessie Leigh Olson, and Bethany Green, Sept. 7-9 at The Geoffrey Off Broadway Theatre. The tour-de force production will showcase three contemporary ballets titled “Crackerjack,” “Wicked Games,” and “Epiphany, If You Will.” Spearheaded by Topazio in an effort for audience members to “step into our world to see and feel the collective heart beats and pulse” of City Ballet of San Diego, “The Rosin Box” is an “intimate” presentation filled with the “passion of the individual voices” of its ensemble. “Ballerina’s are starving artists,” said Topazio. “We’re not driven by greed or the pursuit of success. We’re driven by the passion of loving what we do. Stepping into ‘The Rosin Box’ is like stepping into our home.” Determined to “present our own show,” Topazio gathered fellow dancers Olson and Green to choreograph, direct and dance vignettes “directly from the mouths – and bodies – of the dancers.” Additional dancers will include Lauren Anthony, Liz Fittro, and Brian Heil, Topazio’s “Crackerjack” is an abstract piece that “plays” with a myriad of “architecture between the dancers.” “Wicked Games” conveys Olson’s personal expression of “love and the anguish that follows its loss.” And Green’s Epiphany, If You Will is a “playful study of self- realization,” expressed through “kitschy colors and sharp characters.” Green narrates a sisterhood of friendships and self-love accompanied by a “bright score.” Topazio, a member of City Ballet of San Diego since 2013, strives to broaden the company’s community impact. “The potential of City Ballet of San Diego, a family-sized company, is eminent,” she continued. “’The Rosin Box’ is filled with the thoughts, ideas and perceptions of its dancers that might never be seen on stage as part of a larger company.” Topazio conceived the show’s “perfect” title, “The Rosin Box,” to reflect what dancers know so well – an actual rosin box. Rosin, a crushed, chalk-like substance, is a staple in every ballet/dance studio and can be found backstage for all ballet/dance performances. Dancers utilize the material to avoid slipping. “We step into a rosin box or put rosin on our pointe shoes to create friction so we don’t slip and fall,” explained Topazio. “The satin on pointe shoes can get very slick. Rosin is rubbed onto shoes the way gymnasts rub chalk on their hands.” Topazio is thrilled to “communicate the art of dance” through “The Rosin Box.” “Art, on every medium, is a way to translate, share, explain, discover, transcend, and explore our emotions,” she concluded. “Art is vital. Art is a necessary component to life, not just for us but for everyone. “We are all so truly proud of ‘The Rosin Box.’ Honestly, ‘The Rosin Box’ is a show that everyone will enjoy! We hope that with its success we can continue to build a future for ‘The Rosin Box’ for many summers to come!” Audience members will be able to enjoy a meet-and-greet with the dancers. The Rosin Box
Where: The Geoffrey Off Broadway Theatre, 923 1st Ave. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9. Info: therosinboxproject.com.