San Diego Ballet’s world premiere and season opener “Homegrown,” is proudly and successfully, delighting audiences. Performances will continue on Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12 at the White Box Live Arts Theater in the Arts District of Liberty Station.
\nArtistic director and resident choreographer, Javier Velasco, has creatively woven music and dance to celebrate a musical evolution, including San Diego\u2019s hometown musical favorites. Nostalgia and elegance combine as one to give a renewed voice to San Diego\u2019s homegrown oldies. Songs date back to the \u201970s when San Diego\u2019s radio station, 101 KGB held a contest in search of the locals\u2019 favorite musicians. The 12 winning songs were featured on an album titled “Homegrown.” The annual record\u2019s success was two-fold, local favorites received more air play and charities were awarded all proceeds. Velasco has successfully brought Homegrown\u2019s classics to “rollicking, frolicking life.”
\n“As a lifelong San Diegan, the music of \u2018Homegrown\u2019 takes me back to high school, listening to the radio in my brother\u2019s Chevy Nova,” said Velasco. “San Diego seemed much smaller then. Forty years later, the tunes leave me pleasantly surprised. It\u2019s tough not to smile when you hear the \u2018Mission Beach Boogie\u2019 or the \u2018O.B. Bop.\u2019”
\nVelasco noted that the songs are great to “dance to,” describing the experience as a “joy to watch the dancers respond to the groovy tunes of the simple times of \u2018sitting on a hill in Escondido with a bag full of avocados and bottle full of wine.\u2019
\n“I have fond memories of listening to KGB’s \u2018Homegrown\u2019 album,” he continued. “This year, San Diego Ballet experimented with this intimate series of performances as a love letter to \u2018America’s Finest City.\u2019”
\nHomegrown will also introduce as choreographer, former San Diego Ballet dancer Matt Carney. “These classic songs naturally come with a sense of nostalgia,” said Carney. “And our live musical performances really bring the dances to life with a current feel. Audiences will surely leave singing these songs!”
\nCarney praised San Diego Ballet dancers as “versatile, dynamic, and stunning.” Performances like “Homegrown” sidle the classics \u2013 “The Nutcracker Suite” and “Romeo and Juliet” \u2013 with dancers changing “styles for the palette of Velasco’s choreography.”
\n“San Diego Ballet dancers are always entertaining and rhythmic, with tempos ranging from speedy to sultry,” he continued. “San Diego Ballet also has a well-rounded cast that truly reflects the diversity seen in San Diego.”
\nGrandma’s Player Piano songs of the ’20s to ’40s, even old-time favorites of “Down By the Old Mill Stream” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” will also be featured as live music by Cris O\u2019Bryon.
\n“I’m thrilled to create dance with music that\u2019s in my blood,” said Carney. “I fondly remember singing and dancing with my grandmas to these songs. I look forward to giving tribute to the ladies of the post-Depression. These women inspire me to be strong, resourceful, and respectful in every circumstance.\u00a0 Movements and themes \u2013 family, loving, loss, and celebration \u2013 are current and nostalgic.” San Diego Ballet, founded in 1991, is dedicated to bringing the finest quality dance productions to San Diego. Velasco has previously directed and choreographed “Hairspray,” “A Christmas Carol,” “Cabaret” and “Suds” among others. As San Diego Ballet\u2019s current artistic director, he\u2019s created more than 100 original pieces for the company since its inception. “What makes San Diego Ballet distinct from other artistic organizations is our effort to create works that speak to a Southern California sensibility,” concluded Velasco.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
San Diego Ballet’s world premiere and season opener “Homegrown,” is proudly and successfully, delighting audiences. Performances will continue on Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12 at the White Box Live Arts Theater in the Arts District of Liberty Station. Artistic director and resident choreographer, Javier Velasco, has creatively woven music and dance to celebrate […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":278105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"San Diego Ballet's season opener is world premiere of \u2018Homegrown\u2019","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,12360,11551,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-duplicate","category-news","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}