C. Round Ballet Works

Join us for our 4th Anti Recital for Grownups Performance entitled“The Sisters of Spring”. This is a celebration of Spring and all the sisterly love that our CRBW cast invokes.

Get tickets now!

Friday, March 20th 7:30pm
https://square.link/u/D46CEead

Saturday, March 21st 7:30pm
https://square.link/u/0gJ1Itay

Wordle 947 3/6*

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Southern California Dance Folks:
Selling three large pieces of Marley flooring in fair condition. Asking $500 or best offer. Must pick up in Highland Park Los Angeles.

Wordle 921 4/6*

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Forgot to put this lovely lady's profile in last time I posted...
MEET ELENA CASTELLANOS…

Elena came to C.Round Ballet Works just this year, already a beautiful dancer. She started ballet at the age of three, danced all through high school, and studied abroad with Scottish Ballet, until she was sidelined with a broken foot that she injured during a grand allegro exercise. Elena started dancing again after the pandemic, and, in additional to her journey of becoming a dance/movement therapist, she has been a thriving ballerina ever since.

What attracts you to ballet and what do you find hardest about ballet?
Ballet has always been part of my life. It always feels like home to me. Dancing has always been beneficial to my mental health. I do find that it’s difficult to achieve some of the technicality in ballet that I could do when I was sixteen, and it’s also harder to get rid of old/bad habits from when I was younger.

What is your favorite ballet? Who is your favorite ballet dancer?
I loved the choreography of La Syllphide. The pointe work in that ballet was amazing.

My favorite ballerina is Elisa Carrillo Barrera, who is a principal dancer with Berlin State Ballet and co-director of the Mexican Dance Company. She has always been a role model for me and love it that she is a Mexican ballerina. She has amazing technique that is very versatile. When you see her dance, you see that she is not married to one school or style of ballet, yet still very beautiful, flawless, and smooth.

What do you love (and not love) about performing?
I love the feeling of standing in the theatre onstage and looking out at the audience. That alive feeling is different from just taking class. I also love the feeling of unity with the audience. The connection of communicating or talking with the audience. The only thing I dislike about performing is if I dance, and I have not been properly warmed up beforehand.

Do you find any similarities between dance/movement therapy and ballet?
I believe that ballet is truly seeing people as they are. I feel that there are aspects of that in dance/movement therapy. I like helping people diagnose issues in a nonverbal way that can help them heal and reconnect, both mentally and physically.

Elena is performing on Friday, December 1st & Saturday, December 2nd at Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. ALL SHOWS SOLD OUT!

MEET LILY BLAU…

This fabulous television writer started taking ballet when her childhood physical therapist suggested it would help her gain strength in her weak ankles. She became a dedicated ballerina from age twelve through the end of college, then life took her in other directions, but it was MatthewBourne’s “Red Shoes” that got her back into her ballet shoes. She’s been a ballet twinkle toes ever since.

What attracts you to ballet and what do you find hardest about ballet?
I love the artistry and the discipline of ballet. I love how it feels in my body when I dance and they way the body looks when I watch ballet. My friend said that everyone has an ideal sport. I tried yoga for a while, but it didn’t feel right. Ballet just feels right.

I want to tell people that ballet is learnable. It is accessible to everyone with the right teacher. Contrary to popular belief, the artistry in ballet is something that can be taught.

The hard part about ballet is how much you have to learn to make simple things look easy.

What is your favorite ballet? Who is your favorite ballet dancer?
I love “Giselle”; particularly the second act. Akram Khan’s version with English National Ballet reimagines the ballet in such an amazing way. Wi***es are haunting and powerful. I truly understand the magic of pointe work in this ballet.

My favorite ballerina is Sarah Mearns. I love her expressiveness; the emotion that she conveys tells you an entire story in her head.

What do you love and not love about performing?
I started performing at a very early age in my father’s television documentary about ice cream. I do love being in front of an audience. Sharing the stage with other people. Love when everything comes together; creating a special magic. The only thing I don’t like about performing is the jitters beforehand and any costume quick changes…yikes!

Do you find any similarities between writing and ballet?
Storytelling and rhythm are both crucial in both, writing and ballet. I do script consultation for other writers and when polishing a piece, I tap into the rhythm. When learning choreography I need to give over to the rhythm of the storytelling.

Lilly will be performing on Friday, December 1st & Saturday, December 2nd at Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. ALL SHOWS SOLD OUT!

MEET JENNIFER ROCHOLL…

This wonderfully successful commercial photographer is a ballet natural. Jennifer’s love of ballet started in college, and while life can take you in different directions, ballet has always beckoned her back. She dove back into ballet in 2017 and has never looked back.

What attracts you to ballet and what do you find hardest about ballet?
I love the mediative process of ballet. Life, business, and family can be so much, and it’s ballet that gives me focus. After dancing for almost seven years, i feel I’ve evolved as a human. I see what’s possible. I’m addicted to the progress, as working at technique demands presence.

Ballet is hard in that it’s difficult to make shapes that your body doesn’t naturally want to do. I do regret not starting ballet sooner. People don’t know how much strength, coordination, and grace it takes when working on technique.

What is your favorite ballet? Who is your favorite ballet dancer?
I love the color palette of “Giselle”. It’s beautiful and misty. The ethereal “floatiness” of it. HAHA!

Marianella Nunez is everything in one package. Joy emanates from her entire being. Her technique and her emotion are so effortless. The maturity in Marinella’s dancing shows a life well lived.

What do you love and not love about performing?
I like that performing gets me out of my comfort zone, but I don’t like being the center of attention. I love that this process helps make me grow.

Do you find any similarities between photography and ballet?
I love seeing shapes, making shapes, and perfecting shapes. It’s so exciting to watch a dancer use their body to tell a story. Working on ballet technique has helped me be a better collaborator with my subjects to create these shapes and lines in my own photography.

Jennifer is performing on Friday, December 1st & Saturday, December 2nd at Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. ALL SHOWS SOLD OUT!

MEET SUSAN MASTERMAN…

From Massachusetts to Oklahoma to California, Susan Masterman has danced her way across the country. In the beginning, being a beautiful 5’9”, 100 pound 9th grader, and after watching a thousand “Nutcrackers”, she thought she would give this ballet thing a try. Susan now owns a very successful Architectural firm in South Pasadena, and has never let ballet and performing go by the wayside.

What attracts you to ballet and what do you find hardest about ballet?

I like being told what to do! HAHA! I like rules; to follow rules. I need a set of parameters.

I love the music! I love that when I take class, everyday life disappears and I’m obsessed with where my elbow is placed. i love knowing where my body is at all times.

The hardest part of ballet is the aging body. What came so easily before is harder now. My advice is to never stop dancing or it’s harder to get back into it.

What is your favorite ballet? Who is your favorite ballet dancer?

“Pas de Quatre”. This was the first ballet I performed in the 10th grade, and again for a CRBW benefit for California Hospital Medical Center. I love romantic ballets. I also love Jerome Robbins’, “The Concert”, with music by Chopin. The love that humor can be found in a ballet.

Like many others, I can just pick one favorite ballet dancer. I love Uliana Lopatkina. She is tall, long and beautiful. She is a true swan. I also love Sylvie Guilleme. She is fierce.

What do you love and not love about performing?

I think what most people don’t understand is how to make ballet look so effortless, while putting forth the most effort.

Having performed off and on most of my life, I have to say I love rehearsal. I love the getting ready - the process. I love the community spirit and doing it for ourselves. I love saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t, I have rehearsal.”

Do you find any similarities between architecture and ballet?

I am a visual learner. I live for structure and composition, so it’s really not a surprise my love for architecture and ballet are inextricably linked.


Susan is performing at Lineage Performing Arts Center on Friday, December 1st, & Saturday, December 2nd, at 7:30pm in Pasadena, CA. SOLD OUT - ALL SHOWS!

CRBW Holiday Show - Dancer Profiles
MEET ADRIANA DIAZ…

When Adriana Diaz is not spending her time dancing beautifully, she is a practicing psychotherapist in South Pasadena. Adriana came to C.Round Ballet Works ten years ago wanting to achieve better balance for her hoop dancing work, and has been with us ever since. The first annual Holiday Show will be Adriana’s fourth performance with C.Round Ballet Works, as she participated in the benefit performances that CRBW produced for California Hospital Medical Center.

What attracts you to ballet and what do you find hardest about ballet?

I wanted to challenge my perfectionism and thought that ballet could feed that challenge. I found that even though one will never achieve perfection in ballet, it teaches you that you need to be at peace with the idea that it is a continuous process. I believe that ballet is a gradual process to achieve the feeling that you are skilled. You must be patient, persistent, and tenacious, always.

What is your favorite ballet? Who is your favorite ballet dancer?

I love “Streetcar Named Desire”, performed by Scottish Ballet, as all the elements of the ballet came together; sets, costumes, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s choreography were all captivating. I also loved that the ballet was constructed from the female point-of-view.

I actually have two favorite ballet dancers; Maria Kochetkova and Maria Khoreva. Maria Kochetkova for achieving beautiful technique and lines for having such a petite frame (along with her amazing and quirky fashion sense). I love Maria Khoreva, as I followed her professional journey online from her days at the Vaganova school to growing into a truly amazing principal dancer at Mariinsky Ballet.

What do you love and not love about performing?

I love the time in rehearsal and performance with all the dancers. I believe that performing together with the cast is a team effort when preparing for a show. Each dancer has an important role in contributing to the greater whole.

Do you find any similarities between psychotherapy and ballet?

I believe the crossover between psychotherapy and ballet is the role of mindfulness. To be present in the moment is a skill and gift that both endeavors cultivate.

Come see Adriana shine at Lineage Performing Arts Center on Friday, December 1st,& Saturday, December 2nd (SOLD OUT), at 7:30pm at the Lineage Performing Arts Center in Pasadena, CA. Click the dates for tickets!