Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What can I say? Last night was a HUGE success! Thank you SO much!

I want to recognize some of the great artists and sponsors involved in this project:

Zara Hayes (Choreography)
Danny Scheible (Accessories and Oddities)
Gioia Fonda (Set Design)
Lindsay Rickman (Costume Design)
Melissa Arendt (Poster Art)
Ira Skinner (Sound)
Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Company (Performance)
Bows and Arrows (Sponsor)
Styrsky Insurance Agency (Sponsor)
3fold Communication (Supporter)
The bands! Sister Crayon. Drifting Shapes. DoomBird. Exquisite Corps.

I was lucky to have worked with you.

Some words and photos are starting to come in. I will continue to post as they come to my attention.

Local blog Citizen Rosebud had this to say:

Last night was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring evenings I’ve spent in a very long time. I was one of the lucky folks who packed into the Crest Theatre to see the Pamela Hayes Ballet Troupe perform to live, local music.

Read the rest of the post here with photos by Dana Gumbiner.
Citizen Rosebud Post

Here is a photo journal courtesy of Sacramento Press:
Sac Press Photos

Tonight & The calm before the storm.

Four months ago after many false starts we decided to pick a date and stay with it.

Friday, September 17th.

We knew that what we set out to accomplish would be special and therefore we dreamed of the perfect venue, our hearts were set on Crest Theatre.

We also knew the daunting task at hand, the hours of preparation, the whirlwind of things gone wrong, things gone right, lots of sweat, heart and plenty of emotion… and now, finally, the calm before the storm.

Get your tickets now! Your admission into this show will not only provide an extraordinary evening of entertainment but also an investment into Sacramento’s music and arts community. Bring a friend, tell your neighbors, this show will be awesome. See you tonight!

Tickets are available for purchase at the Crest Theatre Box Office or by clicking here:

Ballet + Live Local Music Tickets

Tomorrow is Friday

In all my years of putting on events, these moments are my favorite. The sanity checking silence between the rolodex of to-dos rattling-off in my brain like a broken slot machine. One day away. *I shake my head in disbelief*

I created this blog two weeks ago to give my thoughts a platform in the closing moments before this extraordinary event. What will happen Friday night? Well, I am not exactlly sure.

Last night, I had a great conversation with set-designer Gioia Fonda, everything we talked about, resonated with the mission that this event set out to achieve.

What I loved most was the story she shared about how she got involved in this project, working so tirelessly in the waning hours before the event.

About a year ago, she was working at an art gallery when she met Zara Hayes and Danny Scheible. Danny was installing art work, when Gioia asked Zara what she did. Zara replied that she taught ballet. It reminded Gioia about an event she had recently seen, she glowed as she started to recall it, saying that it was so wonderful, and so magical, that she almost felt like she made it up. Zara laughed and explained that she choreographed that show, and that someday we would do it again.

They kept in touch, and now here we are, fast approaching an evening between many meant-to-be collaborators from once-different corners of a tiny universe of independent artists. We have been brought together to bring you this event.

Come see what happens.

Get your tickets now!

Rock the ballet

Holy smokes! What a write up in the Sacramento News & Review. Ballet + Live Local Music leads the Arts & Culture section with 2 pages!

Jonathan Mendick writes:

You can’t put a dollar amount or quantify the preparation that goes into any live artistic performance. That’s especially true for a behemoth of an event like this Friday’s rock ballet at the Crest Theatre. So, it’s no surprise, then, that the title of the performance is written like a math equation: The end result is simply the sum of two Sacramento nonprofits, a hodge-podge of local musicians, dancers and visual and performance artists all donating their time to raise money for arts education.

Yes, indeed.

TWO DAYS AWAY!!

We are a mere two days away from Ballet + Live Local Music! It is very exhilarating to be so close. The hundreds of hours of work that has been poured into this event will soon come to a head.

Get tickets by clicking here: Tickets

On Monday night, I had a show at Harlow’s featuring a very prominent indie-dance band called !!! (chk chk chk), I surveyed the near capacity room and noticed something beautiful, I hardly knew anyone. It is not because I am not friendly, I make a point of meeting many people I don’t know at my shows to tell them about my organization, after all I want them to support my events time and time again, what I realized is that some how, some way, everyone in that room was connected to me through my network, maybe they heard it from the DJ Shaun Slaughter, maybe they heard it from one of my best friends, maybe they heard it from the coverage in Submerge or SN&R, either way, they were connected to the event because someone in my network told them about the event, peaked their interest, and invited them to come.

If you are a supporter of music and/or the arts, please encourage your friends, neighbors, colleagues and associates to join you on this night. Together, we can make this an unforgettable night!

More chalk art…

See the evolution of Voletta’s chalk art square promoting the upcoming Ballet + Live Local Music show on September 17th. Photo Credit: Kristin Marshall

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Meet me at the intersection

How do you build a community? If you frequent local shows, you see a lot of familiar faces… but how do we invite others in?

Here is a short video (complete with my world famous drawings) that I made to explain one of the reasons behind doing an event like this…

Song Crooked Heart by DoomBird