South Bay Ballet's Skylar Kolby Burson Signs Professional Contract
Southern California native Skylar Kolby Burson, a student of Lauridsen Ballet Centre, to begin professional career as a company member with Utah Regional Ballet.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) August 21, 2012 - South Bay Ballet, located in Torrance, California, has announced that Skylar Kolby Burson, 21, has landed a professional contract with Utah Regional Ballet. Burson signed on as a company member for the 2012-2013 season and will commence rehearsals this month.
The announcement was made by Diane Lauridsen, South Bay Ballet's Artistic Director, who has been Burson's primary ballet instructor since 2005 when he joined the pre-professional company. "I am so proud of Skylar, who has worked extraordinarily hard to achieve this goal. The entire Company congratulates him and wishes him nothing but the best as he follows his dream to dance professionally. Skylar's achievement is testament to the hard work and dedication of our young dancers, who continue to excel as they study and perform classical dance."
Burson says he is very excited about this new milestone in his life. "I have trained and worked extremely hard for a very long time in preparation of beginning my career, and I am ready. I look forward to all that there is to learn at the professional level as I move on to the next stage in my life's journey." Burson will concurrently attend Utah Valley University to continue his academic studies as a dance major.
His principal and soloist roles with South Bay Ballet include the Nutcracker Prince (2010), Spanish soloist (2009), and Chinese soloist (2008) in The Nutcracker; the Gold Jewel (2010) in The Sleeping Beauty; Nick Bottom (2009) in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Dancing Master in Cinderella (2012), as well as many senior corps de ballet roles. Additionally, Burson has been privileged to perform under the direction of many notable choreographers including Jacqueline Colledge, Heather Gray, Lorin Johnson, Robert Kelley, Eva Stone, and others.
Early in his training, Burson performed with The Royal Ballet of London while on tour in the United States with Cinderella in 2004. Since 2007, he has consecutively been awarded scholarships from The Petit Oasis Foundation, an organization dedicated to furthering ballet training for boys and young men. Burson has won acceptance and full scholarship opportunities to summer intensive programs through the years from prominent American dance institutions including Atlanta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Utah Regional Ballet, and USA International Ballet Competition.
Also of note, Burson has choreographed several original ballets; was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in 2006 by the Boy Scouts of America; and was valedictorian of his graduating class in 2009 from Pacific Coast High School.
ABOUT SOUTH BAY BALLET:
South Bay Ballet, a non-profit organization, provides quality artistic performances to the community as well as outstanding training to young and pre-professional dancers. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Diane Lauridsen, the Company's mission is to provide a nurturing environment for serious dance students to develop their skills while offering artistic excellence to the community. The Company is dedicated to providing performance opportunities that build character and confidence. The ultimate goal is to carry young dancers into their professional lives.
South Bay Ballet continues to present Southern California audiences with a professional level artistic experience. Each year South Bay Ballet offers an eclectic range of ballets, from classical to contemporary. In addition to The Nutcracker, the annual season includes both Bravo! A Classical & Contemporary Ballet Experience and Storybook Ballet, at the James R. Armstrong Theatre.
For additional information or to become a friend of South Bay Ballet visit www.southbayballet.org.
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