Ballet Pacifica

Mission Statement

Ballet Pacifica and the Ballet Pacifica Academy have been based in Orange County for more than forty years. Now the company is poised to create the first world-class ballet company in Southern California.

In the past two years the company has taken two significant steps: 1) hired international ballet star Ethan Stiefel as Artistic Director and 2) brought Tom Gulick, a senior manager from the San Francisco Opera, on as Executive Director. One of America's most treasured ballerinas, Amanda McKerrow has also joined the company as Interim Academy Director and Ballet Mistress. John Garder, of American Ballet Theatre and Baryshnikov's White Oak Project, has accepted the position of Associate Artistic Director.

After nationwide auditions, the company will assemble in the fall and debut a unique and entirely new production of The Nutcracker in December 2006 at the Orange County Center for the Performing Arts.