Episode 33: Peninsula Ballet Theatre

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Alondra Flores and Caitlin Radcliffe warming up.jpg

Lara Cheng and Vin Eiamvuthikorn in Greg Amato’s “Sway..jpg

PBT Apprentices from left to right- Christie Shum, Vera Irber, Kasey Parks, and Melia Kramer. Photo by Vin Eiamvuthikorn.jpg

Photo by Vin Eiamvuthikorn, shot from backstage during a Giselle performance.jpg

Peninsula Ballet Theatre principal dancers Robert Burns Lowman and Chloé Watson, Hip Hop Nutcracker, Hip Hop Cinderella, and Nutcracker

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“People have danced since, you know, the caveman days they gathered together and beat on their drums and they danced”

In this episode, our featured voice is Christine Leslie the CEO and Executive Director of the Peninsula Ballet Theatre Our next featured voice is Christine Leslie the CEO and Executive Director of the Peninsula Ballet Theatre. Over its fifty years of operation, the Peninsula Ballet Theatre has become the artistic and cultural hub of San Mateo County through its School which fosters a community of inclusivity, Summer Camp, and live performances of classic ballet, jazz, ballroom, and hip hop. The covid-19 pandemic is hitting our performing arts organizations very hard and no one knows how many performing arts organizations will permanently close down. Christine shares with us how her team is reinventing their performances

Christine Leslie

Christine Leslie - Executive Director & CEO - Ms. Leslie brings a unique blend of performing arts experience and business management to Peninsula Ballet Theatre. She has been associated with Peninsula Ballet Theatre for over 30 years, beginning in 1979 performing with the professional company in productions such as Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Fille Mal Guarde, Giselle, Cinderella, and Romeo & Juliet as well as performing in numerous musical theater productions. She has served as member of the Peninsula Ballet Theatre Board of Trustees, board president, and now as Executive Director and CEO. In addition to a degree in Journalism and a Masters in Mass Communications, Leslie earned her Executive MBA in International Business from the University of San Francisco. After working for 25 years managing economic development, sales, and marketing programs in the high tech industry, Christine joined the PBT administrative staff full time. She continues her study of voice and dance.

Peninsula Ballet Theatre

Peninsula Ballet Theatre (PBT) was incorporated as a 501(c)3 in April 1967 by Richard Gibson and Dick Ford. PBT has been serving the residents of the greater Peninsula continually for the past 53+ years. One of the Company's longest serving Artistic Directors, Carlos Carvajal, helped migrate the company from a mix of student and professional dancers to a fully professional company. Greg Amato has been serving as artistic director since 2017, our 50th anniversary year. Greg has grown the company and instituted an apprentice program as part of the PBT Conservatory program. The Conservatory has grown to one of the largest ballet and dance schools on the Peninsula, serving students of all ages and abilities. The program includes all dance genres as well as a Musical Theater program. In 2017, under the direction of Issac "Stuck" Sanders, PBT incorporated Hip Hop productions of classics such as Nutcracker and Cinderella into the repertoire

In response to the requirements dictated by the Covid-19, the school has instituted a full program of virtual classes. Additionally, the Company has formed pods of dancers who create and perform small ensemble works available for viewing on the PBT website: www.peninsulaballet.org

Read more about PBT in the recent article in the San Mateo Daily Journal

Donation

The Peninsula Ballet Theatre is working to raise funds to both produce virtual performances as well as provide on-line classes for everyone to enjoy dance.

The Please help Peninsula Ballet Theatre raise general funds to operate and continue to be the artistic and cultural hub of San Mateo County

Videos

Enjoy Peninsula Ballet Theatre’s Community Greeting Card along with recent ballet created during the Covid-19 pandemic:

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“I’m an optimist, only optimists go into this business that, we’re going to come out the other side of this with taking this historic classic art form and bringing it into a new age that’s going to now, I’m hoping will attract even more people as we go forward. That’s my fervent hope. ”

— Christine Leslie, CEO, Executive Director, Peninsula Ballet Theatre

Our Sponsorship

We are fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. If you want to send us a check, please make checks payable to Intersection for the Arts and write [Voices of the Community] in the memo line of your check. This ensures that you’ll receive an acknowledgement letter for tax purposes, and your donation will be available for our project.