New Ballet unveils new home downtown
Four years to the day after dancer and choreographer Dalia Rawson brought San Jose’s New Ballet out from the ashes of Silicon Valley Ballet, the dance company cut the ribbon on its new home in downtown San Jose on Saturday.
Since its start, New Ballet had been conducting classes and using the studio space in the old North First Street home of Silicon Valley Ballet — the last iteration of the company that started in 1985 under Dennis Nahat as the San Jose Cleveland Ballet. The four-story building, with an often wonky elevator, had charm but plenty of challenges, as it was surrounded by construction zones and empty buildings.
When Rawson heard that the building was up for sale, New Ballet began a two-year endeavor of raising money to find a new home in downtown San Jose to fit its needs. The answer turned out to be at the
Corinthian Event Center on North Third Street, which was built in 1925 as a Scottish Rite temple and got a brief moment in the spotlight when it was used as a location for the 1997 Dustin Hoffman-john Travolta movie “Mad City.”
The grand ballroom and bar on the upper floors are frequently used as an event space for everything from fundraisers to weddings, but it was the lower area — which had housed a series of athletic clubs over the past 35 years — that was more suited to New Ballet’s needs. The space now includes five newly constructed dance studios, dressing rooms and two lounges for students. Rawson said that because of New Ballet’s early strategic fundraising, the reconstruction and move were made without having to resort to emergency funding or going into debt.
But just as important, the new location gives New Ballet — which has produced a variety of programs including the annual “San Jose Nutcracker” — a fresh start and a home to call its own without the storied but sometimes turbulent legacy of Ballet San Jose hanging over every room.
With the move under its belt, New Ballet can focus on its upcoming program, “Fast Forward,” a showcase of contemporary ballet highlighting new choreography by Rawson, as well as Ben Needham-wood, Laura Burton, Mads Eriksen, Naomi Sailors and Heather Cooper.
How “forward” is the March 28 show at the Hammer Theatre Center? Sailors’ piece is about an encounter with an alien species and includes a commentary about why ballet is an ideal means of “first contact” communication.
POETIC LICENSE >> San Jose resident Janice Lobo Sapigao has been appointed as the new poet laureate for Santa Clara County, with a two-year term that runs through the end of 2021. Sapigao, poetry editor at Angel City Review, has written two books of poetry and numerous chapbooks and was one of KQED Arts’ “Women to Watch” in 2017.
Sapigao, who also is an assistant professor of English at Skyline College in San Bruno, said her goals include developing a Youth Poet Laureate program for the county.
“I hope to visit elementary, middle and high schools in the county to promote the power of poetry as a source for connection, community and critical conversations,” she said.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said Sapigao brings a unique voice that speaks to the experience of many county residents. “Her identity as a U.s.-born daughter of immigrants from the Philippines, and her ability to write about the intersection of these two identities, is a rich confluence of artistic influences,” Chavez said.
Sapigao is the sixth county poet laureate, following in the footsteps of Nils Peterson, Sally Ashton, David Perez, Arlene Biala and, most recently, Mighty Mike Mcgee.
CHANGE IS IN THE AIR >> The 17th floor of the KQED building in downtown San Jose was packed Wednesday night as Silicon Valley Capital Club members bid a fond farewell to Bruce Mackenzie, who is retiring as the private business club’s general manager after nearly a decade. During his tenure, the club went through some big remodeling and last year signed a five-year lease with new landlord Jay Paul.
Mackenzie and his wife, Kimberly, are moving to Summerlin, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. He said Wednesday night that he expects his future to involve a lot of golf, but he’s also considering putting his 40-year career in hospitality to work for him by teaching a course in the subject part-time at a university.
“My long-term goal, of course, is becoming a blackjack dealer,” he joked.
Dani Bongatti, who joined the club’s staff last fall, will take over Mackenzie’s duties as general manager.
RUNNING OF THE BEERS >> The second annual Shamrock Run will be back in downtown San Jose on March 14, benefiting the San Jose-dublin Sister City Scholarship Program. The 10K run and 5K run/ walk starts and finishes at San Pedro Square, where O’flaherty’s Pub and Five Points bar will host a postrace celebration.
And don’t forget that runners who are over 21 get to enjoy a beer on the house at the finish. Register for either race, or the Leprechaun Chase Kids Run, at sanjoseshamrockrun.com.
“It looks like we will exceed last year’s number of participants in 2020, so that’s very exciting,” said Brendan
O’flaherty, who serves on the San Jose-dublin Sister City board of directors. “The signs are all good for continued growth.”
CLOTHES FOR A CAUSE >> Students at St. John Vianney Catholic School in San Jose were among those at several private schools in Silicon Valley and the Monterey Bay Area taking part Friday in “Wear Jeans for Rare Genes Day,” an awareness campaign and fundraiser for the nonprofit Coastal Kids Home Care in Salinas.
St. John Vianney Principal Laura Seminatore said the students who donated money to wear denim got more than just a day off from uniforms — they also got the knowledge they’re helping Coastal Kids provide inhome treatments to children with rare genetic syndromes, birth defects and childhood cancers.
The nonprofit currently is providing care to 650 infants and kids, including a former St. John Vianney student.
“We are very grateful that this agency works to assist these special children,” Seminatore said.
You can find out more about the organization at coastalkidshomecare.org.