Two Art Forms Is Double the Excitement for Santa Barbara Symphony and State Street Ballet Season Openers

Shakespeare’s famous lovers may be star-crossed, but the stars are aligning perfectly for the dual season opener of the Santa Barbara Symphony and State Street Ballet. 

Romeo and Juliet, with Sergei Prokofiev’s beloved ballet composition, takes the spotlight on October 18-19 at The Granada Theatre. Featuring original choreography by State Street Ballet Artistic Director Megan Philipp and Artistic Associate Nilas Martins (former principal dancer with New York City Ballet), this compelling production of Romeo and Juliet offers an emotionally resonant retelling of Shakespeare’s enduring tale, from the innocence of young love and the intensity of deep-rooted feuds to its heartrending conclusion. 

“We’ll have 35-40 dancers on stage, including a number of guest artists,” said Philipp. “It’s going to be epic.” Some of State Street Ballet’s beloved alumni are returning for parts of the production.

“It’s so much fun to get to do a ballet of this size and scope,” said Executive Director Cecily MacDougall.

“It’s just a beautiful show about passion,” said Philipp. Adding another level to the passion aspect of the ballet, the two lead dancers are Ryan Lenkey and Saori Yamashita, who are partners on stage and in real life. This gives them a level of comfort as they step into these dream roles. “You can’t fake Romeo and Juliet,” added Philipp. 

Ryan Lenkey and Saori Yamashita star as ‘Romeo and Juliet’ | Photo: Courtesy

“We have fresh sets and new costumes, and the choreography has all new steps and transitions, but it was inspired by all of the different versions of the story,” said MacDougall. “It’s definitely very new and different,” added Philipp. 

Also new and different is having the Santa Barbara Symphony on stage on risers for the ballet portion of the program. 

“We wanted to create the feeling that the orchestra is right in there,” said Santa Barbara Symphony Maestro Nir Kabaretti. “The music is so strong. … I played it in my inaugural concert (19 years ago) as Santa Barbara Symphony music director, and I chose the hits. The balcony scene, the dance of the night, the death of Juliet. They are all extremely intense symphonic pieces.”

He continued, “Having the orchestra on stage — we could easily go in the pit, which would make our life much easier — but we decided to put up the risers and elevate the orchestra, so the orchestra is, in a way, a protagonist. At some point, the light will be on us as the dancers exit the stage. They will give us a few moments to just play musically, on some transitions, some themes. So, we are really part of this production. … Megan and Nilas are absolutely fantastic. And in working together, understanding the role of the orchestra, it’s not just background music, you know.”

The evening begins with the musicians center stage, under Maestro Kabaretti’s skilled baton, as the Santa Barbara Symphony plays Dmitri Shostakovich’s spirited Festive Overture and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s luxuriant Symphonic Dances.

“It’s our first concert after a few months of summer. You know, we are busy. We work in other places. So, as we come back together, I wanted to also do something very festive. So, we have this Festive Overture by Shostakovich, a very fun and uplifting piece of fanfare; it is a lot of brass, a huge orchestra,” said Kabaretti. “We are collaborating with City College and Jim Mooy, who is the head of the music department. They are wonderful, wonderful musicians. So, we have few faculty and students from City College joining us on this very festive, brassy overture. After that, we play a piece by Rachmaninoff, which is dense, but symphonic. So, we have just these two pretty short pieces, and then we’ll take our place and do Romeo and Juliet.”

Kabaretti, Philipp, and MacDougall all expressed their excitement about this collaboration between the two organizations. 

“It’s a very different feeling when you feel something is created; there’s magic. …  So, this joined forces of so many people, producing a sound and producing a movement all synchronized on the time. That’s where really art and magic is happening. So, we are delighted to be part of that,” said Kabaretti.

The Santa Barbara Symphony and State Street Ballet Joint Season Opener takes place on Saturday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m. at The Granada Theatre (1214 State St.). See bit.ly/47fTUEy for tickets.