Ethan Stiefel

The new 2013-14 season of Dance at the Music Center will feature works by choreographers Matthew Bourne, Ethan Stiefel and Alexei Ratmansky. The season, which the Music Center announced this week, will also include return appearances by Ballet Preljocaj and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. The dance series -- whose full title is Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center -- will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, unless otherwise noted. As previously announced, Nederlands Dans Theater will present "Chamber" (Oct.

The new 2013-14 season of Dance at the Music Center will feature works by choreographers Matthew Bourne, Ethan Stiefel and Alexei Ratmansky. The season, which the Music Center announced this week, will also include return appearances by Ballet Preljocaj and the Paul Taylor Dance Company. The dance series -- whose full title is Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center -- will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, unless otherwise noted. As previously announced, Nederlands Dans Theater will present "Chamber" (Oct.

One late December morning at the American Ballet Theatre studios on Broadway, Ethan Stiefel, small and fair, kicks his leg high. Dressed in baggy black workout clothes that cling only at his slender calves, he manages to watch the ballet mistress attentively with his giant blue saucer eyes while keeping up a discreet running commentary with his barre-mate.

If a reigning star at American Ballet Theatre -- recently (if unofficially) crowned one of the kings of dance -- can't inspire enough support to launch even a midsize ballet company in Southern California, who can?

When Ethan Stiefel takes over as artistic director of Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica in September, the American Ballet Theatre principal dancer will bring along some colleagues. Former ABT soloist John Gardner will serve as artistic associate, while his wife, ABT principal dancer Amanda McKerrow, will be ballet mistress, the company has announced.

American Ballet Theatre star Ethan Stiefel resigned Thursday as artistic director of the Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica. Stiefel's resignation, 15 months after he agreed to assume the leadership of the 46-year-old company, abruptly ended the latest effort to transform it from a struggling regional troupe to a national player.

In a high-profile move to upgrade its status, Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica has named acclaimed American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, 31, its "artistic director-designate." "Of all the candidates we were talking to, he was the one who really stood out in coming to the table with a real vision of what the company could be and should be," executive director Thomas Gulick said Wednesday. "Plus he fit the business plan."

Call it "The Dream" Team: the slate of American Ballet Theatre stars chosen to perform Frederick Ashton's Shakespearean classic for PBS cameras and a live audience at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Wednesday. They all gave fine performances in a production that deserves to be documented, but only Ethan Stiefel turned out to be indispensable -- indeed, phenomenal.

If a reigning star at American Ballet Theatre -- recently (if unofficially) crowned one of the kings of dance -- can't inspire enough support to launch even a midsize ballet company in Southern California, who can?

American Ballet Theatre star Ethan Stiefel resigned Thursday as artistic director of the Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica. Stiefel's resignation, 15 months after he agreed to assume the leadership of the 46-year-old company, abruptly ended the latest effort to transform it from a struggling regional troupe to a national player.

When Ethan Stiefel takes over as artistic director of Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica in September, the American Ballet Theatre principal dancer will bring along some colleagues. Former ABT soloist John Gardner will serve as artistic associate, while his wife, ABT principal dancer Amanda McKerrow, will be ballet mistress, the company has announced.

In a high-profile move to upgrade its status, Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica has named acclaimed American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Ethan Stiefel, 31, its "artistic director-designate." "Of all the candidates we were talking to, he was the one who really stood out in coming to the table with a real vision of what the company could be and should be," executive director Thomas Gulick said Wednesday. "Plus he fit the business plan."

Call it "The Dream" Team: the slate of American Ballet Theatre stars chosen to perform Frederick Ashton's Shakespearean classic for PBS cameras and a live audience at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Wednesday. They all gave fine performances in a production that deserves to be documented, but only Ethan Stiefel turned out to be indispensable -- indeed, phenomenal.

One late December morning at the American Ballet Theatre studios on Broadway, Ethan Stiefel, small and fair, kicks his leg high. Dressed in baggy black workout clothes that cling only at his slender calves, he manages to watch the ballet mistress attentively with his giant blue saucer eyes while keeping up a discreet running commentary with his barre-mate.

Dance on: Ethan Stiefel, former artistic director of the Irvine-based Pacific Ballet, which folded last spring, has been named dean of the school of dance at North Carolina School of the Arts, part of the University of North Carolina. The appointment was made by the school's chancellor, John Mauceri. State grant: The Old Globe theater in San Diego has been awarded a $1.

Dancers with the American Ballet Theatre--including, at right, Giuseppe Picone and Ethan Stiefel, foreground--dined at the new Bluewater Grill at South Coast Plaza Village in Santa Ana on Tuesday, following their opening-night performance of "Le Corsaire" at Segerstrom Hall. About 200 supporters of the Orange County Performing Arts Center, which is in Costa Mesa, joined members of the New York-based troupe to sample teriyaki chicken, seared ahi and an assortment of pasta dishes.