Pacifica

Barring a $500,000 bailout by donors in the next month, Orange County's premier ballet troupe will go out of business after 45 years, its two top managers said Monday. Ballet Pacifica's remaining performances -- children's programs scheduled for this weekend and in June at the Merage Jewish Community Center in Irvine -- have been canceled, and its training academy will close Friday.

It's a bromide that the present colors perception of the past. But that's what happened at the Camerata Pacifica concert Wednesday at Zipper Concert Hall at the downtown Colburn School of Performing Arts. And it was illuminating. The program proceeded roughly backward in chronology, opening with music by Toru Takemitsu, George Crumb and Mark-Antony Turnage and ending with works by Debussy and Beethoven.

The resurgence of Marina del Rey as a destination for locals and visitors got a potential boost Friday with the news that two of its aging hotels had been acquired and would undergo improvements. Santa Barbara-based hotelier Pacifica Hotel Co. announced it had bought the Marina del Rey Hotel and the nearby Marina International Hotel & Bungalows from Al Anwa USA Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The hotels are on land leased from Los Angeles County.

Former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Evelyn Cisneros-Legate has been named academy director of Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica. She will take over as head of the company's school from husband and wife John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow when their contracts expire at the end of July. Gardner and McKerrow are former American Ballet Theatre principal dancers hired last year by artistic director Ethan Stiefel, who resigned in March after the company's 2006-07 season was canceled.

More trouble for Orange County's Ballet Pacifica: Husband and wife John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow, former dancers with American Ballet Theatre, will leave their administrative posts with the Irvine-based company when their contracts are up at the end of July. Last year, Ballet Pacifica hired ABT star Ethan Stiefel as artistic director and announced big plans to restructure, raise money and hire 20 to 25 permanent dancers to raise the profile of the 46-year-old troupe.

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.

On the heels of big promises for 2006-07, Irvine-based Ballet Pacifica has canceled the season to restructure and raise money, board President Janet Ray said Friday. In addition, a statement issued by the company said that Executive Director Thomas Gulick has resigned "for personal reasons" and that Orange County businesswoman Melody Wolfgram has been hired as interim management director.

Showcasing the accomplishments of chamber music luminaries from both coasts in vibrant, commanding performances, Camerata Pacifica kicked off its 16th consecutive season Tuesday night in San Marino. Also opening the third season in the group's Huntington Library series, this starry event offered ear-opening readings of major works. The program is scheduled to be repeated around Southern California four times through Sunday.

Junior Samantha Hamner pitched a perfect game and Rosey Neill homered to center field with two out in the top of the first inning as Laguna Hills stunned top-seeded Garden Grove Pacifica, 1-0, Friday in the first round of the Southern Section Division I softball playoffs. Pacifica (26-4-1), the No. 1 team in the Southland and the state, had won consecutive championships in Division III but moved up in class this season. The Mariners had won five titles since 1997.

The coach says he doesn't feel any pressure. He has several players back after winning a second consecutive Southern Section Division III softball title last year. The pitcher says she doesn't feel any pressure. She has a scholarship in hand, worked hard in the off-season and has more confidence than ever. Opponents shouldn't feel any pressure either. After all, they're not expected to beat Garden Grove Pacifica, which opens the season as The Times' No. 1 team in the Southland.