Entering the grand gala is always a site of beautiful chandeliers and elegant decor. High vaulted ceilings and a vast staircase bring you to the second floor, were drinks and cocktails are served for the early arrivals and during intermission. This was to be my first time to see both the Canadian ballet troop as well as a ballet in Los Angeles. I stop on the second floor first to have my per-show drink and admire my surroundings. After which the seating began and we were ushered into an ornate showroom.

The lights soon dimmed and the currents parted' This experience was unlike what I have viewed in the past as well as the idea I came with in mind, a cold black stage with dark earthier ton lighting. Modern simplistic' then the entrance of the night's performers, in all white leotards make a dramatic contrasting presence on stage. The highlight of the first half was a touch of comedic sprit as the dancers perform a display of conformity. Alone dancer directing the rest of the group in their routine movements, only to soon have one dancer feel the need to express themselves in their own original artistic styling, leaving a confused director trying to bring control back to the group. When he finally succeeds and the group falls back into place. They exit the stage, a brief moment pass and the return of an eclectic individual expression of souls, all the while a frustrated director trying wildly to regain control.

I found however the second act to be the most impressive on its choreographed method. With twenty or so woman and men dancers, men dressed in black suits with vests while the woman are in brilliant white disheveled looking gowns, each with their own distinctive traits. The men's

The fourth season of the Dance at the Music Center series opens with the Music Center debut of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, under Artistic Director Gradimir Pankov. Celebrating their 50th season anniversary, this contemporary ballet company will perform a repertoire of West Coast premieres of works by two renowned European choreographers, TooT by Dutch choreographer Didy Veldman, to the music of Shostakovich 'Jazz Suite No. 2,' and Noces by Flemish dance maker Stijn Celis, to Igor Stravinsky's 'Les Noces.'

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