San Pedro City Ballet History

Several years ago, Cynthia & Patrick Bradley made a decision to start a ballet school and a performing company in the San Pedro, California, area. After searching for a location for their school, they rented a space in the Terraces Shopping Center on Western Avenue that would accommodate two studios. They opened the school in the fall of 1994 with a small group of students in the school and a small performing company of eight dancers.

A ballet board of directors to support the performing company was begun with help from the parents of the original eight dancers. Suzanne Lawson researched and administered the proper legal procedures to establish the not-for-profit status of the company. The company was incorporated as San Pedro City Ballet, a California 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. Cynthia and Patrick were hired as the artistic directors for the company.

That first fall, choreography and rehearsals for The Nutcracker were begun, costumes were sewn, and sets were designed and built. In December San Pedro City Ballet’s first production of The Nutcracker was presented at San Pedro High School to a small but enthusiastic group of supporters.

For two years, San Pedro High School auditorium was home to The Nutcracker and the company’s annual spring concert. In 1995, the company’s productions were moved to the historic Warner Grand Theater in San Pedro. Despite the inadequate facilities for live presentations in this theater, San Pedro City Ballet mounted its productions there for three years. In 1998, the company’s productions were moved to the El Camino College Center for the Arts Marsee Auditorium in the city of Torrance, where stage, lighting, and sound equipment enabled greatly expanded and more professional company performances. Presently, audiences for The Nutcracker are up to 5,500 each season, although the spring concert always plays to smaller audiences. This is historically true of all regional ballet companies’ productions.

In 1998, the Bradleys purchased the old Norwegian Bakery building at 1231 Pacific Avenue in downtown San Pedro and opened the San Pedro Performing Arts Center to provide a permanent home for the San Pedro Ballet School and San Pedro City Ballet. Students from the San Pedro Ballet School become members of the performing company, San Pedro City Ballet, when their dancing abilities reach company level. In 2001, San Pedro City Ballet II, an apprentice-level company, was begun. The enrollment of the school is approximately 250 students.

The company is made up of teenagers, college students, and some adults and professionals. San Pedro City Ballet is a not-for-profit corporation that puts on major dance performances each year and derives income from ticket sales, lobby sales, fundraisers, individual contributions, corporate contributions, and grants. The company has a relationship with the dance schools whereby the company rents space for rehearsals and auditions candidates from the schools. The Bradleys, as artistic directors, are paid a fee for their services, which include all the creative aspects of each production. The relationship between the company and the schools is a common one throughout the dance world. The company and the schools depend on each other for success.

Throughout the history of San Pedro City Ballet, the one most common thread has been the practice of enabling the underserved members of our community to see the company’s performances at no cost. From early on, schools and organizations in the local community and from the Greater Los Angeles area have been invited to see the company perform. One of the most fulfilling aspects of providing this service to the community is the awe and appreciation of those audiences.

Read A Ballerina’s Story, written by an alumna who was one of our founding members.
San Pedro Ballet School
San Pedro Performing Arts Center
The original company of eight dancers
Artistic Directors Cynthia & Patrick Bradley
San Pedro City Ballet Home Page

Our Story