Guest ArtistsReka Gyulai, dancer

Reka Gyulai comes to CBC from her native country of Hungary. She received her professional training at the Hungarian Dance Academy in Budapest, Hungary, where she was trained by prominent ballet figures including Imre Dozsa, Zoltan Solymosi and Mark Diamond. Ms. Gyulai was a finalist at the International Ballet Competition in Vienna in 2004. In 2006 she received the prestigious Elvina Vecsei Prize and a Scholarship of the Republic from the Hungarian Ministry of Education.

Ms. Gyulai has performed with the Hungarian National Ballet, Columbia Classic Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, New Jersey Ballet Company, International Ballet Company and Dance Alive National Ballet in Florida. She toured extensively with these companies to Russia, Transylvania, Brazil and throughout the United States. Her repertoire includes principal roles in Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, Walpurgis Night, Swan Lake, The Phantom of the Opera and others. She has danced works by Adam Hougland, Edward Liang, Ashley Page, Marcello Angelini, Ma Cong, Kevin Jenkins and Septime Webre.

Reka Gyulai joined California Ballet as a principal dancer in 2015 and has appeared as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker; in Jared Nelson’s Ruled by Secrecy, Jump Jive and Bolero; Septime Webre’s Juanita y Alicia and Peter Pan; and Jared Nelson’s Cinderella.

California Ballet Company

Founded by Maxine Mahon in 1968, the California Ballet Company has been a fertile ground for the re-staging of the demanding classics and for the creation of its own trailblazing works. The company’s full and diverse repertory includes full-length classics, newer short and full-length story ballets and new, contemporary ballets presented in seasons alongside classics. Now led by Artistic Director Raul Salamanca, CBC is the sole ballet company in residence at the San Diego Civic and Balboa Theatres. The company is celebrated for its annual Nutcracker performances at the San Diego Civic Theatre, with Tchaikovsky’s music played by the San Diego Symphony.