Ballerinas, a white rabbit and a mad hatter danced around the venue and served tea to the community during Santa Clarita Ballet Company’s Tea and Toe Shoes party.
“It’s such a unique event,” said Corinne Glover, director of the ballet company. “It’s a formal tea and it’s a great afternoon.”
The non-profit ballet school put on the annual event at the Tournament Players Club in Valencia to raise money for their upcoming performance of Alice in Wonderland.
Performers from the cast showcased a few numbers from the show and interacted with children aspiring to be ballerinas when they grew older.
“The young kids see us as role models,” Eliga De Fazio said, a performer portraying Alice in the school’s upcoming production.
De Fazio, who started with the company when she was little, knows first hand how the younger ballerinas view the older performers.
“When I was little, I looked up to all of the older girls,” she said. “It’s a different perspective. It is like we’re shifting places.”
Tawny Clement, a teacher with the company, performed at the tea party years ago when she was 17.
Clement was back on Saturday to bring her 5-year-old daughter to watch the ballerinas and sip tea for the first time.
“It’s been a very special journey,” she said as she helped her daughter add sugar to her tea.
“It’s inspiring for them to get to see the older girls and to see what they can develop into after years of hard work and practice.”
The Santa Clarita Ballet Company will be performing Alice in Wonderland at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center on June 10.
