Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Maker-Bilandzija
Hi Jessica, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Pasadena Dance Theatre, a non-profit dance organization, was started in 1958 by Ms. Evelyn LeMone. Following Ms. LeMone, Ms. Cynthia Young was appointed Artistic Director in 1996. In 1999, Pasadena Dance Theatre opened the Studio Theatre, an intimate performing space for new works and concert performances. PDT’s repertoire expanded with an annual production of The Nutcracker, which has become a recognized staple at the historic San Gabriel Mission Playhouse during the holiday season. Over the years, PDT’s students have had the opportunity to share the stage with seasoned professionals from San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Oklahoma City Ballet, and many others during our Nutcracker season. Several of our former students continue to dance, choreograph, and teach professionally around the world.
PDT is thankful for the dedication and passion of both Ms. Evelyn LeMone and Ms. Cynthia Young in fulfilling our mission: “To support, foster, and advance the art of dance through professional. performances and educational programs.” Many of Ms. LeMone and Ms. Young’s former students continue to support the school where their dancing journey began.
In 2022 Ms. Young retired and in 2024 the Board of Directors hired two new Co-Artistic Directors. PDT Alumna and Smuin Ballet’s Jean Michelle Sayeg and Inland Pacific Ballet’s Eric Shah will ensure Pasadena Dance Theatre’s rich legacy and history remains while also propelling us into a successful future. We are thrilled for our students and community as we enter this next chapter.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Dance is always a struggling art form and in Los Angeles, ballet struggles even more! This is a city which loves commercial dance more than classical dance. Ballet takes an immense amount of training and dedication in order to get to a professional level. For better or for worse, ballet is very traditional and solitary. It’s slow, methodical, painful, and somewhat unnatural, yet when it is performed, it is one of the most beautiful things the human body has ever done.
Another challenge was the covid 19 pandemic. Many studios did not survive and somehow how we are still here.
Finally, when our last Artistic Director nearly 30 years retired in 2022, the board of directors had to keep the organization operational until a proper re-placement could be found. After a two year search, we have succeeded in hiring two new wonderful artistic directors who are thrilled to take PDT into it’s next phase.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the President of the Board of Directors, but my real job is as an English teacher at Marshall Fundamental Secondary School in Pasadena. I am most proud of keeping PDT open and running successfully without an artistic director. We were able to pull a small but strong team together to produce the Nutcracker, fully re-choreographed, re-staged, and re-imagined for two years. We broke profit records with the show and gave staff raises. We paid all of the bills and maintained relationships with community partners all while searching for our next leaders. This was a massive undertaking and one many former board members ran away from. We succeeded and we are thrilled with where we are heading as an artistic organization.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
One of the greatest lessons we have learned is that success comes from a great team, not a great individual. Through the transition of leadership, we all had important roles to fulfill and we succeeded only because we honored each other’s strengths, respected each other’s opinions, and worked for the benefit of the place rather than for our individual needs or desires.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pasadenadancetheatre.org/
- Instagram: pasadenadancetheatre
- Facebook: Pasadena Dance Theatre
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@pasadenadancetheatrepdt
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pasadena-dance-theatre-pasadena
