BAY AREA QUAKE : Visiting S.F. Ballet Carries On
The 65-member San Francisco Ballet was preparing for opening night Tuesday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa when the dancers heard of the Bay Area earthquake shortly after 5 p.m.
Less than three hours later, the troupe was dancing the scheduled program.
“We’re freaked,” said Lawrence Pech, one of the company’s lead dancers, shortly after he learned of the earthquake. “I know my mind will be somewhere else tonight.”
Another dancer worried aloud about her husband, who had tickets for Game 3 of the World Series at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Like many of the company’s members, she tried in vain to reach her husband or Bay Area friends. She got nothing but busy signals and a recording about service interruptions.
“It’s going to be so much fun trying to perform tonight,” she said as she wandered off.
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