At Ballet Arte Academy, the Solana Beach studio where Pointeworks founder Sophie Williams got her start, a life-size model of a human skeleton hangs to the right of the door, equipped with a bell that dangles from the pelvic bone.
In ballet training, it’s used to demonstrate correct pelvic placement, because if the hips are tilted out of alignment, that warning bell rings.
Sophie Williams is the founder and artistic director of Pointeworks, which will present “Nocturnes: 5 Ballets” on June 13 in La Jolla. (Raquel Beauchamp)
Except for the skeleton, the studio looks the same as it did when young Sophie Williams practiced her pliés at the double barre, a decade before she founded Pointeworks, the nonprofit ballet company that has had startling success.
Williams returned to Ballet Arte last month, to start rehearsals for “Nocturnes: Five Ballets,” the third annual Pointeworks performance occurring this Saturday at The Conrad in La Jolla.
Williams currently dances for Texas Ballet Theater, but she launched Pointeworks in 2023 as an annual show that offers off-season opportunities for ballet artists, who typically seek side jobs during the summer.
With its cast of impressive talent and a few performances in New York City last year, the company is getting national recognition.In 2025, Williams was featured in Pointe Magazine and the Pointeworks show was listed as an audience favorite.
“It’s been great to see the momentum that I started three years ago,” said Williams, whose performance history includes dancing for BalletMet, English National Ballet and Royal New Zealand Ballet.
“I think that asking the right questions is really important. I had all the resources in my network and I learned what was resonating with different people. I then put that together to make something that’s fulfilling for the artists.”
“Nocturnes” includes the world premiere of Jacquelyn Long’s ballet, “Moving Forces,” accompanied by an original score by award-winning composer Katie Jenkins. The music will be performed live by pianist Joshua Mhoon and violinist Julia Choi.
Dancers Isabella Seo and Brian Bennett rehearse for Pointeworks’ “Nocturnes: 5 Ballets,” being presented Saturday in La Jolla. (Hannah Cox)
Williams is dancing in “Moving Forces” and in Dani Rowe’s dramatic pas de deux, “UnSaid,” staged by French ballet dancer Sofiane Sylve, a National Ballet of Canada artist in residence.
Sylve received a standing ovation in 2019 when she performed in “UnSaid” as a principal with the San Francisco Ballet.
The show also includes the premiere of “Spillover,” by choreographer Keerati Jinakunwiphat, a 2023 Princess Grace Award winner and the first Asian American woman commissioned to create a dance for New York City Ballet.
Dancers Isabella Seo, top, and Chandler Proctor rehearse Reka Gyulai Garcia’s “Transcendence,” which will be presented in Pointeworks’ “Nocturnes: 5 Ballets” on Saturday, June 13, in La Jolla. (Hannah Cox)
South African choreographer Andrea Schermoly created a poetic reimagining of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and there’s a repeat of Reka Gyulai Garcia’s “Transcendence.”
The athletic, yet lyrical choreography in which “love prevails” was enthusiastically received by last season’s audience.
In addition to Saturday’s performance of “Nocturnes,” Williams has established open rehearsals, a master class, a collaboration with the La Jolla Woman’s Club, a dance film and a free pre-performance lecture led by resident composer Katie Jenkins. Details for these events can be found on the Pointeworks website.
“I had no idea Pointeworks was going to lead to all these avenues,” Williams said. “But I love bringing a new creation to life. About half of our artists are returning and the rest are brand new. It generates new ideas and connections and it inspires the work.”
Sophie Williams is the founder and artistic director of Pointeworks dance company. (Megan McNally)
Williams also launched a mentorship program, which gives budding ballet dancers a professional contact that can help guide their future.
“We have six girls from San Diego County and four girls from north of Irvine who have signed up,” Williams said. “They will get to sit in on company rehearsals and get feedback before auditioning for a professional career. We want to see dancers succeed when they become artists because ballet is an ever-growing art form.”
There was a palpable excitement at last month’s Pointeworks rehearsal, where an international group of highly trained professional dancers appeared determined to express their skills.
Though half of them were meeting for the first time to learn new choreography, they would soon be lifting, balancing and supporting each other’s bodies in a way that demands total trust.
The company rehearsed Jinakunwiphat’s “Spillover,” a contemporary ballet about the way bottled up emotions can be contained or released through relationships.
Jinakunwiphat, also known as “the Keerati kid,” is a diminutive Thai American woman who grew up in Chicago.
At the rehearsal, her black hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore a tie-dyed jacket. She responded with an “OK, cool,” as the dancers expertly duplicated her ambitious movement ideas.
Sylve served as the rehearsal director. She wore a mauve, Oregon Ballet Theatre sweatshirt (where she was a recent guest instructor) and her shock of short platinum hair made her stand out as she counted steps out loud with a trace of a French accent.
The Cuba-born Ramirez triplets, Angel (Atlanta Ballet), César (BalletMet) and Marcos (Los Angeles Ballet) were not dressed alike but it was hard to distinguish one from the other.
The last time they all worked together on the same project, Williams said, was in Cuba when they were teenagers.
The motivation for establishing Pointeworks is, for Williams, part creative and part vindication.
Ballet can be a cruel career, especially for female corps de ballet artists, who are easily replaced.
In the past, Williams experienced getting recast due to a slight weight gain after months of rehearsals.
She also witnessed numerous colleagues being bullied into working, despite an injury. She vowed to one day launch a company that supported women choreographers and the health of dancers.
“I want to be sure that Pointeworks is staying true to being a vehicle that supports today’s dancers,” she asserted. “It drives my commitment.”
Williams said she “thinks big,” but she also “follows through.”
The third Pointeworks program comes at a time when funding for the arts has been sharply reduced and many dance companies must depend on donors to stay solvent.
Williams remains hopeful.
“I want audiences to see the high level of artists we have brought together and to continue growing their appreciation for the arts,” she stressed.
“Ballet is special and powerful. It’s a universal language and I can’t say that enough.”
Pointeworks presents ‘Nocturnes: Five Ballets’
When: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13
Where: Baker-Baum Concert Hall, The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla
Tickets: $35-$165
Online: pointeworks.org