Little Women Ballet Autumn Immersive at Heritage Square

Most ballet puts a stage and a few hundred seats between you and the dancers. Little Women Ballet goes the other way. For its Autumn Immersive Experience, the company moves into the Victorian houses at Heritage Square Museum and dances the story of the March sisters in parlors and hallways, close enough that you can hear pointe shoes on the floorboards. If you're sorting through the Things Happening In Los Angeles this fall, this one doesn't look like anything else on the calendar.

The company and the story

Emma Andres founded Little Women Ballet in 2023 as a tribute to Louisa May Alcott and the women writers who came after her. This autumn show is where the company started, and it's coming back as a kind of homecoming. The ballet is original, following Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy as they deal with war, money trouble, love and loss, and figure out what to do with their artistic gifts. You don't need to have read the novel. The organizers pitch it at audiences 10 and older, and they call it family-friendly.

How the evening works

Each guest gets a goodie bag on arrival. Inside is a colored ribbon that tells you which route and which character you'll follow. Costumed guides then walk small groups from house to house, and the dancers perform short vignettes in each room. There are autumn drinks and sweet treats along the way. The finale pulls everyone into Victorian folk dancing with the cast, and there's a meet and greet with photos afterward.

Schedule and tickets

The source listing gives five performances across one weekend: Friday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m., then 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. shows on both Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4. Tickets are listed at $65, which comes to about $68 with processing fees. The ticket covers the goodie bag, the treats and the dance tour of the grounds. Groups move through small rooms, so seats are limited; book early if you have a specific time in mind. Check the event listing before you go.

Getting there

Heritage Square Museum sits at 3800 Homer St., right beside the Arroyo Seco Parkway (the 110) in Montecito Heights. It's an open-air museum of eight Victorian-era buildings that were moved to the site to save them from demolition. The Metro A Line's Heritage Square station is a short walk away, which makes the trip easy from Pasadena or Union Station. Wear shoes you can walk in, since you'll cross the grounds between houses, and dress for a cool October evening if you pick a 6:30 show.

For more upcoming events Los Angeles has on the arts side, browse the arts and culture section or the Los Angeles neighborhood page. This is also a good pick if you're hunting for LA events this weekend that the whole family can do together, as long as the kids are old enough to stand and follow along for a couple of hours.