Little Women Ballet Returns to Heritage Square Museum for Its Autumn Immersive Experience, October 2–4
By staff writer,
Louisa May Alcott's March sisters come to life inside the Victorian homes of Heritage Square Museum, where audiences don't just watch the ballet — they step into the story.
Little Women Ballet, founded in 2023 by Emma Andres as a tribute to Louisa May Alcott and the generations of women writers behind great stories, is reviving its classic Autumn Immersive Experience as a homecoming — a chance to remember how the company began and to welcome new audiences into the story where it all started. From Friday, October 2 through Sunday, October 4, 2026, the company will present five performances at Heritage Square Museum, the living history and open-air architecture museum beside the Arroyo Seco Parkway in the Montecito Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, home to eight historic structures built during the Victorian Era.
The production invites audiences inside the museum's Victorian houses to experience the March sisters' story up close. Guided by costumed characters from house to house, guests watch intimate ballet vignettes just feet from the dancers, enjoy autumn treats, and join the cast in Victorian dancing.
Ballet Beyond the Proscenium
Little Women Ballet is the only ballet immersive in Los Angeles where audiences are up close with professional dancers inside historic homes rather than watching from a proscenium stage. No familiarity with the novel is required to enjoy the experience. The Autumn Immersive Experience is now part of an expanded Fall Season, joined by the HER TURN choreography showcase in August and a new Women-Led Workshop Series in November.
The original ballet traces the coming of age of Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy as they navigate an ever-changing world of war, poverty, love, and loss, learning to embrace their artistic gifts and share them with the world as a source of comfort and joy. On arrival, each guest receives a goodie bag with items used throughout the experience, including a colored ribbon that designates the route and character they will follow. Complimentary autumn beverages and treats are provided, the finale invites guests to join the cast in Victorian folk dancing, and a meet and greet with complimentary photos follows each performance.
A New Chapter for the Company
Little Women Ballet begins its next chapter with official nonprofit status, presenting a season that balances bold, innovative new work with a return to the beloved stories that first defined the company. From the first Little Women Immersive Experience grew its enduring mission: offering original ballets created by women, amplifying women's voices, reimagining classical traditions, and placing women's vision and leadership at the forefront — not just as performers, but as authors of the work itself.
“The Autumn Immersive brings the beauty and artistry of ballet to a story beloved by all ages,” said Emma Andres, LWB Artistic Director and Choreographer. “Whether you're a lifelong devotee of the genre or experiencing it for the very first time, you'll see professional dancers perform up close — and then step into the story yourself, joining them for social dancing of your own. It's the perfect Fall outing for the whole family and just might become your newest seasonal tradition.”
The cast brings together more than 20 professional ballet dancers ranging in age from 10 to 75, dressed in handmade 19th-century costumes. The score pairs classic Victorian pieces with several compositions by Dr. Daniel Robbins, a noted music educator, composer, orchestrator, and classic film music reconstructionist.
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The Creative Team
Emma Andres, Artistic Director and Founder, is a Los Angeles–based choreographer whose work fuses classical ballet with contemporary theatricality, literary narrative, and interdisciplinary design. She holds a BFA in Dance Choreography from UC Irvine, where she received the William Gillespie Ballet Scholarship and a distinguished choreography award. Her Little Women premiered at the Wilshire Ebell and was later staged at the Pasadena Playhouse — the first dance performance in the Playhouse's 100-year history.
Ludmila Malakhov, Company Manager and Ballet Mistress, is a dancer, choreographer, and instructor who has performed with Festival Ballet Albuquerque, teaches at Pasadena Civic Ballet, and holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from USC.
About Heritage Square Museum
Heritage Square Museum explores the settlement and development of Southern California during its first 100 years of statehood through historic restoration and preservation. Its eight Victorian-era structures, saved from demolition and acquired from neighborhoods across Los Angeles over the past fifty years, sit on period-appropriate landscaped grounds and offer a window into everyday life from the close of the 19th century into the early decades of the 20th.
Event Details
When: Friday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, October 3 at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, October 4 at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Where: Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer Street, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tickets: $65 ($68 with processing fees), including an autumn goodie bag, autumn beverages and sweet treats, and a tour of Heritage Square Museum through dance — https://www.littlewomenballet.org/autumn-immersive-26
Ages: Recommended for ages 10 and up; guardians must remain with children under 18 at all times.
Accessibility: The museum welcomes visitors who use mobility aids, though reaching all structures requires traveling long stretches of dirt road. Only Perry House, Palms Depot, and Colonial Drugstore have ramps; all other structures on the tour have stairs.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptz3HHRRSfk (credit: James Folsom)
More information: https://www.littlewomenballet.org · 626-524-3662 · IG: @littlewomenballet
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