Though ballet has since become associated with finesse and beauty, it was actually invented by the fearsome Cossacks—tough, resourceful horsemen who leapt, spun, and tippy-toed toward their enemies whenever their steed was felled in battle. Experience the graceful evolution of this former combat technique with today's Groupon. For $15, you get one ticket to one of four Los Angeles Ballet performances of New Wave LA, a $30 value. Choose one from the following four shows:

• May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center
• May 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Alex Theatre in Glendale
• May 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica
• May 30 at 2 p.m. at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica

New Wave LA is a multi-date, multi-venue event that encompasses four original works. Pick up a ticket to each of the performances to experience the whole kit and caboodle. The tickets will be in the D-level seating area of each venue and will be issued in e-ticket fashion prior to the show. The Los Angeles Ballet is a group of two dozen gazelle-esque dancers who fling themselves across genres and around the stage like marionettes controlled by heartstrings. See this renowned company move to the body music of the latest, greatest, and most unexpected choreography from LA's own Josie Walsh, plus Sonya Tayeh, Travis Wall, and Mandy Moore of So You Think You Can Dance fame.

Reviews

The Los Angeles Ballet has recently been featured in the Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and Culture Spot LA, among many others:

• So what was it that captured Southern California’s dance buffs recently -- other than the Olympian figure skaters? Try a sub rosa contest between women in tulle tutus and men as fierce fugitives from all that feathery ephemera. But it looks like Balanchine had it right when he gave the nod to the so-called fairer sex. The rivals, as it were, came in the form of Los Angeles Ballet in an all-Balanchine program -- masterworks that keep the universal standard aloft -- and a touring show dubbed “Kings of the Dance,” replete with enough bare- torso beefcake to get Chippendales’ fans whistling, if not the rest of us. – Donna Perlmutter, Huffington Post

Four Yelpers give five perfect stars to the ballet:

• Beyond the performance, the L.A. Ballet provides an atmosphere for a great and creative date. It is entertaining and social allowing you to show your dated a classical side that may not be exposed otherwise. – Josh F.