Sarasota Ballet changes March program

"Shostakovich Suite"

   There's been a change in an upcoming Sarasota Ballet program. 

   The performance that's scheduled for March 27-30 was supposed to include Sir Peter Wright’s "Summertide."   That's out, and in its place is a revival of resident choreographer Ricardo Graziano’s "Shostakovich Suite."        The other pieces on the revised program are Paul Taylor's "Company B," which is based on music by the Andrews Sisters, and the world premiere of a new work by Graziano.
   "Summertide" is now slated for the November program.
   Call 941-359-0099 or go to sarasotaballet.org if you want to know more.

Sarasota Ballet holds vigil for young dancer

Pedro Pupa

   The Sarasota Ballet has scheduled a vigil Monday evening for Pedro Pupa.

   Pupa was a 20-year-old Brazilian dancer in the Sarasota Ballet's corps de ballet. Wednesday afternoon, he was riding his bicycle near the Ringling when a truck hit him. He died several hours later. The truck driver was cited,

   “Pedro was one of the nicest young men I have had the pleasure to know," said Mary Anne Servian, the ballet's managing director. "Always a smile, always a kind word. Pedro lived life to the fullest."

  The vigil is scheduled for 6:30–8:30 p.m. at The Ringling Ca’d’Zan, 5401 Bay Shore Drive, Sarasota, very near the scene of the accident.

   For more information go to sarasotaballet.org or call 941-359-0099.

Sarasota Ballet offers a beautiful, original "Nutcracker."

   Going to see an unfamiliar version of "The Nutcracker" is  a bit of crap shoot. There are many more bad stagings of the classic ballet than good ones, and attempts to "reimagine" it fail much more often than they succeed.
   That makes the experience of the Sarasota Ballet's "John Ringling's Circus Nutcracker" all the more rewarding. Its ideas are interesting and its execution is gorgeous.
   This is the second year for this "Nutcracker," which so far has not been performed anywhere else in the world. There are two more performances today (Saturday, Dec. 21).
   The story has been moved to New York City in the 1930s, where art deco architecture and Depression-era fashion offer a different visual palette than we're used to to seeing in "The Nutcracker." The characters John Ringling and his family, shortly after the death of Mable Ringling.

A scene from ""The Nutcracker"

   The translation works, and the story fits the familiar E.T.A. Hoffman outline without much a stretch.
   The choreography by Matthew Hart is tasteful and clever -- he incorporates ballroom dance styles of the era and Michael Jackson-esque pseudo-gangster reference into the ballet -- and the sets and costumes by Peter Doherty are lovely.
   Performances from the entire cast, from principals all the way through to the very young students dancers, are confident and meticulous. And the Sarasota Orchestra plays Tchaikovsky's music -- perhaps the most familiar classical music of all time -- beautifully.
   Given all that's great about this staging, it feels odd to say that its curtain is a major flaw. But before both act one and act two, the audience has to look at a curtain dominated  garish, amateurish and just plain ugly image of the Nutcracker's face It serves an interesting function in the opening of each act, and it's easy to see why someone thought it would work, but since the audience has to look at something so creepy for 20 to 30 minutes, it's a significant scar on a production that's otherwise pristine.
   Once the curtain has been raised, though, this "Nutcracker" is a marvelous thing to see and hear.
   Remaining shows are at 2  and 8 p.m. today, at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $15-$100. call 941-359-0099 ext. 101 or go to www.sarasotaballet.org.

Sarasota Ballet scores with Balanchine, Ashton, Britten

   It was a concert designed to have something for everybody. And all three dances on the Sarasota Ballet's program earned enthusiastic applause from the audience, so all three obviously had appeal.
   The first piece, Balanchine's "Serenade," set to Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings," was a luminescent piece of pure classical dance, with Balanchine's typical musicality matched by the fluidity of the dancers. A couple of humorous touches -- a dancer purposely falls on her face at one point -- somehow enhance he piece transcendent beauty.

"Illuminations" (1950)

   The ballet, accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra, next celebrated Benjamin Britten's 100 the birthday with Ashton's "Illuminations," with music by Britten and lyrics taken from Rimbaud poems. It's a wonderfully surreal narrative piece of comedy and drama. It would be tempting to call it Felliniesque, except that Ashton created it in1950, before Fellini as influential.
   The final piece, Balanchine's "Who Cares?," just didn't seem to fit. It's set to a series of 15 Gershwin songs, and the pop flavor of the music and the dance felt at odds with the sublime pleasures of the first two works.
   There were some fine moments of dance, though, especially in several pas de deux, and the piece was an undeniable crowd-pleaser.
   The orchestra, conducted by Ormsby Wilkins, sound gorgeous throughout the evening, and seemed as comfortable with Gershwin as with Britten.
   There are two more performances, at 2 and 8 p.m. today (Saturday, Nov 23) at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $33.25-$100. Call 941-359.0099, ext.101 or go to www.sarasotaballet.org.





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Dancer defects from Cuba, joins Sarasota Ballet

    Edward González Morgado was on tour with National Ballet of Cuba recently when he and six other dancers from the company decided to take a chance at a better life,

Gonzalez with Sarasota Ballet
director Iain Webb

    The seven dancers defected, and on Tuesday the Sarasota Ballet announced that González is the company's newest soloist.
    “It was very hard, but I kept thinking about the future," González said. "I want to be the best dancer I can, and I know that being in America will allow me that opportunity.” 
   González is just 23, but started training when he was 9, so he already has 14 years of experience. He's performed in "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty" and  "La Fille mal Gardée, among many others.
    A statement from the company praised González for his "strong athleticism" and "purity of line and technique." 
   He'll start classes with the company immediately.

   For information about Sarasota Ballet, visit www.sarasotaballet.org or call (941) 359-0099

Sarasota Ballet re-imagines 'Nutcracker' with fresh Ringling Circus twist at Van Wezel

The Sarasota Ballet's "John Ringling's Circus Nutcracker" will have its world premiere Dec. 14-15 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

One of Florida's greatest performing arts legacies will come to life in a fresh incarnation when the Sarasota Ballet presents the world premiere of "John Ringling's Circus Nutcracker."

The performance, Friday and Saturday at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, is inspired by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The entertainment giant that had its Winter Quarters in Sarasota from 1927 to 1959.

The Greatest Show on Earth remains closely associated with the city thanks to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art as well as current celebrity circus residents such as record-holding sky-walker Nik Wallenda.

Englishman Iain Webb, director of The Sarasota Ballet, has been enamored by the city's circus legacy since he arrived six years ago.

For years, he also maintained a long-term goal to do something fresh with the holiday warhorse that while beloved by the masses, is considered a deathless pest by many dancers, directors and serious ballet enthusiasts.

"I was always looking for something to do with the connection to the circus," Webb said. "I also really wanted to do a new 'Nutcracker,' something magical that had a whole new life."

Read more.

Blues-rock man Mike Zito, country singer Josh Thompson and more in Weekend.
  
—PHOTO PROVIDED

Manatee Players' 'Oliver' opens today; Sarasota Ballet brings 'Modern Greats;' Players of Sarasota 'Mame;' AMI Players arrive with 'Last Train to Nibroc'

Four highly-recommended shows open this weekend in Manatee and Sarasota.

Enjoy.

Lionel Bart's classic musical "Oliver!" — based on Charles Dickens' classic novel "Oliver Twist" — opens today at the Manatee Players' Riverfront Theatre in downtown Bradenton.

On Friday (Dec. 3) and Saturday (Dec. 4) Sarasota Ballet will present "Modern Greats" featuring works by contemporary choreographers Christopher Wheeldon, Will Tuckett and Twyla Tharp.

The Sarasota Players' staging of the beloved Jerry Herman musical "Mame" opens today at the Players Theatre in Sarasota.

Also opening today is the Anna Maria Island Players' rendition of Arlene Hutton's emotive, 1999 off-Broadway drama "Last Train to Nibroc."

CLICK TO READ ABOUT ALL FOUR PERFORMANCES. 

"Food Glorious Food" from the 1968 film version of "Oliver!"

'Nunsense,' Shakespeare and the Sarasota Ballet hit local stages

Another big week for the performing arts.

Here are links to my stories that ran in Thursday's Weekend section:

Shakespeare goes clubbing at Asolo with an extremely hip take on "Two Gentleman of Verona."

Manatee Players bring 'Nunsense' back with 'Sensations,' the latest sequel of Dan Goggin's off-Broadway sensation that debuted in 1985. My review of last night's show will run Saturday or Sunday.

Sarasota Ballet opens 20th season with "Firebird" and "Anne Frank."