Among the many highlights are:

Two full-length ballets, a world premiere of a new production of The Nutcracker where you see Clara run away with the circus, and Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal Gardée.  The Nutcracker will also be performed at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall with live music provided by the Sarasota Orchestra.
 

Presenting the Paul Taylor Dance Company for performances in October and adding Paul Taylor’s Company B to The Sarasota Ballet repertoire with performances in November.
 

The Sarasota Ballet has committed to performing to live music in four of the seven programs scheduled in 2012-2013.
 

An expanded partnership with the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee which will include moving the Backstage at the Ballet lecture series to the nearby campus and developing live-streaming and recorded educational programs.

La Fille mal Gardée, a full length ballet by Sir Frederick Ashton

            As The Sarasota Ballet continues to polish its reputation as the leading exponent of the choreography of Sir Frederick Ashton, it is a
particular note of accomplishment that a ballet company of its size has been granted the special permission of Jean Pierre Gasquet to add Ashton’s full length ballet. La Fille mal Gardée, to its repertoire.

            With characteristic humour, Ashton’s sunny La Fille mal Gardée (“The Wayward Daughter”) is set in a French farming community to Louis Joseph Herold’s beguiling music (arranged by John Lanchberry). The story tells of the Widow Simone’s hilarious efforts to marry off her pretty daughter Lise to Alain, the buffoonish son of the neighboring vineyard owner. But Lise and her resourceful beau Colas have other ideas, and the good Widow is in for a disappointment!

            Premiered by the Royal Ballet in 1960, Ashton’s version of Dauberval’s delightful pastoral comedy of manners has proved his most enduringly popular ballet.  With exciting dancing , farmyard animals, harvesting peasants, thunder-storm and tale of true love overcoming parental pressure or an advantageous marriage.  Watch for the famous farmyard animals, ribbon and clog dances.

Presenting the Paul Taylor Dance Company

            The 2012-2013 will open with a special presentation of the internationally renowned Paul Taylor Dance Company for performances October 26-28, 2012 at the FSU Center for Performing Arts.  They will be performing The Uncommitted, premiered on July 21, 2011 at the American Dance Festival in Durham, N.C. 

The Uncommitted uses four short works by Arvo Pärt: “Fratres,” “Mozart-Adagio,” “Ricercar” and “Summa.” The somber atmosphere of the work is provided by Jennifer Tipton’s lighting and set and costumes by Santo Loquasto. In three sections — the first a steady stream of solos, the second highlighting duets and trios, and the final shows off with the entire cast of 11 —  the ballet suggests a world in which loneliness is not exactly the same as being alone. Of the premiere, Gia Kourlas of the New York Times described The Uncommitted as “a haunting work with so many moments of beauty — structurally alone, it’s like being on a visual treasure hunt — that the music, while familiar, becomes a pure, new voice for the body.”

It was also with great pride that Iain Webb announced that The Sarasota Ballet had been granted permission to perform Paul Taylor’s Company B for the November 16-17 performances in the Sarasota Opera House.

As described by Laura Shapiro of Newsweek, Company B “evokes the exuberant rhythms of the '40's as well as the grim and persistent shadow of war.”

            Premiered in 1991 and with lighting by Jennifer Tipton and costumes by Santo Loquasto, Company B recalls the turbulent era of WWII through the hit songs of the Andrews Sisters. Although the songs depict a nation surging with high spirits, millions of men were bidding farewell to wives or girlfriends and many would never return from battle. The dance focuses on such poignant dualities. Young lovers lindy, jitterbug and polka in a near manic grasp for happiness while in the background shadowy figures – soldiers – fall dead. Among the sections of the dance, the one choreographed to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)” is carefree until the moment the bugler is shot; the one set to “I Can Dream, Can’t I?” tells of a young lady’s affections for a soldier an ocean away who, for his part, reaches out to a comrade in arms. The dance ends just as it began, with “Bei Mir Bist du Schön” – but the world has clearly changed.

Live Music by the Sarasota Orchestra and Performances at Ruth Eckerd Hall

            The Sarasota Ballet proudly announced that both of the full length ballets for the 2012-2013 season, The Nutcracker and La Fille mal Gardée will be performed to live music. Live music for The Nutcracker will be provided by the Sarasota Orchestra.

            In addition to orchestral accompaniment for two full length ballets, The Sarasota Ballet has committed live music in four of its seven programs scheduled in the 2012-2013 season.  This is a significant increase of live music and dance performances over previous seasons.

            The Nutcracker in December will travel to Clearwater, Florida for performances at the Ruth Eckerd Performing Arts Hall.  Zev Buffman, the hall’s executive director, is enthusiastic about expanding the audience for The Sarasota Ballet to his the Tampa Bay region.  

            “Being able to reach new audiences and to dance to live music of the caliber of the Sarasota Orchestra with more regularity will contribute significantly to our artistic growth and financial solidity,” says Webb.

Expanded Partnership with USF-Sarasota-Manatee

            USF Sarasota-Manatee has long supported The Sarasota Ballet’s Dance-The Next Generation with scholarship funds for graduates. The Ballet and USF Sarasota-Manatee are excited to explore further ways they can collaborate on educational programs. The opportunities include streaming video and broadcasting lectures, workshops with guest artists and choreographers.

            The popular lecture series, Backstage at the Ballet, will be held at the Auditorium on the USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus. Webb will continue to host the series introducing his audiences to guest choreographers, dancers and illustrating through dance and his behind the scene insights many known and unknown aspects of ballet.

             “We are excited to be partnering with The Sarasota Ballet,” said Dr. Arthur Guilford, Regional Chancellor for USF Sarasota-Manatee. “We know how important the arts, and The Sarasota Ballet, are for this region and look forward to hosting the lecture series and the possibility of new collaborations in the future.”

THE SARASOTA BALLET  2012-2013 Season Overview

Program 1

The Sarasota Ballet Presents:  The Paul Taylor Dancers
Paul Taylor’s The Uncommitted
Music by Arvo Pärt
October 26-28, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012 at 8 pm
Saturday October 27, 2012 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Sunday, October 28, 2012 at 2 pm and 7 pm
FSU Center for the Performing Arts

Program 2

Christopher Wheeldon’s There Where She Loves with live music
Paul Taylor’s Company B
Friday, November 16, 2012 at 8 pm
Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Sarasota Opera House

Program 3

The Nutcracker
Sarasota’s own Nutcracker, world premiere performances of this brand new production
Choreography by Matthew Hart, Designs by Peter Docherty, Music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky
Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra

Friday, December 14, 2012 at 8 pm
Saturday, December 15 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

Friday, December 21, 2012 at 8 pm
Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 2pm and 8 pm
The Ruth Eckerd Performing Arts Hall
Clearwater, Florida
(Not included in the subscription series)

Program 4

Sir Frederick Ashton’s Birthday Offering/ divertissements
Sir Frederiek Ashton’s Sinfonietta

Friday, February 1, 2013 – 8 pm
Saturday, February 2, 2013 -  2 pm and 8 pm
Sunday, February 3, 2013 – 2 pm and 7 pm
FSU Center for the Performing Arts
 

Program 5

Sir Antony Tudor’s Lilac Garden
Dominc Walsh’s Neapolitani

Friday, March 1, 2013 at 8 pm
Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Sunday, March 3, 2013 at 2 pm and 7 pm
FSU Center for the Performing Arts
 

Program 6

Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal Gardée
Accompanied by live orchestra
Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 8 pm
Friday, April 19, 2013 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

Program 7

Theatre of Dreams
Featuring new choreography by dancers of The Sarasota Ballet including Ricardo Graziano and Kate Honea all to live music
Friday, May 3, 2013 at 8 pm
Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 2 pm and 8 pm
Sunday, May 5, 2012 at 2 pm and 7 pm
FSU Center for the Performing Arts
 

Ballet Across America III
June 4-9, 2013
Kennedy Center of Performing Arts
Washington, D.C.
(Not included in the subscription series)