The Sarasota Ballet Summons Florida Radiance
and New York Swing to the Stage with Day & Night
19 – 20 November 2021 at the Sarasota Opera House
The Sarasota Ballet returns to the Sarasota Opera House with Day & Night, performing 19 – 20 November and featuring Sir Peter Wright’s radiant Summertide, and Twyla Tharp’s dynamic ode to Ol’ Blue Eyes, Nine Sinatra Songs. Both ballets appeared in some form—Nine Sinatra Songs in full, Summertide in part—on ballet fans’ screens in last year’s 30th Anniversary Digital Season, leading to significant demand for live performances of these exciting works.
“The seeds for this program began last December as Margaret began staging the second movement of Peter’s Summertide for our third Digital Program,” says Iain Webb, Director of The Sarasota Ballet. “Having brought the ballet back to life at the start of the 25th Anniversary Season, there hadn’t been the right program for Summertide’s return. However, watching its breathtaking choreography performed amongst Dick Bird’s remarkable designs, I knew that it would be a perfect fit for this re-opening Season. Combined with Twyla Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs, which brings Sinatra’s iconic tunes to life through Tharp’s fluid choreography, I know that Day & Night will thrill audiences.”
Choreographed in 1976 for the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, Summertide condenses the beauty and magnificence of a day in summer into a one-act ballet. The principal role for Summertide was created on Assistant Director of The Sarasota Ballet Margaret Barbieri, who carried her experience forward to work with Sir Peter Wright once more on the ballet’s November 2015 revival and American Company Premiere. Set to Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, and with dazzling designs by Dick Bird, Summertide captures the shimmering grandeur of a day spent in the sun within the framework of ballet.
“It delights me to see Summertide return to our stage this Season,” says Barbieri. “Our revival six years ago was an endeavor of passion and love for the art form, and working with Sir Peter to recreate this beautiful ballet that remains so close to my heart is an absolute pleasure. Of course, Ms. Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs is a joy all its own; her unique choreographic approach, fusing classical ballet techniques with more contemporary forms, juxtaposes strikingly against Sinatra’s syncopation-dense songs. The dancers move through characterizations of the various themes of the music, each sequence taking on a distinct energy that all culminates in an ensemble reprise. Nine Sinatra Songs perfectly demonstrates Ms. Tharp’s remarkable knack for combining multiple genres and creating something all its own.”
Nine Sinatra Songs premiered in 1982 with Twyla Tharp Dance at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver, Canada. A ballet for seven couples in formal attire by Oscar de la Renta, Nine Sinatra Songs follows dancers through the many elements of love expressed through each of Sinatra’s classics. It has since become recognized as one of Ms. Tharp’s signature works, and has been staged by many of the major ballet companies around the world.
The Sarasota Ballet’s performances of Day & Night are sponsored by WUSF.
Performance Schedule and Ticket Information
19 – 20 November 2021
Sarasota Opera House
Friday, 19 November 2021 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, 20 November 2021 at 2:00 PM
Saturday, 20 November 2021 at 7:30 PM
Summertide
Choreography by Sir Peter Wright
Music by Felix Mendelssohn
Nine Sinatra Songs
Choreography by Twyla Tharp
Music by Frank Sinatra
Subscription Tickets
Subscriptions and Packages to The Sarasota Ballet’s 2021 - 2022 Season are on sale now, beginning at $120. For information, please visit www.SarasotaBallet.org or call the box office at 941.359.0099, Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm.
Single Tickets
Individual tickets for Day & Night, starting at $35, are on sale now at www.SarasotaBallet.org or by calling 941.359.0099.
