Ballet Vero Beach Wraps Up Its Season with Spring Flings
- Vero Minute
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The George Balanchine Trust doesn't just hand out approvals to anybody that will perform his work. The choreographer who essentially shaped what American ballet looks like today left behind a legacy so closely guarded that companies must prove they deserve it before they're permitted to perform his work.
Ballet Vero Beach has. As they close out their twelfth season this month, they're bringing the original 1953 Valse Fantaisie to the stage for the first time in company history.
You know Balanchine's work even if you don't know him by name, let alone closely follow ballet. Before him, ballet in America was imported from Europe and felt like a distant, exotic art form. Balanchine made it quintessentially American. He built New York City Ballet from scratch and choreographed the Nutcracker tradition that, to this day, remains a household name consistently selling out stages across the nation every December, including Riverside.
Paired with Valse Fantaisie is Adam Schnell's own ABBAsolutely, set to the music of ABBA, and Matthew Lovegood's Caprice, a windswept, aching work that audiences have been waiting to see back on the program for several seasons.
Spring Flings lands at Riverside Theatre on May 22 (7:30pm) and May 23 (2:00pm and 7:30pm). But first it opens at IRSC's McAlpin Fine Arts Center in Fort Pierce, May 15 (7:00pm) and May 16 (2:00pm). BVB is also offering an accessible and family-friendly performance on May 24 at 2:00pm, an hour-long version designed for young children and individuals with disabilities.
If you can't make any of the dates, archival film access will be available through the BVB website from May 29 through June 14.
Tickets start at $10. balletverobeach.org or 772-269-1065.
