More than 20 West Hartford residents, as well as guest artists, will perform in Ballet Theatre Company’s spring production ‘Ballet Classique.’

Submitted by Lisa Greene, Ballet Theatre Company

Ballet Theatre Company of West Hartford will present its annual spring production, Ballet Classique, on Saturday May 20.

The program will feature guest artists Ricardo Torres and Lisa Fitzgerald, dancing the classical pas de deux Grand Pas Classique. Also on the program is The Fairy Doll (Die Puppenfee), a heart-warming one-act ballet, and Slavonic Dances, a classic interpretation of Dvorak’s music of the same name.

Grand Pas Classique is a stand-alone pas de deux which was choreographed in 1949. This exquisite dance of classical purity and precision will be the thrilling finale to Ballet Classique and feature the artistry of Torres and Fitzgerald. Torres was born in San Juan and has performed with American Ballet Theatre, as a soloist with the Houston Ballet, and as a principal dancer with the Washington Ballet. Fitzgerald has danced with BTC Nutcracker for the past seven years and with Exit12 Dance Company, Ballet Des Ameriques, Connecticut Ballet, Mooney/Cooley Dance, and Ballet Ambassadors.

The Fairy Doll is a delightful story for children and audiences of all ages, where the village toymaker and his wonderful mechanical dolls come to life after he leaves his toyshop for the day. A lively dance fest ensues as all celebrate the fairy doll. Featured dancers are Emily Aubrey of West Hartford as the fairy doll and Brian Syms of Hartford as the toymaker.

The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886. This piece, is set to four of these orchestral pieces and performed by local area students.

West Hartford residents performing in the production include BTC II company dancer, Bella Dorian; Junior Company dancers Mason Capone, Lia Nichols, and Madison Valdez; BTC students Jozie Alter, Bridget Bronsdon, Meredith Decker, Quinlan Greenbaum, Adelaide Herbener, Jillian Hubbard, Abigail Martin, Louisa McDonagh, Evie Messinger, Chen Chen Ouyang, Victoria Przestrzelski, Samantha and Lilah Rychling, Stella and Sophie Scurr, Meredith Seifel, Sarah Stone-Zelman, Sofia Wargo, Jayla Wiggins, and Ela Whalen.

BTC Company Dancers in Slavonic Dances. Photo credit: Ron Compton

Ballet Theatre Company and this spring performance are supported in part by the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the State of CT Department of Economic Development, Office of the Arts, and an Excellence in the Arts Grant from the Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation.

Performances will be at the Hoffman Auditorium of University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. on May 20, 2017. Tickets range from $20-$30. Let’s Go Arts, Senior and Student discounts available.

To purchase tickets, please visit www.dancebtc.org or call 860-570-0440.