IF YOU GOWhat: Ballet Tennessee 25th Anniversary Jubilee.When: 8 p.m. today and Saturday.Where: UTC Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St.Admission: $15 adults, $12 seniors and students for one night; $20 adults, $17 seniors and students for two nights.Phone: 821-2055.Website: www.ballettennessee.org.
In honor of 25 years of plies, pirouettes and pas des deux, Ballet Tennessee will celebrate its Anniversary Jubilee tonight and Saturday at the UTC Fine Arts Center. Two different programs are on tap to honor a quarter century of classical dance in Chattanooga.
Tonight at 8, the Ballet Tennesee Repertory Program features works that highlight the talent of both company dancers and returning alumni.
Founding director Barry VanCura received first prize in ballet at the Panoply choreography competition in Huntsville, Ala., for his playful, coed work "Concerto." Following that, guest artist Thomas Shoemaker takes it to a more dramatic level with "Non Grata," a contemporary ballet.
Two works of student choreography, "Just for Fun" and "Limitations," received first and third prizes at the Tennessee Association of Dance Student Choreography Showcase. The evening will end with a piece, "CoExistence," with music by Jonathan McNair.
Saturday night, the Spring Festival of Dance brings several styles to the stage, including ballet, modern and contemporary. Students from Ballet Tennessee's Professional Training Program and VanCura Ballet Conservatory will present works that show the dancers' range of style.
After the Youth Ensemble takes the stage for two upbeat numbers, "Tuxedo Junction" and "Jam," the Professional Training Program Dancers will enter for "Faust," a choreographical collaboration by Barry VanCura and David Keary.
"Faust" and "Concerto," as well as solo works by faculty members Jennia Shanley and Emily Pietratone, and graduating senior Elizabeth Sanford, will be included both evenings.