Ballet may be a rare art that few people can perform, but the Saratoga Performing Arts Center has a way for hundreds of ballet fans to feel part of the action. The annual event is the Ballet Gala, complete with a lawn party and festivities inside the Hall of Springs ballroom.
The 2018 rendition of the event takes place Saturday, July 21 — the last night of the New York City Ballet’s short run at SPAC this season. And for those people who appreciate a good pas de deux and pirouette, but who need to find more agreeable ways of participating in a night at the ballet, this event is as participatory as it gets. Just bring your candles, blankets and picnic baskets or ballroom attire to SPAC for the celebratory evening event.
The event starts at 5:30 pm and will treat ballet goers to pop-up events that take place on the lawn and in the crowds ahead of the NYC Ballet’s finale performance at 8 pm. The evening’s performances will celebrate the 100th-year birthdays of two of ballet’s legends: Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein.
The fundraising gala is presented by The Action Council and Junior Committee to help support the residency of New York City Ballet.
The evening will be as interactive and community-based as ever, with pop-up performances produced by Nicole Coady and the appearance of several local dance schools (School of the Arts, Saratoga City Ballet and Northeast Ballet Company and the modern dance group Nacre Dance Company.)
Soul singer Kim Lisinicchia, and pianist Chuck Lamb with Ria Curley will also perform while avant-garde stilt walkers will lend a dramatic element to the early evening event.
The centerpiece of the night will be New York City Ballet’s performance of Robbins’ celebrated works, Other Dances and Four Seasons, as well as Justin Peck’s spring 2018 ballet, Easy, inspired by Robbins and set to a Bernstein score.
The finale performance will be the SPAC premiere of a new piece directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Warren Carlyle, Something to Dance About, which celebrates the Broadway choreography of Jerome Robbins. “Complete with 30 dancers and 124 costume changes all in a breathtaking 30 minutes, the ballet is an imaginative nod to Robbins’ Broadway works and the ‘can’t miss’ performance of the season,” Elizabeth Sobol, president & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, said of Something to Dance About in a news release.
Tickets to the Gala events are $250 or $165 for Junior Guests (to age 35) and include a champagne cocktail party, gourmet food stations by Mazzone Hospitality, prime seating for the performance, and admission to an After Party with dessert and cordials in the Jazz Bar in addition to live music and dancing under the stars.
Gala event tickets are available by contacting Seth Buono at 518.584.9330 ext. 101 or sbuono@spac.org.
Ticket prices for Lawn Party experience are $55 and include the opportunity to party and picnic on the lawn, general admission to the performance and the outdoor After Party with music by Soul Session.
