A Feast for the Senses: The Sarasota Ballet Program Three

By Scott Ferguson | Photos by Frank Artura | December 2024

The Sarasota Ballet Director Iain Webb describes Fanciful Journey, Program Three of the 2024-25 Season, as “the perfect three-course meal of delights.” With only three performances of the program in late December and live music by the Sarasota Orchestra, gourmets of sumptuous ballets should make their reservations so they can savor the feast.  

First on the bill of fare is Les Patineurs (the skaters), a ballet choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton. The Sarasota Ballet is known for its interpretations of Ashton’s works, having traveled to London in June to help launch a five-year celebration of Ashton’s life and work, in collaboration with The Royal Ballet.

Les Patineurs is the light appetizer of the program. Featuring music by Giacomo Meyerbeer, the set represents a frozen pond, with the dancers simulating the playful and graceful movements of an impromptu party of Victorian ice skaters. 

Ashton had never visited an ice rink in his life, but his stylistic interpretation of ice skating was well-received by audiences when it premiered at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London in 1937. The ballet was performed by The Sarasota Ballet many times, including in 2013 at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. during the Ballet Across America Festival, and 2014 as a part of New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival.

Next on the menu is George Balanchine’s Rubies, the central piece of his 1967 full-length ballet Jewels, with music by Igor Stravinsky. As the Season Program Book describes the ballet, Rubies is “a remarkable example of Balanchine’s style at its most sharp-edged and rhythmically complex,” and reflects his “artistic affinity with his fellow Russian émigré, Stravinsky.” 

“I love Rubies,” says Webb. “The energy is tremendous; it’s a powerhouse.”

 (For those keeping track, the final gem in the full ballet, Diamonds, was performed by The Sarasota Ballet in 2018. Emeralds, the first segment of Jewels, was presented last Season. The Company staged the full three-part ballet in 2016.)

The final course is the long-awaited world premiere of Sir David Bintley’s The Spider’s Feast, with music by Albert Roussel. Audience members of all ages will be amazed by the human-sized insects that come to life in a backyard garden, courtesy of the elaborate set and costumes by renowned designer Dick Bird. 

Bintley has served as resident choreographer of The Royal Ballet, director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan. He was knighted in 2020 for his contributions to dance.

Bird has designed sets and costumes for theater, opera and ballet, including Otello at the Vienna Staatsoper, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker, and Hamlet at the Comedie Francaise. 

 “We are finishing Fanciful Journey with The Spider’s Feast because it’s a great ‘dessert’ to top off the program,” says Webb, “but also because it’s great family entertainment. And of course it’s the world premiere; you can’t get better than that at this festive time of the year.”

 “The Spider’s Feast was written originally for the Paris Opera in 1912,” explains Bintley. “At the time there was a great interest in entymology. Roussel wrote this ballet about insects and people took it very seriously. When I was listening to the music one day I suddenly thought, what if I could turn this thing on its head and actually make a comedy out of it?” 

In Bintley’s version, enhanced by Bird’s designs, there’s a praying mantis depicted as a Spanish matador, a corps de ballet of hyperactive mayflies, and caterpillars that evoke Japanese geishas (and, to their surprise, become butterflies). 

“Each character has an insect quality and a human quality,” says Bird. “David had some precise characters in mind that express the nature of the insect, but also reflect what he’s doing with the choreography. So the wasps, for example, look like fighter pilots. They have a job to do and they’re very serious and heroic. You can imagine these ‘yellow jackets’ (equipped appropriately with yellow life jackets), bailing out of a World War II Spitfire.”

“All the dancers have such great timing and wonderful interactions with each other,” says Webb. “David has picked elements of all the dancers’ qualities and pulled them out. It’s not just about the humor, there’s also pathos and other emotional elements. He really shines a light on all aspects of the characters.”

In addition to the dancers and their costumes, the set and props help create the fantastical world of The Spider’s Feast. The spider’s web is huge, created from fiberglass filaments and hanging from the shelf of a potting shed. There’s also a giant apple core carried by ants, played by children from The Sarasota Ballet School. 

“One of the things about our organization is that we have such a strong educational element,” says Webb. “In The Spider’s Feast, the students have a great opportunity to work with Sir David and be on stage with the regular Company. It’s really an important step to have all of us together in this family ballet.”

Webb says when the curtain is raised on The Spider’s Feast at the Sarasota Opera House, the audience will be astounded. 

“The production has a rich Broadway quality,” he says. “From the first moment the audience sees the set, it’s going to be breathtaking. And when all the elements come together — the set, the costumes, the lighting, the music and the dancing — it will be one of the biggest events of the season, a feast for the eyes and ears.”

The Nutcracker: A Sweet Holiday Treat Returns

Also in December, as part of its Dance Extras series, The Sarasota Ballet School will present the beloved Tchaikovsky ballet The Nutcracker at the Venice Performing Arts Center, with musical accompaniment by the Venice Symphony. The beloved holiday production (The Sarasota Ballet School first launched it in 2022 and it’s already a local favorite) will also be presented at the Sarasota Opera House. Both performances will showcase The Sarasota Ballet Studio Company, plus students from The Sarasota Ballet School and The Sarasota Ballet’s Margaret Barbieri Conservatory.

“From the very young students to the older ones who dream of joining the regular Company, this is a wonderful vehicle for them,” says Webb. “It features more than 140 students, and the production has very high standards. We’re all proud of it, and the community loves it.” 

The Nutcracker, Venice Performing Arts Center, Friday, December 13 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, December 14 at 3 p.m.

Program Three; Fanciful Journey, Sarasota Opera House, Friday, Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The Nutcracker, Sarasota Opera House, Sunday, December 22 at 6:30 p.m., and Monday, December 23 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

For tickets and information, visit SarasotaBallet.org or call the box office at 941-359-0099.