By Scott Ferguson | Photos by Frank Atura | November 2023

From the swinging vocals of WWII-era favorites the Andrews Sisters to the mesmerizing minimalism of composer Philip Glass, The Sarasota Ballet performers will dance to a wide range of musical styles this season.

Iain Webb, the company’s director since 2007, says the dancers’ virtuosity makes them unique. “There’s no other company like us in America,” he says. “They can be amazing in something classical like Giselle or La Sylphide, then transition to a modern Martha Graham or Paul Taylor piece. The company has the full range — it’s got a heart, it’s got a pulse. They’re hungry. No other ballet companies do quite as varied a repertoire at that level.” 

In November, The Sarasota Ballet will present a program at the Sarasota Opera House titled “Conflicted Beauty.” The triple bill includes the company premiere of Edwaard Liang’s The Art of War, with music by Michael Torke;and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Dante Sonata, set to the music of Franz Liszt. Both pieces interpret the conflict and chaos at the heart of war. Finishing the program is Company B, created by modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor. Showcasing hit songs by the Andrews Sisters — including the upbeat “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “Rum and Coca-Cola” and the melancholy “I Can Dream, Can’t I?”— Company B reflects the duality of America’s moods during the 1940s, from raising hope for victory and the safe return of sweethearts to the human toll of war.

Webb says, “Dancers love doing Paul Taylor’s work. And the program is thematic because of the combination of The Art of War, Dante Sonata and Company B. So I linked them together. But the other reason is that Michael Trusnovec, our répétiteur for Company B, is the greatest authority of Taylor’s work in my opinion. He’s one of the best dancers I’ve seen doing Taylor’s choregraphy work. So for me to get him back and keep him connected with the company and the dancers is important.”

In ballet, a répétiteur is the person who stages, or repeats, the work of the original choreographer who created it. But because a modern dance innovator like Taylor may have adjusted a work many times for different stagings to introduce variations or to highlight the talents of different dancers, a répétiteur like Trusnovec will also tap into the talents of a particular dance company like The Sarasota Ballet — harkening back to the various Taylor-led productions of the piece.  

“I was there with Mr. Taylor and Bettie de Jong, his longtime rehearsal director, hearing the things they had to say about the dance,” Trusnovec explains. “So it gave me the perspective of both performing within and looking at the dance from outside in ways that were important to Paul and Bettie. And I’ve seen it many times as a spectator. So I have four perspectives — as an audience member, as a dancer, as a rehearsal director, and now as a stager.”

Trusnovek hopes audience members will also bring their own vantage points to the production.

“My hope anytime with Company B or any Paul Taylor work is that they walk away thinking, ‘Hey, I think I like modern dance.’ So often they’re afraid of it. And I feel like a work like Company B is so accessible. There’s something nostalgic; you hear the music, there’s familiarity, but then it sort of creeps in on you and you start to realize that there are layers of imagery. You’re thinking that on the surface it’s happy, but there’s something a little bit heavier, a little darker underneath. 

“Maybe you connect with one of the characters, one of the songs, one of the stories that you walk away thinking about after the show. But first and foremost, I want people to enjoy it.” 

In December, “Moments of Meaning” will be staged at the Sarasota Opera House. Accompanied by the Sarasota Orchestra, the program will include George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

“Moments of Meaning” will conclude with Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, with music by Philip Glass. Shelley Washington, who was a dancer in Tharp’s company for many years, serves as the répétiteur. The piece is a showcase for Tharp’s inventive choreography, bringing together the moves of boxing, tap dance, yoga, ballet and full-speed sprinting.

Washington says In the Upper Room is a real workout, even for seasoned dancers. “There are three women in point shoes and three men in ballet shoes, three women in sneakers, three men in sneakers and one woman we call ‘Crossover.’ She starts in tennis shoes and she finishes in point shoes. She actually changes her hair during the piece.”

The Sarasota Ballet is lucky to work with Washington, and the feeling is mutual.

“I’m excited about doing In the Upper Room here. And the beauty is in the struggle and in the perfection of it, and watching people do things they didn’t think they could do.”

Shelley Washington

“I love the company,” she says. “I’m excited about doing In the Upper Room here. And the beauty is in the struggle and in the perfection of it, and watching people do things they didn’t think they could do. And the community of the company and their work: the costumes, the lights, the choreography, the dancers themselves, the director that has the genius to do the piece, the audience that’s watching it, the whole thing. As I said to the dancers, ‘You’re only as good as everybody else on stage.’ And that is a beautiful thing. It’s running the race with the torch, and then the next person gets it and the next person gets it, and the next person. It’s a team. It’s a community. It’s a beautiful, beautiful energy.”

Webb thinks audience members will be blown away by the piece. “I think their reaction will be similar to how I felt was when I first saw it. I was just sort of transformed into something in a completely different space. There are just so many elements — the incredible Jennifer Tipton lighting, the Philip Glass music, Twyla Tharp’s choreography. It’s a wonder how on earth, physically, the dancers put themselves through it; it must be one of the hardest dance routines of all time. And it’s just one of those where it just lifts the roof off the Opera House.”

Explaining how he developed “Moments of Meaning,” Webb says, “What I like doing is to have a program that will have something for everybody. I like really pushing the barriers. So I said to myself, ‘Okay, it’s The Sarasota Ballet. Let’s do Tchaikovsky, but let’s finish with Philip Glass. Let’s start with Balanchine. Let’s finish with Twyla.’ So it’s a real shock — it’s like when you eat something for the first time and it all just explodes in your mouth and there’s this amazing feeling and this amazing taste. And that’s what In the Upper Room is. 

“The audience for this program is going to be saying, ‘Oh, lovely, lovely, lovely.” And then, ‘Wow, what was that?’ It’s just going to be an amazing experience for everybody.”

For tickets, contact The Sarasota Ballet Box Office, by phone at 941-359-0099; in person at the FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota; or online at SarasotaBallet.org.

The Season Continues!

There’s more dazzling dance to discover this season! In addition to the programs detailed in the main article, The Sarasota Ballet will present the following:

Graziano Celebrated, FSU Center for the Performing Arts (January 26-29, 2024) Celebrating Ricardo Graziano’s 10 years as The Sarasota Ballet’s resident choreographer, the program features three of his works: Sonatina, music by Antonín Dvořák; a world premiere to be announced; and In a State of Weightlessness, music by Philip Glass.

Guest Company: Ballet Hispanico, FSU Center for the Performing Arts (March 8-11, 2024) The company explores the diversity of Latino culture through a fusion of Classical, Latin and Contemporary dance powered by theatricality, athleticism and passion. 

Portraits of Expression, Sarasota Opera House (April 5-6, 2024) The program includes Emeralds, choreography by George Balanchine, music by Gabriel Fauré; Las Hermanas, choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan; music by Frank Martin; and Who Cares?, choreography by George Balanchine, music by George Gershwin, music arrangement by Hershy Kay.

Inspirations, Sarasota Opera House (April 26-27, 2024) Featured in the program are The American, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Antonín Dvořák; Lyric Pieces, choreography by Jessica Lang; music by Edvard Grieg; and Sinfonietta, choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton, music by Malcolm Williamson.