Charleston Ballet coming to the Granada
May 2—BLUEFIELD — Area residents have the opportunity to see a professional ballet company perform in Bluefield.
The Charleston Ballet, also the official West Virginia State Ballet, will be on stage at the Granada Theater on Sunday, May 7.
Nicole Smith, House Manager & Programming Director for the Bluefield Arts & Revitalization Corp. (BARC), said the "exciting mixed bill program" is called "Boundaries of Dance."
The performance will offer pieces that are classical, contemporary, and modern, including an audience favorite, "Keep on Truckin'," set to the sounds of the 1970s.
The Charleston Ballet will also present Glazunov's "Novelettes," and a recently premiered modern work, "Contended Convergence," choreographed by Ohio University professor Christi Camper Moore.
The Charleston Ballet was formed in 1956 by Andre Van Damme, who achieved great success in his native Belgium as the first star dancer with the Royal Opera. His vision was to provide state experience in a professional atmosphere for West Virginia dancers and to create a greater appreciation for the art of ballet. The company has been a pioneer among regional ballet troupes in the United States.
Completing its 67th year, the company has enriched the cultural life of the state with hundreds of traditional and original ballets. Kim Pauley became artistic director in 1989, becoming one of the very few women directors nationally of a regional ballet. The company has a reputation of high-quality professional performances, artistic integrity and strong social conscience.
This performance has been made possible in part by grants from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation; Fund for the Arts; the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History; the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts; and Grants Supermarkets and Cole Auto Mall.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at bluefieldgranada.com and cost $20 for adults and $5 for youth 17 and under.
The performance is set for Sunday, May 7 at 2:30 p.m.
— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com
Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com
