Back in March of this year, I was lucky enough to sit in on a rehearsal as Ballet Tucson prepared for their annual Dance and Dessert program. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the company on stage five times and tonight’s performance is definitely expected to be something special. Dance enthusiasts are in for a treat as two new, original pieces will be presented to the world for the first time.

This evening sees the inaugural program of the company’s 25th Anniversary season. During the past two and half decades, Founding Artistic Director Mary Beth Cabana has built Ballet Tucson into a nationally recognized company—along the way receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tucson Pima Arts Council—and we are fortunate to have such an accomplished group here in our small city.

Ballet Tucson 2010–2011 Season Company Dancers. Photo by Tom Spitz.

Artistic Associates, and husband-and-wife team, John Gardner and Amanda McKerrow, are both former members of the American Ballet Theatre and accomplished dancers in their own right. Tonight they will present the world premiere of their original piece The Gift. The program also includes Graduation Ball, which takes place at a finishing school in Vienna, and the premiere of Jubilee, inspired by Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony and choreographed by Ms. Cabana and Assistant Artistic Director Chieko Imada.

Tickets for tonight’s opening gala are $75 and include a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception prior to the performance. General tickets for Saturday’s and Sunday’s shows are only $25 and can be ordered by calling (520) 903 1445, with more information, and showtimes, on Ballet Tucson’s official website. The performances will be held at the charming Stevie Eller Dance Theater on the UA campus.

In a recent interview, Ms. McKerrow told me: “In these challenging economic times Mary Beth uses each season to determine what she can do with the next one. We’ve been here every season since Ballet Tucson started.”

Here’s hoping for many more, and happy anniversary.

In March I wrote an extensive piece about Ballet Tucson and their preparations for the early spring Dance & Dessert program. In recent weeks, the company has been hard at work rehearsing A Midsummer Night’s Dream—their final performances for the 2009–2010 season.

Midsummer is one of Shakespeare’s best known plays, and my second favorite, after The Tempest, of course. Back in 1826, Felix Mendelssohn could hardly have imagined that his newly-completed “Wedding March”—part of his overture that was inspired by the play—would become one of the most widely recognized and overplayed pieces of music in the history of entertainment. I suppose the Happy Birthday song might be the only piece that is in even heavier rotation. But don’t let that distract you!

New York City Ballet describes George Balanchine as “the foremost contemporary choreographer in the world of ballet,” and in 1962 he presented his own two-act interpretation of Midsummer, using Mendelssohn’s music from the overture, and drawing upon several of his other compositions. Ballet Tucson will be presenting two performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream this weekend at the Tucson Convention Center: Saturday, May 22 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 23 at 2 pm. Ticket prices range from $29 to $39 and are available from the TCC box office and Ticketmaster.

Joseph McGrath as Bottom and Gina Ribera as Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Photograph by Tim Fuller.

Ballet Tucson’s adaptation is “based on Shakespeare’s tender play [and] features his beloved characters Oberon, Titania, and the mischievous Puck. Mythical fairies and sprites inhabit a world shared by human star-crossed lovers. Trickery, merriment and romance abound as mortals and immortals alike try to make sense of love. This striking and elegant production set to Mendelssohn’s impressive score will warm the hearts of children and adults of all ages.”

How can you resist? See you at the TCC, and be prepared for magic, love potions, fairy dust, and men dressed as donkeys.

As Puck says:

“If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber’d here
While these visions did appear”

My friend Carla Ecker is not only one of Tucson’s most accomplished classical musicians, but is also an inspiration. After a battle with a very serious illness that would have crushed a lesser person, she has now returned to her position as violinist and Associate Concertmaster for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

While appearing with the TSO would be enough to keep most performers busy, Carla is also Music Director for the Art.if.Act Dance Project who are holding two AIDS benefit performances at the Stevie Eller Dance Theater on the U of A campus. Artistic Directors Claire Hancock and Ashley Bowman have assembled an impressive list of musicians, professional dancers and choreographers for “Dance in the Red,” tonight, and tomorrow night only.

A silent auction tonight at 6:30 pm will proceed the performance. Among the items donated to the fundraiser are a genuine iron meteorite, along with some rare collectibles from my Meteorite Men TV series on Science Channel. Proceeds will benefit the Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation, as well as helping to support our arts community here in Tucson.

For more information please visit www.artifactdanceproject.com