Ballet fans will wolf down fun

By The Daily Progress Staff

Published: May 15, 2008

Albemarle Ballet Theatre and Studio for the Performing Arts will present their fourth Spring Dance Gala at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the V. Earl Dickinson Building at Piedmont Virginia Community College.

Director Sally Hart’s “Little Red Riding Hood,’’ an original theatrical and comical ballet, will be the centerpiece of the program.

Little Red’s forest comes alive with flowers and animals in colorful costumes. The choreography, by ABT faculty members, is set to “The Comedians’’ and “Summer Day Suite,’’ putting a fresh spin on a time-honored story.

“Behind Her Eyes’’ is a modern work by Charlottesville choreographer Dinah Gray. It explores the conflicts and connections between a young girl’s outward appearance and her inner life.

Gray’s ballet “Concerto in Bianco e Nero,’’ inspired by J.S. Bach’s “Concerto for Two Violins,’’ juxtaposes the movements of two sets of dancers.

Erin Forker set “Rhythm Reborn’’ to funky music by House of Om and the Philadelphia Experiment Remixed. It shows what happens when a beat invades a dancer’s head and won’t leave.

Admission is $7. Tickets may be ordered online at http://www.aballet.org/tickets or by phone at 823-8888.