Diablo Ballet Presents Virtual Balanchine & Beyond

Diablo Ballet presents the second program of its 27 th Season, Balanchine & Beyond featuring four ballets, including the Act III Wedding Scene from the timeless fairytale, Sleeping Beauty.

Diablo Ballet features the return of one of the most joyous of George Balanchine ballets, Who Cares? with music by George Gershwin. This fast-stepping, cheeky ballet evokes the lively spirit of Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and the 1930s and portrays an exuberance that is charged with a distinctive energy. Diablo Ballet will be performing the concert version which includes excerpts, arranged by Hershy Kay, and will highlight eight songs George Gershwin composed between 1924 and 1931.

The program includes the duet Berceuse by Penny Saunders, with orchestral excerpts from French composer Benjamin Godard's opera "Jocelyn". The duet originally made its debut in 2011 for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and explores the nuanced line between classical and contemporary dance, with a sweeping and intricate vocabulary that expresses the cadence of a love affair.

Also included in the program is the company's first virtual world premiere Two One Self created by company dancer, Michael Wells in collaboration with Derion Loman, who was seen recently on America's Got Talent and World of Dance, to create a ballet that explores the concept of one's breath and its ability to give life and take it away.

The program concludes with the timeless fairytale, The Sleeping Beauty, one of the world's most beloved and captivating ballets, featuring the beautiful Princess Aurora, her handsome prince and the triumph of true love's kiss will cast a spell on your heart. Diablo Ballet will present the Wedding Pas de Deux and Coda, staged by Company Regisseur Joanna Berman, who performed Aurora throughout her tenure as a principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.

The program will be filmed in Diablo Ballet's transformed black box theatre early February and streamed virtually to audience's homes for two weekends - February 19-21 and February 26-28. Patrons can choose which weekend they would like to view the performance and they can view the ballet at any time over the three days they chose.

"I'm so pleased that we are able to continue to perform for our dedicated audiences with safety protocols and procedures in place", stated Artistic Director Lauren Jonas.

Virtual tickets are being sold one per household for $30 if purchased before Feb. 10 or $35 if after, through the Lesher Center for the Arts by calling 925-943- SHOW (7469) or online at lesherartscenter.org.

For additional information, visit diabloballet.org or call 925-943-1775. Season Subscriptions are also available.