Ballet Concerto's 36th Annual SUMMER DANCE CONCERT Comes to Fort Worth, Texas

Margo Dean, founder and artistic director of Ballet Concerto Inc., a Fort Worth institution that has presented an annual free-to-the-public, fully-staged professional dance production each June since 1981, has announced that the company's SUMMER DANCE CONCERT performances will move from Trinity Park to The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork adjacent to the Trinity River and a part of the Clearfork Developments in near Southwest Fort Worth.

Concert dates are Thursday, June 22, 2017, for an invitational gala opening night private performance, followed by public performances with no tickets required for lawn seating on Friday, June 23; Saturday, June 24; and Sunday, June 25. Curtain is at 8:30 p.m. except Sunday evening, with curtain at 8:00 p.m. Gates open an hour before curtain.

Tickets for the private opening night gala start at $100 per person and are available by calling Ballet Concerto at 817-763-5087 or emailing j.simus(at)jansimusevents(dot)com. Festivities begin at 6:00 p.m.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday public performances offer gratis lawn seating; no tickets are necessary. However, patrons may purchase preferred location, reserved table seating each evening, starting at $50 per person. For table details and purchases, call 817-763-5087 or 817-738-7915 or go to their ticketing site.

The program for the 2017 SUMMER DANCE CONCERT, entitled Art of the Dance, will feature four varied works, two of which are world premieres:

Work: Raymonda
Choreographer: After Marius Petipa
Music: Aleksander Glazunov

Work: Inscape
Choreographer: Bruce Marks
Music: Bela Bartok

Work: Le Tricorne
Choreographer: Luis Montero
Music: Manuel de Falla

Work: World Premier TBA
Choreographer: Elise Lavallee
Music: TBA

The cast will include Ballet Concerto company dancers and guest professionals who will have arrived in Fort Worth to audition for roles, rehearse, perform and teach at the annual Ballet Concerto Summer Dance Workshop that begins in early June and culminates with the concert. The Workshop takes place at Margo Dean School of Ballet. At press time, featured guest choreographers for 2017 "Art of the Dance" performances include:

Luis Montero, renowned Flamenco artist and celebrated Spanish choreographer, traveling to Fort Worth from his home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He has choreographed for Ballet Concerto for 28 years.

Bruce Marks, former artistic director of Ballet West, Boston Ballet, and Orlando Ballet, has had a stellar and distinguished career as principal dancer, artistic director, choreographer, and administrator. Retired from the stage, he continues to work as a guest choreographer, coach, and teacher as well as acting as judge for international ballet competitions.

Elise Lavallee, an experienced dancer, teacher, and choreographer for many productions in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. As a student, she trained with Margo Dean School of Ballet and has performed with Ballet Concerto, Casa Manana, Dallas Theater Center, Lyric Stage, and many other respected venues. She is both a teacher and choreographer at Margo Dean School of Ballet.

With the move to The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork, Ballet Concerto hopes to be even more accessible to audiences from throughout the area, according to the company. The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork, located at 5000 Clearfork Main Street in Fort Worth, TX 76109, has adjacent parking that will easily accommodate 800 cars. Nearby residential properties and numerous retail and restaurant businesses are within walking distance. Chisholm Trail Parkway access is within a quarter-mile.

To open the four-performance schedule, the Thursday evening SUMMER DANCE CONCERT debut gala, Ballet, Burgers and Beaujolais, is a fund raiser; patrons are admitted by pre-purchased ticket only. The evening starts at 6:00 p.m. and includes fine wine and other potables, a gourmet hamburger feast and both a silent and live auction before the curtain rises for the opening night performance. Local artist Avery Kelly's commemorative limited edition Art of the Dance posters will be on sale at the gala; the original oil painting that inspired the poster will be auctioned off. Gala hosts include chairs Jan Simus Curry, Ray Griffith, and the Board of Directors of Ballet Concerto, Ellen Dast, president. To purchase gala tickets, beginning at $100 per person, please call (817) 763-5087.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening general admission lawn seating (appropriate for picnics) is complimentary and open to the public; many attendees bring their own lawn chairs and blankets. No tickets are required.

Preferred table seating tickets are available, beginning at $50 for single seats, a table for four at $200, and a reserved table of 10 for $500. For more on table seating, visit balletconcerto.com or call (817) 763-5087.

"We are absolutely thrilled to offer our mixed repertoire production this year at The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork," Ms. Dean said. "We are incredibly grateful to the Edwards family for their support in facilitating our production at this glorious site."

For the past 12 years, the SUMMER DANCE CONCERT performances have been held at the Trinity Park Pavilion just east of the Trinity River on West 7th Street. Following the river southwest, the stunning new The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork venue has groves of mature oaks and views of the Trinity. It's just off Chisholm Trail Parkway, close to TCU, and next door to popular destinations like Press Café and to the expanding Shops at Clearfork, where Neiman Marcus recently relocated.

Margo Dean is herself a Fort Worth institution. In addition to founding the company and dancing professionally for decades, she launched the Fort Worth Ballet Association in the 1950s and the careers of scores of successful professionals. Fort Worth Ballet Association has evolved into today's Texas Ballet Theatre. She continues teaching at her ballet studio and school formed nearly sixty years ago, Margo Dean School of Ballet, home of the Summer Dance Workshop.

Leading up to the performances, this year's Summer Dance Workshop has over three weeks of classes for intermediate through advanced and professionals, as well as adult classes in ballet, pointe, jazz, and Flamenco taught. Classes are taught by resident faculty, SUMMER DANCE CONCERT company dancers, and visiting guest teachers and master teachers.

Instructors will include Mr. Marks, Webster Dean, Ruben Gerding, Liuba Paterson, Rose Miller, Courtney Sebastian, Kathy Head Kiefer, Brandon Nguyen, Elise Lavallee, Perla Montoya, Libby Kroger and Kathleen Steiner. For Workshop information and registration, please contact registrar Debbie Evans at margodeanschool(at)att(dot)net or call 817-738-7915.

The annual SUMMER DANCE CONCERT is made possible through individual, corporate and foundation donations and concert sponsorships. The underwriting enables the company to offer their production free to the public. 2017 Art of the Dance sponsorships are available at the following levels:

Etoile Sponsors $25,000

Pas de Deux Sponsors $10,000

Corps de Ballet Sponsors $5,000

Encore Sponsors $1,500

To coincide with the move to The Heart of the Ranch at Clearfork and for the first time, Ballet Concerto will feature a local fine artist's work on a commemorative 2017 SUMMER DANCE CONCERT poster that ties into the theme, Art of the Dance. Avery Kelly will create an original oil on canvas (30" X 40") that will be reproduced as limited edition posters, on sale at the Gala (and signed by the artist) and, if posters remain, also for sale during the SUMMER DANCE CONCERT performances. Ballet Concerto is talking to nearby businesses who might be interested in displaying the work during the weeks preceding opening night. The original painting will be auctioned off at the Thursday evening gala festivities. Proceeds from the painting and poster sales will benefit Ballet Concerto Inc. Avery Kelly is a contemporary artist whose work centers on the beauty and energy of the natural world. Specializing in oil painting and relief printmaking, she strives to convey a sense of joy and mystery through her work. Her website is averykellyart.com.

Now in its 48th year, Ballet Concerto Inc. is a non-profit performing arts and educational organization. The company is best known for its annual SUMMER DANCE CONCERT, a free, fully staged, professional mixed-repertoire ballet production held in an outdoor venue in Fort Worth for four nights in late June. Ballet Concerto also has a December holiday performance at Will Rogers Auditorium for thousands of school children in the area, presents lecture demonstrations in February of each year at a number of elementary schools and runs operation F.I.N.D. (Find and Inspire New Dancers) to identify and provide scholarships for classes and training for promising young people interested in the art of dance. With a board of directors of 15 and an advisory board of 28, the organization accepts memberships from $25.00 annually. For membership information, please contact j.simus(at)jansimusevents(dot)com, info(at)balletconcerto(dot)com or call 817-763-5087.

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