Sarasota Ballet stages Ashton classic

All around the country this time of year, ballet companies and dance schools are staging productions of "The Nutcracker."

Sarasota Ballet is offering a strong alternative.

"It gets tiresome do 'The Nutcracker' year after year," said Iain Webb, the director of the Sarasota Ballet. "It's a tradition, but the real tradition is family. And this is just the right ballet for the whole family."

He's talking about "La Fille Mal Gardee," the famed Sir Frederick Ashton work that the Sarasota Ballet will stage Friday and Saturday at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

"It's absolutely perfect for the kids, it's absolutely perfect for the grandparents," Webb said. "It's perfect for families. It's uplifting and entertaining."

Ashton's "La Fille Mal Gardee" (which translates as "The Poorly Guarded Girl" or "The Wayward Daughter") premiered at the Royal Ballet of London in 1960, but earlier versions of the same story were already staples of major opera companies around the world.

That story has to do with a widow (a role always danced by a man) who is trying to marry off her beautiful daughter to a rich, but dim-witted neighbor. The daughter, though, longs to marry a handsome farmer.

It's a silly and funny story, and the plot is exceptionally easy to follow, which is not the case with most story ballets.

The plot -- and such elements as ribbon dances, dancers dressed as chickens and a real live pony that comes on stage several times -- make "La Fille Mal Gardee" accessible and enjoyable for young people.

The music (provided here by the Sarasota Orchestra) and the technical beauty of the dance make "La Fille" entertaining and edifying for adults.

Those same qualities that make "La Fille de Gardee" appealing for both kids and grown-ups also make it appealing for both ballet novices and ballet connoisseurs, Webb said.

"To someone who never goes to the ballet, I would say that this is the one you have to see," he said. "You have to see this one. And for people who know ballet, they'll always rank this one among their top five."

Because of the demands of "La Fille Mal Gardee," it's in the repertoire of only a few companies around the world. So, Webb said, it's a rare experience for audiences in a mid-sized city to get to see it.

But works by the great Ashton are one of the Sarasota Ballet's specialities.

"We have a reputation of doing his works to a high stature," Webb said. "To see this ballet people have to go to New York or Boston or London or St. Petersburg. People in Sarasota have it right on their own doorstep."

Details: Dec. 19-20 Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $17.50-$100. Information: 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919.

Follow twitter.com/martinclear.

This story was originally published December 18, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Sarasota Ballet stages Ashton classic ."