Sarasota Ballet stages works by MacMillan, Wright and Ashton

Up next from the Sarasota Ballet is a program featuring works by three of the greatest choreographers in the history of British ballet. In fact, all three choreographers are so prestigious that they were knighted for their life's work.

The program's titled "Knights of the British Ballet," and it offers pieces by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Sir Peter Wright and Sir Frederick Ashton. None of the works have ever been performed by the Sarasota Ballet before, and the Wright ballet is a U.S. premiere.

MacMillan's "Concerto" is set to Dimitri Shostakovich's "Second Piano Concerto." The first and third movements are lively and energetic, and they bookend an andante pas de deux in the second movement.

Wright's "Summertide" is an abstract interpretation of Felix Mendelssohn's "Piano Concerto No. 2."

"Marguerite and Armand" was created by Ashton for Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. It's inspired by inspired by Alexandre Dumas' 19th-century novel "La Dame aux Camélias," and it's set to Franz Listz' "Piano Sonata." The Sarasota Ballet does a lot of Ashton works, and it's the first American company to include "Marguerite and Armand" in its repertoire.

Details: Nov. 20-21, Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $35-$110. Information: 941-359-0099, sarasotaballet.org.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 5:10 PM with the headline "Sarasota Ballet stages works by MacMillan, Wright and Ashton ."