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The Atlantic City Ballet Company will perform an unprecedented two shows on the East End next month. On its very first excursion to Long Island, the New Jersey-based professional company of 22 dancers will perform at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, September 2, and the John Drew Theater at Guild Hall on Thursday, September 3.
The company is under the direction of Phyllis Papa, its founder, artistic director and executive director. A ballet dancer with a resume that includes stints at the American Ballet Theatre and the Royal Danish Ballet, Ms. Papa founded the Atlantic City Ballet in 1982.
The Atlantic City Ballet is a touring company that generally performs at local and regional venues throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Though it does not have its own theater, the troupe is the resident dance company at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. Perhaps best known for being the former home of the Miss America pageant, the facility serves as the company’s primary rehearsal space.
Ms. Papa said in an interview last week that she has long wanted to bring the company to the East End.
“It’s our first time on Long Island,” she said. “We’ve been trying to come for three years.”
In both the Westhampton Beach and East Hampton shows, the company will perform Ms. Papa’s choreography of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” to the music of Felix Mendelssohn.
“They’re just lovely theaters,” Ms. Papa said of the venues. “They’re perfect for our size company.”
She added that “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a ballet intended for audiences of all ages.
“This is a comedy,” she said. “It’s light and can be geared to any age group—any age group can identify with it.”
“A lot of people out there have never seen ballet,” Ms. Papa said. “This would be a good first step.”
“They would be getting really quality ballet,” she said. “Not amateurs—really professional quality.”
And in a special opportunity, the children of the East End will get to be up close and personal with the professional dancers of the Atlantic City Ballet. At Thursday’s Guild Hall performance, students from the Dance Centre of the Hamptons will take the stage and perform children’s roles as “extras” with the ballet company.
“We had hoped to have them at both performances,” Ms. Papa said, but explained that her contract with the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center does not allow for the expanded cast at Wednesday’s show.
“They will not allow more than the 22 dancers in the performance,” she said.
But Ms. Papa added that both upcoming performances will be events for the entire family, as the East End shows will feature pre-performance wine tastings, sponsored by Wölffer Estate, and receptions for the events. The receptions will be held Wednesday, September 2, at 5:30 p.m. at the Dance Centre of the Hamptons on Old Riverhead Road in Westhampton, and Thursday, September 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Guild Hall. During the wine tastings, younger audience members will be invited to attend a pre-show master class with the company’s dancers. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
“Children can get something out of it before they actually see the performance,” Ms. Papa explained. “They can actually meet the dancers.”
“I think that’s really exciting,” she added. “It’ll make it a really fun event, not only for the parents.”
Package tickets for each evening are available for $50, and include the wine tasting, children’s master class and the performance. Tickets for the performance only are available for $35 general admission, $32 for seniors, and $15 for children. For more information, call (609) 804-1995 or visit www.acballet.org.
on Aug 25, 2009