Fall 2020 Season, Re-Imagined
/We’re performing again…and we’re SO excited. See you soon, BFans!
Ballet Fantastique presents two outdoor live concerts for Sept. 2020
Photo: Bob Williams, featuring dancers: Taylor Harrison, Madeline Gambino, Jenavieve Hernandez // Mural artist: Steven Lopez
September 5, 2020: Ballet in the Vineyard — with live music from our friends at Bossanaire
Saturday, Sept. 5 • 6:30–8 pm
Silvan Ridge (27012 Briggs Hill Rd, Eugene, OR 97405)
Tickets: $15/ea — tickets required for ages 2+, available at www.balletfantastique.org/events
Proceeds benefit Ballet Fantastique’s innovated dance outreach work for K-12 education, innovated for 2020-2021
Ballet Fantastique and Eugene-based band Bossanaire partner with Silvan Ridge to present a late summer outdoor concert this Labor Day Weekend in wine country, Saturday, Sept. 5.
“We wanted a way to uplift our community, and we’re so excited to present this innovated, site-specific performance series,” says Artistic Director Donna Marisa Bontrager. “Our audience can enjoy a one-of-a-kind performance of live music and dance as the sun sets behind the rolling hills of beautiful Silvan Ridge.”
Silvan Ridge’s outdoor events informal amphitheater stage and grass space can accommodate 150 guests with extensive social distancing. The performance event, which takes place at sunset, will feature live bossa nova music from Bossanaire. Interspersed through the evening, guests will enjoy a series of uplifting, site-specific choreographic excerpts from the professional dancers of Ballet Fantastique, adapted to the Silvan Ridge grass and stage space.
Performance excerpts will include choreography originally planned to premiere in Ballet Fantastique’s postponed May 2020 Hult Center performance, Luna Mística, transporting audiences to the beaches of Ipanema and the streets of Rio: “Girl from Ipanema,” “Batucada,” and “Sambando” by Ballet Fantastique choreographer-producers Donna Marisa and Hannah Bontrager. Also on the program is “Walls” by Brazilian choreographer Valéria Ball (1967-2016), a dear friend of the Bontragers and a regular collaborator with Ballet Fantastique, with live music by Bossanaire.
Ballet in the Vineyard patrons will be invited to bring their own picnic chairs or blanket. Dinner will be available for purchase from a local food truck, and outside food and picnics are also welcome. Wine will be available for purchase from Silvan Ridge.
COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES: We will be following all social distancing protocols throughout the evening, including keeping groups to 10 or less, maintaining a minimum of 6 feet between groups, regularly sanitizing the facility, as well as requiring children to remain seated with their group. See Silvan Ridge Winery’s “Visit Us” page for more details on COVID-19 guidelines in place to keep the winery clean and safe.
Additional information:
All tickets are sold in advance. No groups larger than 10. Minors allowed until 8 pm (tickets required for children ages 2+).
Doors open at 5:30 pm. The Tasting Room will close at 5 pm and reopen for the concert at 5:30 pm.
Ticket price does not include food and beverage.
Picnics are welcome, but please no outside alcohol. Planktown and Oakshire beer and non-alcoholic beverages also available.
All seating is first come, first served. Most seating is on the grass, so be sure to bring a blanket/lawn chairs.
No groups larger than 10.
Concert begins at 6:30 pm, ends at 8:00 pm.
Children are welcome, but must have a ticket for capacity safety guidelines, and must remain with an adult at all times and be able to follow social distancing protocols.
September 12, 2020: Ballet on the Green
Saturday, Sept. 12 • 5–8 pm
Shadow Hills Country Club (92512 River Rd, Junction City, OR 97448)
Tickets: $75/ea or $150/couple (includes dinner) — available at www.balletfantastique.org/events
Proceeds benefit Ballet Fantastique
This Sept. 12, 2020, Ballet Fantastique offers a unique, late summer outdoor en plein air benefit at the gorgeous Shadow Hills Country Club, with custom late summer fare, curated wines, and a live site-specific ballet performance on the green. This event is limited to 50 guests.
Beginning at 5 pm, guests will be welcomed in the Smith Garden. Following a touchless check-in, guests will proceed to their private cocktail table, where they will enjoy the custom picnic box menu created by Shadow Hills Executive Chef Diana Seligman (served picnic style for a no-contact experience).
“Our vision for this event is like an outdoor music dinner club experience,” says Ballet Fantastique Executive Director Hannah Bontrager. “Our audience will get to get out, dress up, support art they love—and do so with the confidence that they are still supporting our community’s safety responsibly, with distancing and in alignment with Governor Brown’s guidelines for outdoor gatherings.”
At 6 pm, guests will proceed to the adjoining fairway, where they will experience special first-release showings of "Amazon Awakenings," "Gaucho," and "Luna," with choreography by Brazilian choreographer Valéria Ball + Ballet Fantastique's Donna & Hannah Bontrager. “Amazon Awakenings” will be accompanied with live music from drummer Jim Reinking.
“It’s an incredible artistic challenge to create for a space like this,” says Ballet Fantastique Artistic Director Donna Bontrager. “As I’m designing the choreography and the costumes for the green, it acts as its own artistic player in the visual impact. Audiences will truly be seeing dance unlike we’ve ever imagined it before, with the ballet dancers barefoot on the grass, embracing the beautiful expanse of the space.”
Finally, from 6:30-8 pm, guests are invited to a (distanced) garden reception with the artists.
COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES: https://www.balletfantastique.org/ballet-on-the-green-social-distancing-protocols
More information coming soon about the following 2020–2021 Ballet Fantastique offerings:
Fall 2020: Vault—A Ballet Club
December 2020: Christmas Carol, Made-for-TV Ballet Movie