The Asheville Ballet, Ann Dunn Director, presents an evening titled "Bach, Blues, Ballet" as the WINTERDANCE concert -- the third production of the 2005-06 season, January 20-21 at 7:30 at Diana Wortham Theatre. The smorgasbord performance features three world premieres, all with live music, and a reprise of the popular love duet from the rock ballet, ANNA! Dancers are members of ADDANCE, the adult professional corps of The Asheville Ballet. Tickets range from $25-40 for adults, $20-35 for students, and $15 for all children. For reservations call the Box office at 252-4761.

WINTERDANCE reflects The Asheville Ballet’s versatility and ongoing commitment to the creation of new work and collaboration with artists from many disciplines. These ballets have been in creation throughout the production of The Nutcracker.

"Café" is a jazz ballet choreographed by Dunn with original music performed on stage by The Marc Yaxley Trio, featuring Patrick Boland (composer) on piano, Cameron Austin on bass and Peggy Ratusz on vocals. Set in a typical Asheville café, the work explores the relationships among a group of six friends. Loves, memories, hopes, and losses move across the stage in the uniquely expressive vocabulary of jazz dance.

"Bach" is a neo-classical ballet choreographed by Dunn to Bach’s Violin Sonata Number One in G Minor. Corine Brouwer will perform this beloved and virtuoso Sonata live on stage as three dancers whirl around her en pointe.

"Yellow Rose" is a contemporary solo choreographed by Dunn for Sarah McGinnis. The piece is set in silence to projections of the stunning work of local nature artist, Tim Lewis. The ballet becomes a duet dialogue between the visual and movement artists.

"Lusciously" is a sensual modern dance duet set by Dunn to the rocking music of Stephanie’s Id. This duet was the audience favorite when the ballet ANNA! Was premiered in September 2005. Lyle Laney and Allison Hertzberg steam up the stage in an unforgettable expression of intimacy and affection.

The Marc Yaxley Trio plays clubs and music festivals throughout the Western North Carolina region. Their usual repertoire consists of jazz and Latin standards mixed with not-so-standard-sounding originals. Peggy Ratusz sings jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues in clubs throughout the area. Marc (guitar) and Cameron (bass) live in Brevard. Marc moved here from Florida; Austin from Atlanta. Peggy and Patrick both moved to Asheville from Austin, TX.

Corine Brouwer is well-known to North Carolina audiences. She is currently the concertmaster of the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Asheville Lyric Opera, and the Carolina Chamber Symphony.

Ms. Brouwer has been involved in the commissioning and performances of new works including the premieres of Doppelganger, a concerto for two violins by David Dzubay and Here, the Cliffs, a concerto by Hilary Tann. Her projects have won numerous awards, including selection for a national Meet the Composer Award. Brouwer has appeared as soloist with the North Carolina Symphony ,Winston-Salem Symphony, Canton (Ohio) Symphony, Carolina Chamber Symphony, Western Piedmont Symphony and Salisbury Symphony Orchestras.

A former director of the Community Music School of the N.C. School of the Arts, Ms. Brouwer has taught violin at Wake Forest University, the N.C. School of the Arts, Catawba College and the National Suzuki Institute in Wisconsin. She currently maintains a private studio in Asheville, NC. Her chamber music appearances have included the Eastern Music Festival, the International Bartok Festival, and the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival.

Ms. Brouwer earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the N.C. School of the Arts, where she studied with the late Elaine Richey.

Tim Lewis has been involved in a variety of artistic endeavors for over 20 years. He has always found inspiration for his artwork from natural forms such as birds, geology and especially botany, which has made the Asheville area a good fit for him. Lately, this has led him to take the stuff that he finds in his back yard or on his neighborhood walks and scan them into his computer. The photographic images that he creates in this process reveal new ways of looking at hidden designs within nature.

The Asheville Ballet, Western North Carolina’s year-round resident ballet company, is supported by The Asheville Ballet Guild, Inc. (ABG), one of the region’s oldest non-profit arts organizations. First incorporated in 1963, the Guild has created and presented work in Asheville every year since. In an average season, our formal and educational outreach programming affects a culturally diverse audience of approximately 23,000 people. An active advisory panel and a strong, well-organized volunteer base assist the ABG board.

ABG has produced residencies by historical choreographers (Anna Sokolow, Douglas Dunn, Lori Bellilove), hosted master classes and workshops by international dance stars (Sean Curran, Mark Dendy, Chuck Davis, David Dorfman), produced the three-week Fall Into Dance festival, and commissioned both classical and contemporary choreography.

ABG productions reflect our varied interests. Work has been produced for fund-raisers (The Health Adventure, The Arts Council), for civic events (Martin Luther King Day, Bele Chere Festival), and for commercial events (The Miss Asheville pageant, opening for the Pointer Sisters).

Since its inception, ABG has produced both cutting edge interdisciplinary work and full-length major work. We have collaborated with other local art agencies (the Asheville Symphony, Asheville Bravo Concerts, Asheville Community Theater, Asheville Lyric Opera, The Asheville Art Museum), and have worked live with the area’s major musical, poetic and visual artists.

In addition to promoting new work and a professional ballet company for the Western North Carolina region, ABG offers an annual lecture series on dance appreciation, in co-ordination with other local dance presenters, and generates educational articles on dance history and appreciation for national publications and a wide variety of local journals. We have also built a full library of dance-related material.

Our commitment to supporting our professional adult members is evidenced by our challenging and stimulating performances, choreography, and teaching opportunities. ABG continues to nurture the careers of our advanced youth members. Dancers who have worked with ABG have performed with Alvin Ailey, Kirov Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Forth Worth Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Boston Ballet, Geneva Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. ABG dancers have appeared in Broadway musicals, Hollywood films, and have won titles all the way up to Miss America. They have also been accepted at the schools of the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Juilliard, Boston Ballet, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor, Martha Graham (company apprenticeship), Robert Joffrey (company apprenticeship), and The Dance Conservatory at Purchase.

ABG has created and found funding for scholarships for advanced dancers to pursue professional work in New York and Europe, and for underprivileged children to study dance right here in Asheville. We have worked with Project Steam, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Helpmate, Elida Home, Presbyterian Home for Children, and local churches to locate and encourage new dancers and dance-appreciators. Our Tix for Tots program makes hundreds of tickets available to introduce children to the wonders of dance.

At Asheville Ballet Guild, we have built our reputation on a belief that dance plays a vital role in the education and culture of our community. No dance task in our community is too small or too big for us.