NGB ready for Swan Lake

This weekend, Next Generation Ballet’s award-winning dancers are joined by guest artists Eddy Tovar and Sara Sardelli, soloist for the Sarasota Ballet, for the classical ballet Swan Lake.

Don’t miss Hannah Bettes as she performs in her most challenging role yet with NGB before moving on to study at the Royal Ballet in the fall.

“I’m so excited for Swan Lake,” said Bettes. “This is my first full-length ballet, so I’m on stage a lot more.”

Bettes won the 2012 Prix de Lausanne "audience choice" award in February, and she won the Gold Medal in the senior women’s division at the YAGP final competition in New York in April.

Despite her competition prowess, playing the lead in a full-length ballet is a very demanding role.

In Swan Lake, Bettes dances the roles of both the white and black swan. She’s had to learn not only extensive and technically difficult choreography, but also the stylistic nuances of the characters.

“It’s a very tough role even for professional dancers,” said Tovar before a recent rehearsal with Bettes. “She has to change her personality and be intense.”

Tovar was a principal with Texas Ballet Theatre and Orlando Ballet. He was featured on So You Think You Can Dance with Los Angeles Ballet in George Balanchine’s Who Care’s?

Eddy Tovar with Sara Sardelli

In Swan Lake, Tovar dances the role of Prince Siegfried. Though he’s danced the role with Orlando Ballet, he’s had just two weeks to learn the choreography for NGB’s production.

“Every production has slightly different choreography,” he said. Rehearsing with NGB dancers at the Patel Conservatory has been a gratifying experience for him.

“I can see the talent of the students. They are ready...they look like professionals,” he said.

Choreographed by Peter Stark and Ivonne Lemus after the original choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, this two-act world premier features marvelous sets and costumes.

With a hauntingly beautiful score by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, this classic story of princesses turned into swans has moved audiences for more than 100 years.

With just two shows on Saturday, the event is sure to sell out. Click here for tickets, before it's too late!