Richmond Ballet shares silver show

Richmond Ballet will return to Piedmont Virginia Community College to share contemporary works from its 25th-anniversary season.

“Ancient Airs and Dances” by choreographer Stoner Winslett, “Vestiges” by Colin Connor and “Djangology” by Van Caniparoli will be among the works presented at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the V. Earl Dickinson Building.

“Ancient Airs and Dances” was the first piece Winslett, the group’s artistic director, choreographed for Richmond Ballet. The 26-minute work premiered in 1986.

Set to a collection of three suites of 17th- and 18th-century lute songs orchestrated by Respighi in the early 20th century, it takes an uplifting look at the relationship of men and women to each other and to their respective worlds.

“Vestiges” is the third of four new works Connor was commissioned to create for Richmond Ballet in 2000.

Set to haunting music by Michael Nyman, the 22-minute piece explores what happens when one’s world is shattered and outer trappings of security are lost and one must reconnect with the source of one’s power, one’s natural elegance and the immediacy of one’s surroundings.

“Djangology” is one of the most frequently requested pieces in the ballet’s repertoire.

Caniparoli’s jazzy work, 27 minutes long, is choreographed to the music of Django Reinhardt, giving

Richmond Ballet, the state ballet of Virginia, is in its 11th year as part of PVCC’s performance season.

Tickets are $20, $15 for students and seniors. For tickets or information, call 961-5376.

Dancers also will want to attend a dance master class with Malcolm Burn, Richmond Ballet’s associate artistic director and ballet master, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, also on the Dickinson Building’s main stage. The class is $10 per student.