Seasons to come alive

Unique to this performance is that the dancers get to mingle with the audience.
TRACEY D'ASTOLFO
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Those who look forward to the changing of seasons every few months can enjoy the phenomenon all in one night this weekend.
Ballet Western Reserve will present "Seasons of Dance" on Friday, a dance interpretation of the Earth's seasons, at Fellows Riverside Gardens. It's part of the third annual Enchanted Evening at the Gardens.
"This is one of the most special evenings of our year; it is so unique," said Anita Lin, artistic director if BWR.
The event will be held in the D.D. and Velma Davis Education & amp; Visitor Center at Fellows Riverside Gardens.
The evening will begin with a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres, chocolate fountains, wine and champagne, and entertainment by guitar duo String Theory. The dance presentation will follow. Dessert and a silent auction will precede after-show dancing on the patio for the guests and dancers.
The BWR will represent through dance the seasons of spring, summer, fall, winter and Indian summer. Younger students of the school will be featured in transitions from season to season. The dances, choreographed by BWR's professional faculty, will include ballet, modern dance, tap and hip-hop.
Lin said live music will accompany one of the dance pieces, featuring a pianist and a singing duo.
The elegant silent auction will also be entertaining, said Lin.
"The auction items are also going to be brought to life by the dancers," she explained.
Costumes
Five Nanette Lepore outfits, all donated by the designer, and a Mary Frances purse and a collection of perennial garden plants, donated by Fellows Riverside Gardens, will be auctioned. Cash, check, VISA and MasterCard will be accepted as payment.
After the performance, Latin dance band Conjunto Riquena will provide music on the patio where guests and Ballet dancers can dance and mingle.
"The event is a lot of work but it's also one huge party. We have just as much fun as the patrons," said Lin. "Usually the audience only sees the dancers on stage, but here the dancers get to mingle with the audience members and the patrons get to meet the dancers."
There will also be a children's "Sneak Peek" at the Gardens performance from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. Children accompanied by an adult will learn about gardening and watch BWR dancers interpret the seasons through dance.
Lin said several area businesses donated the food and liquor, including Overture, Cafe Cimmento, The Fifth Season and Chalet Premier. Proceeds from the event will benefit the scholarship and ongoing programs of Ballet Western Reserve and Fellows Riverside Gardens-Mill Creek MetroParks.