Sarasota Ballet's 'Metropolitan' gets the pointe across through storytelling

Sarasota is definitely not The City that Never Sleeps, but it has more in common with New York City than one would imagine.

The Sarasota Ballet is connecting the two art hubs in “Metropolitan,” a series of three NYC-centric ballets that offer something for everyone.

“The dancers have this opportunity to do such a variety of styles, and I think that’s something this company is noted for,” Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri says.

The production is composed of three ballets: Sir Frederick Ashton’s “Illuminations,” George Balanchine’s “Theme and Variations” and American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Marcelo Gomes’ “Dear Life.”

Barbieri says “Illuminations” is perhaps Ashton’s most uncharacteristic ballet. The dark piece is based on the work of unconventional French Poet Arthur Rimbaud and his infatuation with his “sacred” and “profane” loves.

Company member Ellen Overstreet first performed “Profane Love” as a member of Sarasota Ballet’s coryphée in 2013, and now she will return to the character as a principal dancer.

Overstreet says she’s excited to perform the role as a more experienced dancer who fully understands the significance of this historical ballet. She’s used to being cast as more lyrical, romantic roles, and this couldn’t be more opposite.

“Sacred love is the romantic love pulling him one way and I’m the seductive, dirty kind of character,” she says. “It’s just different than anything I ever do, and because of that I feel like I can be more wild and free.”

Because it’s not as technical (minus the challenge of dancing on only one pointe shoe) and because she already knows the steps, Overstreet says she can focus more on getting in character.

“I can just stand in the wings and watch Ricardo (her partner) and put myself in the story, even without being onstage yet,” she says. “So when I come on, I’m already there in my head.”

In the world premiere of Gomes’ “Dear Life,” Overstreet tells a very different story, which she wasn't expecting to do in a contemporary ballet piece. 

That role is the past love of a man nearing the end of his life. Unlike the rough movements of “Profane Love,” this contemporary piece is softer and calls for a nurturing, mature female character — and forces Overstreet to overcome her starstruck reaction to working with Gomes.

“It’s definitely a treat to have something made on your company,” she says. “And especially with someone like Marcelo Gomes who is a straight-up celebrity.”

As for “Theme and Variations,” Barbieri says people who like a pure, classical piece will have to stay to the end to see this eye-catching example of what audiences delighted in during the height of the Russian Imperial Ballet at the Maryinksy Theatre.