ASHLAND, OR—Have you ever wondered what the life of a ballerina is like?  Ballet Rogue will be holding a reception where you can meet and mingle with professional dancers before watching them perform live on stage.   

Ballet Rogue will be holding a gala reception before the evening performance of its Ballet Brava! on May 17 at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford, before the 8:00 p.m. performance.  Ballet fans will be able to meet the dancers from 7:00-7:45 p.m. while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres.   To keep the setting intimate, reservations for the reception are limited to 75; reserve your spot by buying a ticket for $8 in advance.  Proceeds of the
reception will benefit Ballet Rogue’s Ballet in the Park free summer performance series in Ashland’s Lithia Park.   

Guest artists attending include Shalene Eve, Diana Perez and Zachary Carroll, Portland-area dancers who have performed in Ballet Rogue’s The Nutcracker and Ballet in the Park for several seasons.  Guest artists appearing with Ballet Rogue for the first time include Karl Vakili, Markar Drillon and Russell Capps.  Dancer in residence Holly Bullard and members of the Ballet Rogue Junior Company will comprise the corps de ballet.  The Junior Company consists of local dancers, who train with and aspire to be professional dancers.  They include Katelyn Elias and Jenna Swanberg of Medford, Sarah Avery-Myers of Ashland and Jill Jacobs of Central Point.   

Ballet Rogue co-founder and artistic director Diane Gaumond-Hyrst has selected the program to highlight the timelessness of ballet.  Using excerpts of seldom-seen works by great masters of choreography, long-time ballet fans and newcomers alike will enjoy a journey through a variety of ballet styles, from Romantic to classical to contemporary, performed by some of the
Northwest’s most accomplished dancers.   

Ballet Brava! tickets are available at the Craterian box office, tel. 541-779-3000.  Seats for the 8:00 p.m. performance range from $18.50 -$24.50; the reception costs an additional $8 per person.  In addition to the evening performance of Ballet Brava!, there will be a matinee at 2:30 p.m., also on Saturday, May 17 at the Craterian Theater in Medford.  Tickets for that performance are $14.50 for all seats.   

Ballet Rogue is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to bringing professional ballet performances to the Rogue Valley and to fostering the art and appreciation of ballet.  For more information on our programs, please visit our Web site, www.balletrogue.org.  For information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Glenn Hill, president of the board, at 541-535-5657 or  mtglen@aol.com.