This year marks a very special anniversary for Ballet Under the Stars! Read below to learn 10 little-known facts that you may not know about this spectacular production.
- This year is our 20th Anniversary of Ballet Under the Stars
- More than 13,000 people attend the free performances each year
- Each year 70 elementary students perform on stage at the Ballet Under the Stars intermissions as part of our Class Act
- The production crew arrives at 8am on the day of each performance to begin constructing the stage
- Because there is no assigned seating, some patrons arrive very early – in one instance 10am!
- The Marley dance floor does not get laid down until 5pm to prevent damage from the sun
- It takes two 24 foot trucks and two cargo vans to transport all the production equipment to each Ballet Under the Stars
- The production crew uses walkie-talkies to communicate from front of house to backstage the area.
- Dancers are constantly fighting off bugs while performing because the bugs are attracted to the stage lights. When George Balanchine’s Serenade was performed, bugs were getting stuck in the tulle of the women’s romantic tutus.
- The staging crew, the last group of the production team, leaves the venue around 11:30pm
Join us September 21 – 30 as we kick off the season with free events & dance performances for the whole family in Phoenix and across the Valley with our “Ballet Under the Stars” performances. Don’t miss your chance to see encores of George Balanchine’s “Square Dance” and “Western Symphony”. Don’t miss ballet performances in Phoenix, Tempe, Goodyear, Sun City & Fountain Hills this September.
Click here for our 2017-2018 schedule and locations.