While Nevada Ballet Theatre and the Las Vegas Philharmonic anticipate taking their places next year as resident companies at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, both groups are currently focused on making the 2010-2011 season their best yet.

Nevada Ballet Theatre
Nevada Ballet Theatre, a leading force in the establishment of live performing arts in Southern Nevada and the largest professional ballet company in the state, is preparing for its 39^th season.

Performances begin October 15-17 with the Fall Series, in which NBT will share the stage with a selection of dancers from fellow dance companies: Ballet West, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.  December 17-26, NBT returns to the Paris Theatre for eight performances of Tchaikovsky’s timeless holiday classic, The Nutcracker. The Spring Series takes place March 4-6 and includes George Balanchine’s Donizetti Variations, At the Border, by Pennsylvania Ballet’s resident choreographer, and an original work created by James Canfield, NBT artistic director. The 2010-2011 season winds down April 7-17 with an intimate “black box” style performance showcasing new works inspired by literary works, cartoons, fairy tales and fables, sure to delight children, adults and veterans of the ballet community, alike. 

For more information on Nevada Ballet Theatre and to purchase tickets, please visit www.nevadaballet.org.

Photo: Nevada Ballet Theatre dancers by Brooks Ayola

Las Vegas Philharmonic
Now in its 12^th year, the Las Vegas Philharmonic is the third largest arts organization in Nevada and the six-time recipient of the Best Performing Arts Group award from the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s “Best of Las Vegas”.

Under the leadership of Maestro David Itkin, the nationally recognized orchestra’s 2010-2011 season includes the crowd-pleasing Pops Series that launches with a “Tribute to Frank Sinatra” on October 2, “A Christmas Celebration” on December 11, and “An Evening with Rogers and Hammerstein” on March 26. The Masterworks Series features internationally acclaimed artists performing a variety of popular orchestral works, including Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique,” Max Bruch’s “Violin Concerto,” and  Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute and Harp.” The Series also includes a “Rising Star” concert on February 12 featuring 17-year-old phenomenon Alexander Prior as guest conductor and the return engagement of one of the premiere cellists in the world, Zuill Bailey, on April 16. The Las Vegas Philharmonic will also introduce fun Connoisseur Chef events and a new Cabaret series.

Las Vegas Philharmonic concerts take place at Artemus W. Ham Hall on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. For more information on the Las Vegas Philharmonic and to purchase tickets, please visit www.lvphil.com or call (702) 258-5438 ext. 228.

Photo below features Julie Albers, guest artist for the opening night Masterworks I concert on September 11^th.  She plays cello and will be performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto.