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Stage Planner: A Sarasota ballet gala, yes; tickets for 'Mame,' no

 
Francisco Serrano, son of the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School’s founders, won the International Student Ballet Competition in Havana in 2014. He will perform at Saturday’s gala.
Francisco Serrano, son of the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School’s founders, won the International Student Ballet Competition in Havana in 2014. He will perform at Saturday’s gala.
Published July 29, 2015

BEST FOOT FORWARD: BALLET STUDENTS' NIGHT TO SHINE

The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School, which has turned heads since opening three years ago, is rewarding some of its best dancers Saturday in a special performance. "On Stage," the school's annual gala event, brings a few student dancers to perform at the Sarasota Opera House alongside guest performers from Havana's Cuban National Ballet School.

Ramona De Saa, who has trained numerous Cuban ballet stars around the world, including Royal Ballet member Carlos Acosta, will direct the show.

Sarasota Cuban Ballet School was founded in 2012 by Ariel Serrano and Wilmian Hernandez, a husband-and-wife team who trained at the Cuban National Ballet School and performed internationally.

Their efforts paid off almost immediately. In 2013, Sarasota Cuban Ballet School won the award for best school by the Youth American Grand Prix, a national ballet competition for students ages 8 to 19, and was mentioned in Dance magazine.

Performers at Saturday's gala include Francisco Serrano, the 2014 grand prix winner of the International Student Ballet Competition in Havana and son of the school's founders. He is now a scholarship student at the Royal Ballet School in London.

Saturday's show follows a showcase Friday from the school's six-week summer program. The Sarasota Cuban Ballet School's Gala Summer Intensive Performances starts at 7 p.m. Friday at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N Pineapple Ave. It costs $25. "On Stage" with the Sarasota Cuban Ballet School and the Cuban National Ballet School begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, also at the Sarasota Opera House. $35 to $65. sarasotacubanballetschool.com.

'MAME' TICKETS GONE: BUT THERE'S A NEW SEASON

Despite adding a Sunday evening performance to a four-week run ending Aug. 9, Freefall Theatre's production of Mame has sold out. The consolation prize is that nothing stops theater fans from buying season tickets at Freefall, which can be counted on to supply old shows with a fresh twist, or any other venues in the Tampa Bay area.

Freefall will open its 2015-16 season with The Importance of Being Earnest with Zombies (Oct. 3-Nov. 1), followed by Peter and the Starcatcher (Dec. 5-24), Our Town (Jan. 16-Feb. 14), Sondheim on Sondheim (March 12-April 10), Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (April 30-May 22), The Light in the Piazza (June 18-July 10) and The Pirates of Penzance (Aug. 6-Sept. 4, 2016). Subscriptions to all seven shows are $269 per person. (727) 498-5205. freefalltheatre.com.