Name: Conflicted Beauty
Start: 2023-11-18T00:00:00
Location: Sarasota Opera House

Paul Taylor

Frederick Ashton

Edwaard Liang

The Sarasota Ballet

The Company premiere of The Art of War leads Program Two. Created in 2015 by BalletMet’s Artistic Director Edwaard Liang, to be driving, pulsing, and powerful, he describes it as, “…about controlling chaos.” Choreographed during the opening stages of the Second World War, Ashton’s Dante Sonata continues the theme of conflict in Program Two. A synthesis of wartime symbolism and his reflections upon experiencing Franz Liszt’s score, the work enraptured Sarasota audiences during it’s Company Premiere. The triple bill closes with Paul Taylor’s Company B, framing the turbulent era of World War II through the songs of the Andrews Sisters. Combining moments of joy and hilarity with the heavy reality of war, Taylor creates a remarkable piece that perfectly exemplifies the duality of America in the 1940s.