FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2005

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - The University of Texas at Arlington and Metropolitan Classical Ballet are joining together to present a benefit performance for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Every dollar from ticket sales will go directly to the Red Cross and local agencies that are aiding the evacuees. John Hall, of UT Arlington said, “It is our hope that UT Arlington,
together with the ballet, can sponsor an event that will unite our community in support of the hurricane relief effort.”

The benefit will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at Texas Hall on the UT Arlington campus.

The first part of the performance will be artistic director Paul Mejia’s classic work for children, “Peter and the Wolf,” a symphonic fairy tale in which each character is represented by a different orchestral instrument. It is set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev.

Co-artistic director Alexander Vetrov will stage the second part of the performance. It will consist of a series of pas de deux from cherished fairy tale classics: “The Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake,” and “The Nutcracker,” set to the music of Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky.

The family-oriented program will be accompanied by the Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra under the direction of Ron Spigelman, who is also Music Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in Missouri and Associate Conductor of the Buffalo, New York, Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tickets are $15 and are on sale at Central Ticket Office at (800)462-7979 or (817) 335-9000. Tickets can also be purchased online at: www.centralticketoffice.com.

Tickets in the Benefactor’s Circle are available at $100 and will include a post performance reception. For further information please contact Mary T. Bellman, (817) 272-5184.

The benefit performance is made possible, in part, by Hill Gilstrap Law Firm, Choice ATM Enterprises, Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, LLP, UT Arlington and the Star-Telegram.

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Media Contact: Sue Stevens, (817) 272-3317 or sstevens@uta.edu

Photo of Andre Prikhodko as Peter by Loli Kantor