ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov, Artistic Directors of Metropolitan Classical Ballet, are pleased to announce the season's Spring Repertory, a one night only program to be presented at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth on April 24th at 8:00 PM. The program includes a return of two favorites: Paul Mejia's Brahms Waltzes and Eddy Toussaint's Bonjour Brel, and the Company premiere of Les Promenades, a work by Vladimir Vasiliev, former General and Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Paul Mejia's sophisticated Brahms Waltzes will open the evening. The romantic ballet is a series of sensitive and elegant waltzes set to German composer, Johannes Brahms' Opus 39. It premiered in September of 1988 and was first presented by Metropolitan Classical Ballet in September of 1999. The pianist soloist will be Alexei Melentiev from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

The program continues with Eddy Toussaint's Bonjour Brel, an extended pas de deux set to five songs by the French songwriter Jacques Brel. It was first presented in Montreal, Canada in 1998. In the summer, of 2002, the ballet was chosen to be part of the program for the opening Gala of the new Opera House in Moscow. Highly acclaimed by Moscow critics, the work was performed by Metropolitan Classical Ballet's Olga Pavlova and Alexander Vetrov. The Company premiered it the following season, in February of 2003.

The evening will conclude with Vladimir Vasiliev's Les Promenades. It is a part of These Charming Sounds, a program of one-act ballets choreographed and produced by Vasiliev for the Bolshoi in 1978, and premiered on Soviet television in 1981. The ballets were intended to be an alternative to the heavy epic works that had been the hallmark of the Bolshoi for decades; the fantasy ballets were lighter, simpler and merrier, and enjoyed huge success with audience and dancers alike. Les Promenades is set to music by Jean-Philippe Rameau, with musical accompaniment by celebrated musicians: Bolshoi pianist Alexei Melentiev, violinist Eric Grossman and cellist Eugene Osadchy.

Both Vladimir Vasiliev and Eddy Toussaint will be in attendance at the performance.

Program, program order, and casting are subject to change.

Tickets range in price from $10 - $30 and are available through the Bass Hall Box Office at (817) 212-4280, toll free at (877) 212-4280, or online at www.basshall.com. Season, group and individual tickets may be purchased by calling Metropolitan Classical Ballet at (817) 275-0598 or (817) 465-4644 and in person at 500 West Abram Street in Arlington, Texas.

Season sponsors include American Airlines, WRR Classical 101, and the law firm of Hill Gilstrap.

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Media Note: Further information and photos may be obtained by contacting Judy Puder at (817) 465-4644.

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