Staller Center to host BESFI benefit

The Ballet Education and Scholarship Fund, Inc. (BESFI) has announced that its 38th annual benefit performances will be held Friday, May 26, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 27 at 2 p.m. at Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook.

The program will feature three noted guest artists: Boyko Dossev formerly with Boston Ballet, Darren McIntyre formerly with Milwaukee Ballet and Alan Alberto with the Festival Ballet. They will be paired with Seiskaya Ballet principal dancers Jenna Lee, Diana Atoian and Brianna Jimenez and join 1st soloists Amber Donnelly, Jamie Bergold, Graciela Carrero-Sagona and Ava Aubé in a series of exciting pas de deux. Among the pas are Paquita, Talisman, Le Corsaire, Harlequinade and Diana & Acteon, plus, the Swan Lake Pas de Trois.

The Benefit Program’s centerpiece will be the one-act ballet, Walpurgis Night featuring Seiskaya Ballet’s Diana Atoian and 1st soloist Max Lippman. Set to the vibrant music of Charles Gounod and drawn from the opera Faust, Walpurgis Night loosely depicts the celebration of Bacchus (the god of wine and revelry), the Bacchantes (his priestesses), and Satyrs (his demigod attendants), on the eve of May Day. Three rousing character ballets are intertwined in the program. Featuring the tantalizing Gypsy Dance led by Jenna Lee, the jaunty Gypsy Pas pairing Max Lippman and Seiskaya 1st soloist Lara Caraiani, and the robust ethnic dance Siberian round out the program.

Noted for the consistent high quality of its presentations, the BESFI Benefit is always a highlight of the dance season. Brilliant sets and costumes, noted professional guest artists and riveting choreography make for exciting performances. Tickets are on sale now through the BESFI Box Office at 631-584-0192 or at the door with adults, $30, children and seniors, $24 and groups of 20 or more, $20.