NBB's annual Spring Showcase is the end-of-the-year production for the entire school (ages 2 & up) to participate in and enjoy. This year's production will be the classic ballet story Don Quixote.
New Bern Ballet's restaging of Don Quixote includes the original choreography by Marius Petipa along with several additional dances which demonstrate the technique, style, and different disciplines offered at the New Bern Ballet School. Danced to a score by Ludwig Minkus, this comedic ballet is based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes and follows the humorous exploits of a nobleman who has read too many stories of heroic knights of old. With his trusty sidekick, Sancho Panza, Don Quixote sets out on a quest to restore chivalry and honor to the world. During his travels he meets the high-spirited Kitri whose father would rather she marry a rich fool than the penniless but dashing Basilio. Her father's plans to marry Kitri to the wealthy Gamache are dashed when Don Quixote and Sancho Panza arrive and try to help the couple. The mischievous lovers, Kitri and Basilio, run away together and their adventures fill the stage with Spanish ladies, macho matadors, and lively villagers. During the Don's dream vision, dryads and cupids showcase the classical technique that New Bern Ballet Company instills in its young artists. Swirling skirts, fluttering fans and the cadence of castanets and tambourines in the spirited street festival, gypsy encampment dances, and triumphant wedding scene will transport the audience to old Barcelona.