Ballet Vero Beach's upcoming program all about dance master Rodriguez's choreography

After the success of last month’s premiere of “The Nutcracker on the Indian River,” Ballet Vero Beach hopes to keep its momentum going with its second program of the season.

MORE: Lagoon creatures, sets help make local 'Nutcracker' ballet a success

On Friday,  the company presents “All Rodriguez,” a performance dedicated to its ballet master, Camilo Rodriguez.

“It is pretty rare for an entire program to be devoted to one person's choreography unless they are iconic in the dance world,” said founder and artistic producer Adam Schnell, who over the past five years has been building the company to take on large, challenging works.

“We have never done an evening of work by one choreographer before, and beyond that, we have never chosen to have a program that is so intimate,” he added.

The program will include only four dancers (Matthew Carter, Alyssa Grimsley, Alexandra Hoffman and Rodriguez) who will perform four pieces, three of which have been done in previous seasons, as well as the premiere of "Divertissement Nostalgique," a new dance set to a exclusive music (“Beethoven Variants”) by local composer Paul Gay.

“I think the fact that in five years Camilo has developed such a body of work is a true testament to our commitment to new, original choreography as well as masterworks,” Schnell said. “Our audiences have developed a taste for both homegrown choreography and true gems of the ballet repertoire.”

Unlike the company's large December production, this program allows audiences to focus on the choreographer.

“In repertory work, choreographers can express a single idea or many," Schnell said. "Exploring a choreographer's repertory works together in one evening can help get the sense of the scope of an artist.”

For Rodriguez, who has choreographed multiple new works for the company including large-scale productions and smaller contemporary pieces for its museum series, the opportunity is a dream come true not only for him, but also the company, he said.

“I feel like Ballet Vero Beach is certainly a young company that is defining every performance,” Rodriguez said. “We’re all about building repertory work that the artistic staff enjoys and work that challenges your dancers that can also withstand time.”

The performance will feature some of Rodriguez’s best loved works created exclusively for Ballet Vero Beach including “Sheer Vibration,” which was seen last fall at the company’s museum performance, “An Afternoon in the Paddock,” a solo Rodriguez danced last spring, as well as the return of “The Swan,” a comical piece presented in the company’s first season. 

“It’s a very meaty program with lots of wonderful steps and you can see the music while looking at the dance,” Rodriguez said.

Although the pieces are very different from each other, Rodriguez said there’s a sense they all go together.

“There’s parts that are serious, exciting and beautiful that I think everybody will enjoy it,” Rodriguez said.

About the show

What: Program 2, “All Rodriguez”
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center, 1707 16th St., Vero Beach
Tickets: $10-$75
Information: 772-564-5537 or www.balletverobeach.org