Little fairies dressed in green and gold with wreaths of flowers on their heads greeted guests with "Welcome to a Midsummer Night's Dream" at a fundraiser for Arkansas Festival Ballet on Aug. 20 at South on Main.
The fairies, young ballerinas from the Arkansas Academy of Dance, were accompanied by other students, a little bit older and also dressed as fairies, who either mingled with guests or passed trays of finger foods.
The fundraiser had a special mixed-drink menu that included Puck's Punch with rum, blackberry, lime and sparkling wine, and Love Token made with bourbon, orange and pepper syrup and bitters.
Guests could also buy All the World's a Stage raffle tickets with a chance to win one of six packages, including a signed photo and a pointe shoe from prima ballerina Wendy Whelan of the New York City Ballet; a sports package with Dallas Cowboys and Razorbacks football tickets; a theater package with tickets to local performances and a chance to have a character role in Arkansas Festival Ballet's production of Beauty and the Beast in May.
And finally, to correspond with the night's theme, snippets from the ballet based on Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream were performed, choreographed by artistic director Rebecca Stalcup.
The event had more than 150 ballet enthusiasts in attendance. Arkansas Festival Ballet provides classical training through the Arkansas Academy of Dance, offers performance opportunities to pre-professional youths and resident dancers, and collaborates with other arts organizations.
-- Story and photos by Cary Jenkins
High Profile on 08/27/2017