While the exhibition In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth) celebrates the presence and meaning of wine in prints, drawings, textiles, and objects, Cleveland Ballet interprets the exhibition’s subject through movement with its performance of Walpurgisnacht, a celebration on the eve of May Day, April 30, that marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The night known for its debauchery involves celebrations, as well as rituals and bonfires to ward off evil spirits. The Cleveland Ballet’s performance builds on this sense of joyful revelry. Cleveland Ballet continues the celebration with Picnic, a collection of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s dances for piano and violin choreographed by Cleveland Ballet’s artistic director Timour Bourtasenkov, as well as the lively and energetic “Dance of the Toreadors” from Don Quixote. In the spirit of In Vino Veritas, join Cleveland Ballet for a glass of wine before the performance at 6:00 p.m. outside Gartner Auditorium. Then at 6:20 p.m., Bourtasenkov gives a Behind the Curtain artist talk to share insights into the performance.
