Augusta Ballet will include performances with classes

As part of its outreach program, the Augusta Ballet will offer a master dance class this weekend.

The class is being offered in conjunction with the WinterWorks performance of Twyla Tharp's Deuce Coupe and works by Kevin O'Day and Alan Hineline, according to Patti Ann Smith, the ballet's managing director.

The performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Jabez Sanford Hardin Performing Arts Center in Columbia County. The free master class will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the center.

Choreographed by Ms. Tharp, Deuce Coupe is a crossover ballet and features the music of the Beach Boys. "In a Tharpe piece, it's modern, but everything is classically based," said Ms. Smith.

Originally choreographed in 1973, the piece features classic ballet and modern dance movements to contemporary music and is combined with Ms. Tharpe's distinct dance style, she said.

Now Ms. Tharpe hires other choreographers to take her work and teach it to other dancers.

Chris Uchida, a Tharpe choreographer, taught the Deuce Coupe piece to the dancers who will be featured in the performances Friday and Saturday.

As part of the contract, Ms. Uchida will return for the final performance, and she agreed to teach a class while she was in town, Ms. Smith said.

The class will feature some of the same choreography showcased in the WinterWorks' Deuce Coupe performance, Ms. Smith said. Participants must register because space is limited.

For more information, call (706) 261-0555.

Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.