Ballet and farming go together like fine art and craft beer — the combo isn’t typical, but it should be. On Saturday, Vermont’s Farm to Ballet troupe will perform at Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, an historic farm dating back to 1836 that has long shared a connection with the patients of Brattleboro Retreat. Each of the company’s seasonal performances take place at and tell the stories of various local farms. Instead on focusing on the farmers, however, Farm to Ballet uses classical dance to choreograph the lifecycle of the land’s products: vegetable or animal. The dance takes the audience from seed, to irrigation, to pruning, harvest, and everything in between. The Retreat Farm show will feature the music of Vivaldi played by a string sextet. If you go, bring something — blankets or lawn chairs — on which to park it.
Farm to Ballet: Saturday, Aug. 12. Doors open at 4:30 p.m., show at 6 p.m. $16.50-$37.50. Retreat Farm, 350 Linden St., Brattleboro. farmtoballet.org.
— Kristin Palpini
