TOPSHAM – The Ballet School of Topsham and its affiliated performing company, Coastal Maine Youth Ballet, will premiere “Blackberry Winter: A Fawn’s First Year” at the Orion Performing Arts Center at Mount Ararat Middle School.

Set to music by Irish and American composers, the ballet was conceived and choreographed by Elizabeth Drucker. It highlights the experiences of a young fawn, danced by Molly Schaffner of Brunswick High School, as she faces both joy and sorrow during the first year of her life.

Her friends and fellow forest creatures, including foxes and fox kits, butterflies and spring peepers, appear throughout the ballet under the gentle guidance of The Equinox and The Solstice, portrayed by principal dancers Emily Skillings of Brunswick High School and Heidi Skirbe of Mount Ararat High School.

Drucker, a former dancer with New York City Ballet, owns The Ballet School. She directs and also performs in the show along with a local cast composed of advanced dancers from Coastal Maine Youth Ballet and students of The Ballet School.

The ballet will be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16. The performance is geared toward people of all ages.

General admission tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and children. For more information, call 666-8808 or visit www.theballetschool.com.