PORTLAND – Portland Ballet will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a performance featuring its signature piece, “Bolero,” Friday, March 4, at Merrill Auditorium.

The 7 p.m. performance will be followed by a reception with a silent and live auction and dancing to the Bob Charest Band.

The gala performance includes highlights of Portland Ballet’s 25 years with the pieces “Happy Birthday to You,” choreographed by Portland Ballet’s resident choreographer, Daielma Santos; “Degas” by Roxanne Rigoloso, a founding member of Portland Ballet; and “Bolero,” choreographed by Andrei Bossov. Bossov is from Russia’s Kirov Ballet and was choreographer of the sold-out “Carmina Burana,” a joint production of the Portland Ballet and Choral Art Society.

The reception will immediately follow the gala and will be in Merrill Auditorium’s rehearsal hall at 8:30 p.m. Executive Director Eugenia O’Brien said, “The funds we raise will support future performances and educational programming.”

Former students of Portland Ballet have gone on to work with such prestigious companies as Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Miami City Ballet.

Tickets, $15 to $40, are available through PortTix, 842-0800.

Tickets to the reception are sold through the Portland Ballet, 772-9671, and are $35 per person.

For more information about Portland Ballet, visit www.portlandballet.org or call (207) 772-9671.

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