​St. Louis dance companies have packed this month’s calendar with their first shows of the 2023-2024 dance season. The most recent company to present their opening performance is Ballet 314 with Fall Fête: Twisted Tales, held on Saturday, October 21 in the Strauss Blackbox Theater at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Centre. Now in its second year, Fall Fête was a mixed bill show that featured three separate works performed in an intimate setting, as well as a fundraising event for the company. This review will cover the evening performance, which included an elegant pre-show cocktail hour and post-show reception, as well as brief talks from company directors Rachel Bodi and Robert Poe. Fall Fête celebrated Ballet 314’s growth as a company and took the audiences’ breath away with gorgeous dancing and engaging stories behind the pieces performed.

Ballet 314 presented two performances of Ragtime: The American Experience at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of University of Missouri—St. Louis on Sunday, May 14. Robert Poe, Ballet 314’s Artistic Director, choreographed this full-length ballet based on the novel Ragtime, written by E.L Doctorow. The company had originally performed this ballet in 2021 with roughly a dozen dancers onstage. This past weekend’s performance not only showcased a cast nearly doubled in size comprised of both company members and local guest artists, but also marked Ballet 314’s performance debut at the Touhill. After both the 2:00 and 7:00 performances, the audience was invited to stay for an informal Q & A with members of the cast and the directors, which was moderated by Joanna Dee Das and Erica Hill, respectively.