Ballet and Art in Florida in March

I am currently planning a ballet trip to Florida for next March. Below is the itinerary. Price coming soon. If this trip tempts you, email me at toursenlair@gmail.com to have  your name put on the priority signup list (this is not a commitment, just an expression of interest).

Ballet and Art in Sarasota and

Fort Lauderdale

8 – 12 March 2017

5 days, 4 nights

2 ballet performances

+ 2 optional

Wednesday 8 March

Arrive Sarasota; check in to the 3-star Hotel Indigo in downtown Sarasota, 5 minutes walk from the theatre. Suggested activity: Sarasota Opera: Italian Girl in Algiers.

Thursday 9 March

Morning: Private guided tour of John and Mabel Ringling's mansion Ca' d'Zan, inspired by Venetian palazzos. 

Afternoon: Private guided tour of the highlights of the Ringling Art Museum. Special exhibition: A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe, focusing on the period 1300-1500, when societal changes prompted a new interest in human experience, the enjoyment of nature and the pursuit of pleasure. Sacred and secular paintings, tapestries, metalwork, and manuscripts reveal the role of the senses in courtly ritual and religious practice. Evening: Three-course welcome dinner.

Chagall's The Lovers

Friday 10 March

Morning: Guided tour of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and visit the exhibition Marc Chagall’s Cote d’Azur: The Artist’s Botanical Imagery and Inspiration Found on the French Riviera at the Gardens’ historic Christy Payne Mansion. The centrepiece of the exhibit will be Chagall's 1937 painting “The Lovers” on loan from the collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Horticultural displays will offer a view of the French Riviera environment that inspired the artist. The Tropical Conservatory will feature the flora of St. Paul de Vence, the picturesque village where Chagall spent the latter part of his life. Plant life there features bromeliads, bougainvillea, orchids, and citrus trees. Outdoors in the lush Bayfront gardens, visitors will find eloquent quotes that illustrate Chagall’s deep reverence for nature. Afternoon at leisure. Suggested activities: Go to the beach! Shop in the boutiques. Evening: Dinner before Sarasota Ballet all-Ashton performance: Scenes de Ballet, Two Pigeons. Meet Sarasota Ballet Artistic Director Iain Webb.

Saturday 11 March

Day at leisure. Suggested activities: Take a boat cruise on Sarasota Bay and see dolphins and manatees. Optional extra performances (afternoon and/or evening) Sarasota Ballet all Ashton performance: Scenes de Ballet, Two Pigeons.

Sunday 12 March

Morning: Check out of hotel. Transfer by luxury coach to Fort Lauderdale. Brunch. Afternoon: Miami City Ballet' performance: Walpurgisnacht Ballet (Balanchine), The Fairy's Kiss (Ratmansky), Polyphonia (Wheeldon). 4 pm (approx): Transfer to Fort Lauderdale Airport.

If you love seeing beautiful places and things, and bingeing on ballet, please check out my other outstanding ballet trips by clicking here. Booking for the following trips is now open.

Bordeaux and Toulouse, July 2017 only 6 spots left (more info here: http://toursenlair.blogspot.ca/2016/08/food-wine-sightseeingand-ballet-trip.html )