Menlowe Ballet in bloom

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This spring, Menlowe Ballet is showcasing its own blossoming talent with “Floraison,” a program devoted to works created and performed by the professional ballet company and students at the Menlo Park Academy of Dance.

The French title translates to “flowering,” a theme that will be reflected in the four performances taking place the weekend of April 28 at Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center in Atherton.

“We decided to focus on the talent we have in the company and nurture it,” Menlowe Ballet Executive Director Lisa Shiveley said.

Based in Menlo Park and founded in 2011, Menlowe Ballet performs only a few times a year and aims for an innovative blend of classical and contemporary dance.

“We always take our audience on an emotional journey and end on an up,” Shiveley said.

Citing a recent article in the New York Times about the lack of female choreographers in major ballet companies around the world, she said she is pleased to see Menlowe Ballet encouraging company dancers Stefanie Maughan and Ali McKeon to make their professional choreographic debut this month.

Shiveley said Artistic Director Michael Lowe recognized their “creative voices and fabulous contemporary backgrounds” and invited them to choreograph a ballet for the program. The end result is “In Medias Res,” a contemporary work featuring 11 company members. The Latin title translates to “in the middle of things.”

Due to many requests, Associate Artistic Director Sarah-Jane Measor is bringing “Portraits” back to the stage for the program. She hails from the U.K. and choreographed a contemporary piece last fall to honor the courage and spirit of important female figures in British history: Lady Jane Grey, the Bronte sisters, English Channel swimmer Gertrude Ederle and suffragettes Emily Wilding Davison and Emmeline Pankhurst.

Shiveley offered several reasons for why the premiere of that ballet was so popular: The choreographer, seven company dancers and costume designer are all women, the staging incorporates video and there’s a surprise ending.

“The music is stunning, and with the story of these women challenging adverse circumstances, people were crying at every performance,” she said.

The company originally performed “Portraits” right before the November election. Shiveley found the piece timely then and finds it “very timely” now, as “more and more women are sensitive and in touch with the challenges that they face,” she said.

“Floraison” will also feature dozens of Menlo Park Academy of Dance students performing various works. As the company’s official school, the academy attracts young dancers from all over the Peninsula.

The program will close with 11 of the older students sharing the stage with 13 company members in the world premiere of “Facets.” Choreographed by Lowe and Measor, the neoclassical ballet is set to the music of contemporary composer Philip Glass, which Shiveley described as “haunting.”

She said the teenage performers are very committed to ballet, spending most of their weekends in the studio and dancing 20 to 25 hours per week. And she should know. Her daughter, Leighton, is one of 24 students who just returned from competing in the Youth America Grand Prix dance competition finals in New York.

“It’s a lot of blood, sweat and blisters,” she said.

What: “Floraison” by Menlowe Ballet

When: April 28-30, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Where: Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton

Cost: $28-$55

Info: Menlowe Ballet