BALLET FLORIDA PRESENTS ALL-PREMIERE PROGRAM.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida--Considering the way choreographers talk about Ballet Florida, the thirteen-year-old company comes off as an artistic playground. "Every time I go there," chirps Sean Lavery, "I have a good time." Val Caniparoli seconds the sentiment: "I think it's a really great place to be creative. There's no tension, and the dancers are really giving."

Both men, along with Daniel Ezralow, will present new works in Ballet Florida's mid-March program at the Royal Poinciana Playhouse. This year brings five world premieres to the company: works by Mauricio Wainrot and Trey McIntyre have also been commissioned.

Last summer, Lavery spent three weeks at Ballet Florida setting the piece he titled after Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. Leaving out a gavotte--too evocative of Romeo and Juliet--he kept three movements for four soloist couples and one principal. "It's relatively familiar music," he says. "And it kind of makes me giggle when I hear it." According to Lavery, the dance reflects that "charm and playfulness," but he is quick to point out, "there are no gags. It's strictly classical." The style has been his passion throughout a prominent career at New York City Ballet, where he's currently a ballet master. Still, Lavery distinguishes his take on classicism, saying, "This has got a kick to it." While Lavery's piece is not typical for Ballet Florida, he commends the company's commitment. His Aurora's Wedding came into their repertory a season ago, and he is enthusiastic at how Classical Symphony suits the dancers: "They really fly around!"

Contributions from dancers are also crucial for Caniparoli. "I want them to be part of the process--in a way, collaborators," he says. "I always take my lead from the music but tailor it to whomever I'm working with. I don't like to come with too many preconceived ideas." This method has established him as a choreographer of note at San Francisco Ballet and other companies, primarily Ballet West, which was coproducer with Ballet Florida of Lady of the Camellias, Caniparoli's first full-length work, in 1994.

For his latest contribution to Ballet Florida, Caniparoli designed robust passages for four couples to Shostakovich's Quintet in G minor, for piano and strings (Opus 57). The Jewish themes give this what BF ballet mistress Claudia Cravey describes as "a great ethnic feel that sort of sneaks up on you. When you watch it, it becomes your story."

Cravey emphasizes the range of the premiere program, from Lavery's "friendly atmosphere ... fresh and pretty" to Ezralow's work, which she says is at the "other end of the spectrum." Summing up the latter's choreography to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (among other bands), she says, "Wham-bam, it swings!"