The James Sewell Ballet, which first appeared here as part of the 1997 Bermuda Festival, returns for another season in March.

Sponsored by the Bermuda Ballet Association, the American company will appear at the City Hall Theatre. It is anticipated that the company will offer two slightly different programmes over the course of their five-performance visit, once again offering a mix of both classical and contemporary dance.

Works will include the `Don Quixote' pas de deux -- a piece guaranteed to thrill audiences -- and `Opera Moves' based on the themes of six operas. Also planned is a repeat performance of `Prestidigitations: Rings and Jackets' which particularly appealed to Bermuda audiences last time around.

James Sewell is the founder, artistic director and choreographer of the Minneapolis-based company. He created his first ballet in 1982 while still a student at the famed School of American Ballet in New York.

Besides studying and working with the late George Balanchine, Sewell also studied with the well-known American choreographer Eliot Feld, for whose company he also worked as principal dancer.

The Ballet Association is also making arrangements for James Sewell to offer a masterclass to Bermuda's dancers while here.

Performances will take place at the City Hall Theatre on Wednesday, March 17 through Saturday, March 20 (at 8 p.m.) and a Saturday matinee on March 20.

Tickets are $25 and $12 for students at the matinee performance, with proceeds going to the Ballet Association's Scholarship Fund.

For over 30 years, the Association has been awarding scholarships to dancers to assist in training here and overseas.

SEWELL RETURNS -- The Bermuda Ballet Association has plans for its next production well in hand. They have invited the James Sewell Ballet (pictured above in a neo-classical work from their repertoire) to appear in Bermuda in March.