Choreographer: Mary Hein (Premiere)

Music: “The Ragtime Dance” by Scott Joplin, arranged by Itzhak Perlman

Violin: Virgil Moore 

Piano: Thomas Getty

Costumes: Ty Cooper Grace
Trainee Dancers: Hannah Adamczak, Simone Ayres, Maureen Cole, Rhian Jones, Ayana Leblans, Adelyn Nicholson, Alyssa Robey
Pre-Professional Dancers from Charlottesville Ballet Academy:

 Julia Aguirre, Georgia Barrow, Kasumi Furukawa, Natalie Macbeth, Erin Megonigal

Scott Joplin (1868–1917), the King of Ragtime, elevated American music with a unique fusion of African American traditions and classical form. "The Ragtime Dance," originally conceived as a ballet, embodies the VA250 concert’s themes of freedom, innovation, and cultural identity. Though under-recognized in his lifetime, Joplin was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize and remains a foundational voice in American music.