Ballet Dancing Down on the Farm? Homegrown Troupe Sets Stage on Soil

Chatch Pregger's Vermont-based Farm to Ballet Project marries the beauty of ballet with the hearty environs of freshly tilled earth. The folksy performance troupe emanate New England's agricultural aura and sustainable ethos while showcasing modern dance on a stage of soil.

The Farm to Ballet Project enlists the artistic abilities of around 25 amateur and professional local dancers in their eco-friendly ballet routine that's making news around the state. Pregger's signature recital for the ballet company tells the homesteading tale of farm life, spring to fall.

The project took flight when Pregger's previously-indoor dance class began taking advantage of an outdoor setting for their practices, seemingly a ploy to make the most of Vermont's short summers. Pregger then planted the idea for the Farm to Ballet Project:

"I always thought what's ballet promoting? What's it all about?" said Pregger, artistic director of the Farm to Ballet Project. "And certainly artistically it's amazing and the art that can be made from it is awesome, but I'm really happy for myself to be able to integrate it with something a little larger."

Vermont's Brattleboro Reformer recently published a piece on Pregger's project. The publication details Pregger's history in dance and the nexus of Farm to Dance's rise:

"Pregger has been teaching ballet to adults for nine years at Spotlight dance studio in South Burlington where Farm to Ballet was born out of a day class starting in a tree house and antsy students who wanted to learn the experience of performing in front of an audience. Pregger's passion for sustainable and organic farming ... evolved into the idea of a performance about food as a way to support farmers while experiencing live performing to a classical repertoire."

Watch a recent Associated Press video about Pregger and his Farm to Ballet Project below.

Would you like to witness a down-home dance performance from the Farm to Earth Project? We want to hear from you. Let us know what you think of Chatch Pregger and his earthy Vermont dance troupe in the comments section below.

TagsThe Farm to Ballet Project, Chatch Pregger