BANGOR – Bangor Ballet has announced that its second annual Evening at the Arts. “January Jazz,” will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Husson College Campus Center.

The event will consist of a social hour followed by dinner, entertainment and public dancing with music furnished by Brian Catell and Jump City Jazz.

The idea for an evening of jazz arose when Brian Catell was tuning the piano for last year’s first annual Evening at the Arts when pianist Patricia Stowell accompanied dancers and vocalists.

He asked, “Have you ever thought of dancing to live jazz music?”

Board members thought it was a great idea. Artistic director Ivy Forrest met with Catell to select music.

Dancers will perform to well-known jazz standards including “Satin Doll,” “A-Train” and “Take Five.”

Forrest said, “Dancing to live music and in jazz style offers an exciting new challenge for our classically trained dancers.”

Dancers who participate in the Bangor Ballet are August Eaton, Tommy McCarthy, Erin Norris, Karyn Carlin, Elizabeth Dvorak, Sarah Bishop, Brooke Black, Rachel Caron, Ariel Eaton, Hilarie Blunt, Kalista Shaw, Kelsey-Lynn Briggs, Kristyn Murphy, Elizabeth Neslusan and Michelle Birmingham.

Also performing will be local vocalist Kristyn Murphy.

After the dinner and entertainment, guests are invited to stay and dance to the music of Jump City Jazz.

Over the years Bangor Ballet has performed such well-loved ballets as “Cinderella,” “Swan Lake” and “Peter and the Wolf,” as well as original ballets such as “Hansel and Gretel” and “Alice in Wonderland” and a variety of shorter pieces.

Dancers have come from dance schools throughout eastern Maine and from as far away as Machias and Brooklin.

The newest addition to the company’s repertoire is an original ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The Little Mermaid,” which the company performed last spring in Bangor and Deer Isle, and which will be performed in France in the spring of 2008.

Originally founded in 1994 as Bangor Youth Ballet, the company recently changed its name to better reflect its makeup and mission.

Bangor Ballet seeks to provide performance opportunities for talented local dancers and choreographers and to present high-quality dance productions for the community.

In addition to the “January Jazz” event, Bangor Ballet recently held auditions for a spring presentation of “Alice in Wonderland,” which was last performed by the company in 2000.

Tickets for the “January Jazz” evening are $40 a person and are available at Thomas School of Dance, 14 State St. Call 945-3457 for more information or look for the Bangor Ballet page at www.thomasschoolofdance.com.