Charlotte Shields-Rossi | a&e editor

In four months America will celebrate its 250th anniversary. This week Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is starting the birthday festivities a little early. “America 250,” a mixed repertoire program, will include four classical and contemporary works of all the things that define the USA — baseball, World War II, stars and stripes.

The performance begins with an ode to the country’s favorite pastime — baseball. “The Mighty Casey,” choreographed by Lisa de Ribere, follows two baseball teams competing in the early 1900s. The dancers are clad in period accurate uniforms — a striped hat, bow tie and wooden bat.

“The Mighty Casey” based on an 1888 poem “Casey and the Bat,” follows Casey, a cocky baseball player who strikes out at “the big game.” Principal dancer, Colin McCaslin, will perform the role in “America 250.”

“More than anything it’s just going to be a fun, exciting show. Most of the pieces are very upbeat and lighthearted,” McCaslin said.

The second performance in the repertoire is George Balanchine’s “Stars and Stripes” pas de deux (a dance duet). Balanchine was a Russian immigrant who choreographed the duet as a love letter to his new country after immigrating.

Adam McKinney, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s artistic director, said “Stars and Stripes” is a plotless ballet that is fun and pure dancing from start to finish. As the name suggests it is also very patriotic.

“It’s very solider-esque, very red white and blue,” said Laurie Rieger, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s public relations and media manager.

“Stars and Stripes” is followed by “Company B,” a contemporary ballet based on the hit song “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by The Andrews Sisters — a close harmony singing group popular in the 1940s. The song follows a trumpet man who joined the army in Company B, a military unit.

The performance is set during World War II, with the optimistic, jitterbug and jazz vibe of the time period contrasted by the bleak reality of the soldiers overseas.

“Company B,” originally choreographed by Paul Taylor, was directed by Patrick Corbin, a former dancer in “Company B” and now a stager for the production.

“For 28 minutes, the audience is swept back to [the] 1940s, during a sort of moment during American exceptionalism when we were fighting the good fight,” Corbin said. “It was World War II ,and especially at home we had to keep a really positive face.”

Matthew Griffin, a corps de ballet dancer (group dancer), is one of the performers in “Company B.” Switching from typical slow and instrumental ballet music to upbeat, lyrical songs by The Andrews Sisters was a welcome change.

“[The Andrews Sisters] were inspiring with their songs but also singing for people who are actively in war,” Griffin said.

The mixed repertoire is closed by “Three Preludes,” a romantic pas de deux choreographed by Ben Stevenson. The pas de deux follows two dancers that fall in love while working at a dance studio.

This performance strays from the upbeat and Americana of the three previous segments, with a classical score that reflects the plot’s romantic nature.

“The three movements develop in both speed and intensity as the dancers’ emotions evolve into passion,” McKinney said.

“America 250” will include live music with PBT Orchestra. Shows will run from Friday through Sunday at the Benedum Center, with two evening and two matinee shows. Student tickets are $25 and can be purchased at https://pbt.culturaldistrict.org for more information visit https://pbt.org.

“It’s definitely linked to kind of the big American story, which I think people are going to relate to,” Griffin said.

Charlotte Shields-Rossi can be reached at shieldsrossic@duq.edu