Ballet Arizona’s annual Ballet Under the Stars series returns in September at various Valley locations.

Since its beginning in 1997, these free performances provide an evening for residents to bring chairs, blankets and picnics to experience dance in outdoor parks. Ballet Arizona showcases excerpts from a range of ballets to offer a vibrant portrayal of the art form’s diversity.

Presented by the Diane and Bruce Halle Foundation, the series opens Thursday, Sept. 19 in Fountain Hills. Stops continue in Chandler (Friday, Sept. 20), Goodyear (Saturday, Sept. 21), Peoria (Thursday, Sept. 26), Glendale (Friday, Sept. 27) and Phoenix (Saturday, Sept. 28). All performances start at 7 p.m. and are free.

Chandler and Peoria make their debuts in the Ballet Under The Stars series, which introduces ballet to many young people for the first time.

This year’s edition will include excerpts from both contemporary and classic ballets. Audiences will experience the tango-inspired “Piazzolla Caldera” by choreographer Paul Taylor, a duet from Christopher Wheeldon’s “Within the Golden Hour,” and an excerpt from Ib Andersen’s “Swan Lake,” which will grace the stage in October at Symphony Hall in Phoenix.

Each outdoor performance in the series features a professional stage, lighting and costumes. Residents can indulge in local food trucks and enjoy space for picnicking.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Arizonans to discover the magic of ballet under the open sky together with their loved ones – right in their own neighborhood,” Artistic Director Daniela Cardim shared in a press release.

Each year, Ballet Arizona’s professional dancers and teaching artists provide a three-week dance training class for students in four different elementary schools across the Valley. The culminating highlight of their work is delivered as a performance as part of Ballet Under the Stars.

This educational program is provided to students’ tuition-free and is funded by Joan Benjamin and Laurence Cherkis.

Ballet Arizona started in 1986 and is under the new artistic direction of acclaimed choreographer Daniela Cardim, a former soloist with the Ballet of Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janiero and Dutch National Ballet.

The Ballet Under the Stars series opens Sept. 19 in Fountain Hills.

(Photo by David Knox, provided by Ballet Arizona)