The Brantford Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will bring audience members back in time with its “Ballroom Live!” concert at the Sanderson Centre for Performing Arts on Saturday, October 25, 2025.
During the event, around 20 BSO players will come together to form the ‘Brantford Salon Orchestra’ and perform the popular and light classical music from the Golden Age.
“In the early 1900s, the way people amused themselves, the entertainment they enjoyed and what they did for fun was quite different from today. Back then people were more inclined to spend their evenings out at ballrooms and palm courts, just socializing and listening to the music,” said Philip Sarabura, artistic director and conductor for the BSO. “The music that was popular at the time was very tuneful, light and easy to listen to, with these great melodies and rhythms, and whenever people sort of felt the spirit of it, they danced. And everyone knew these dances too, they were the tangos, the foxtrots, the Charlestons, the two-steps, and the waltzes and so on. It was just the thing to do, to go out in a big group and dance in these ballrooms that you would see in the big hotels in the major city centres; places like the Ritz-Carlton in New York, the Savoy in London and the Royal York in Toronto.”
Sarabura went on to say that was exactly the sort of spirit that he and the BSO were aiming to recreate during the event.
“Now, of course, they didn’t have the sort of sound equipment that we do now, and so all of the music was live and it was provided by these large bands that were called salon orchestras. So to sort of recreate that spirit, we’re really excited to be presenting as the Brantford Salon Orchestra that night,” he said. “And all of the music will be those wonderful, easy listening kind of timeless classics that I think a lot of people will recognize. There’s going to be about 18 numbers and we have everything from ‘Anything Goes,’ to ‘Fascinating Rhythm,’ ‘I’ll Never Smile Again,’ ‘The Blue Danube’ waltz, ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz,’ and of course, ‘La Cumparsita’ which is the most famous tango of all. So we’ll have a real variety of just wonderful music.”
To enhance the atmosphere and add to the mood of the evening, local ballroom dancers, Brian and Kelly Sloat of AIM Dance, will join the musicians on stage for some of the numbers.
“As I’ve mentioned, we want to recreate the overall feel of that time frame and so we’ll have Brian and Kelly there to dance for a couple of the tunes on stage,” said Sarabura. “I think that’s something the audience will appreciate because it really gives people a bit of a flavour for what it was like back then, and it adds a little bit of a visual aspect to the concert experience too. And those two are really wonderful dancers so I think it’s going to be just a terrific addition.”
While the event will run from about 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., the conductor said that for those who are interested in hearing a bit more about the symphony and their performance, there will be a pre-concert chat from 7 to 7:15 p.m. in the main auditorium.
“Myself and Kelly and Brian are going to be out in the audience, and we’re going to have a little talk about the music and the dancing that will be coming up,” said Sarabura. “It’s just to give a little more information and background to the whole evening, and so if people can get there a little early, then they can enjoy this little informal discussion about the concert too.”
For those looking to attend the event, more information can be found here: https://brantfordsymphony.ca/event/ballroom-live/
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
