HUNTSVILLE – Huntsville Ballet Company will open its 2017-2018 season with an exciting and varied program of dance showcasing local choreographers and the world premiere of “Phantom of the Ballet.”

Performances on Oct. 20-22 will be held at the Von Braun Center Playhouse.

Huntsville Ballet Company has expanded its company of dance professionals, who will perform the challenging choreography of “Unplugged.”

Phillip Otto serves as artistic director.

In Act I of “Unplugged,” Lily de Cordoba, currently of Italy, dances in a show-stopping flamenco piece. The company’s principal dancer Phillip Nathaniel Otto and soloist Morgan Foster also will share the spotlight.

“Pas de Trois” from Swan Lake will be performed to the Tchaikovsky score. Huntsville Ballet Mistress Rachel Butler and Los Angeles Ballet Company dancer Abby Callahan staged this piece.

New principal dancer Filipe Aragao of Brazil will entertain to music of Camille Saint Saens, danced by company member Michaela Hutchins and Ballet Master Alfredo Espinosa.

Guest pianist Aimee Fincher will accompany the cast for Otto’s, “Concerto,” accompanied by Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Concerto # 1.” In finale, Gina Guerrera brings her new contemporary piece choreographed to “Snow Patrol” and “Uneven Odds.”

In Act II, Otto will premiere his powerful work, “Phantom of the Ballet,” with all its beauty and mystique. Guest vocalist Elissa Miller will perform “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” accompanied by guest pianist Aimee Fincher.

Principal dancers Phillip Nathaniel Otto and Alfredo Espinosa share the role of the Phantom, coupled with Jenna Turner and Madison Lynn as Christine. Aragao dances as Raoul.

Based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 horror novel, “Phantom of the Ballet” is set in 1881 and follows a deformed composer who haunts the grand Paris Opera House. This lonely man composes operas for Christine, an orphaned dancer. (broadway.com)

Madison residents with principal roles in dance are Felipe Aragao, Ashley Jordan and Jenna Turner. Madison residents Debbie Baughn and Garrett Estes are board members for Huntsville Ballet.

Tickets range from $20 to $25 and are available at VBC Box Office or ticketmaster.com. Huntsville Ballet is offering a ‘buy 1, get 1 free’ (promo code: PHANTOM1).

Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 21, along with 2 p.m. shows on Oct. 21 and 22.

For more information, visit huntsvilleballet.org, Facebook/Huntsville Ballet Company, Instagram, Twitter @HSVBallet or youtube.com/HuntsvilleBallet.