The ballet, set to Carl Orff's cantata, is choreographed by Dwight Rhoden, a former principal dancer with Alvin Ailey and co-founder of the dance company Complexions. His assistant, Miho Morinoue, designed the costumes, which include a dress made of 25 square feet of fabric. The set design includes a swing for the dancers, and troughs filled with water along the front edge of the stage.

Rhoden has choreographed works for many dance companies, including American Dance Theater, the Pennsylvania Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, and the Washington Ballet.

In addition to Carmina Burana, the evening's program will also include Raymonda, staged by BalletMet's artistic director Gerard Charles after Marius Petipa's version. The program runs through November 6.

BalletMet was founded in 1978, and tours nationally and internationally. The company's New York debut in spring 2004 at the Joyce Theatre drew positive reviews, and the company returned for the Evening Stars Festival earlier this fall.