The Performing Arts

You can order tickets for Bermuda's major cultural events through the box office at the Visitors Service Bureau in the City of Hamilton (tel. 441/292-8572) with your MasterCard, Visa, or American Express card. Students and senior citizens are sometimes eligible for discounts to various entertainment events.

Ballet

The Bermuda Civic Ballet presents classical ballets at various venues. On occasion, a major European or American guest artist appears with the troupe. The National Dance Theater of Bermuda also stages performances, both classical and modern, around the island. Ask at the tourist office or call the box office at the Visitors Service Bureau to check the troupe's schedules during your visit; prices vary with the performance.

Classical Music

The Bermuda Philharmonic Society, conducted by Graham Garton, presents four regular concerts during the season. Special outdoor "Classical Pops" concerts are presented on the first weekend in June in St. George and at the Royal Naval Dockyard. Concerts usually feature the Bermuda Philharmonic orchestra, the choir, and guest soloists. You can get tickets and concert schedules by calling tel. 441/295-5333. Tickets generally cost $18 to $21 (£9.35-£11); seniors and students are often granted discounts, depending on the performance.

The Big Event: The Bermuda Festival

Bermuda's major cultural event is the Bermuda Festival, staged every January and February. Outstanding international classical, jazz, and pop artists perform, and major theatrical and dance companies from around the globe stage productions. During the festival, performances take place on varying nights. Ticket prices start at $55 (£28), $20 (£10) for children's shows. Some festival tickets are reserved until 48 hours before curtain time for visitors. Visitors who'd like tickets can contact Axiom (tel. 441/236-4034; www.resqwest.com), which holds back a number of tickets that locals cannot access. Most performances are at City Hall Theatre, City Hall, Church Street, the City of Hamilton. For more information and reservations, contact the Bermuda Festival, P.O. Box HM 297, Hamilton HM AX, Bermuda (tel. 441/295-1291; fax 441/295-7403; www.bermudafestival.org).

Gombey Dancing

Ask at the tourist office or call the box office at the Visitors Service Bureau to see whether the gombey dancers will be performing during your stay. Gombey (commonly pronounced goom-bee or gom-bay) is the island's single most important cultural expression of African heritage. Once part of slave culture, the tradition dates from the mid-1700s. The local dance troupe of talented men and women often performs at one of the big hotels in winter (and, on occasion, aboard cruise ships for passengers). On holidays, you'll see the gombeys dancing through the streets of the City of Hamilton in their colorful costumes.

Musical Theater

An all-volunteer organization based in the City of Hamilton, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Bermuda, P.O. Box HM 3098, Hamilton HM NX (tel. 441/295-3218), is known for producing at least one large-scale musical per year. These days, only about 20% of the repertoire is based on the works of Gilbert and Sullivan; it now includes such musicals as Cabaret, Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Into the Woods, and Carmen, among others. The society performs at the City of Hamilton's City Hall, on Church Street. Be warned that this is a volunteer organization; the sole production runs for 2 weeks at most, usually in October. Tickets cost between $35 and $45 (£18-£23). Society members sometimes contribute their talents to the Bermuda Festival.

Bermuda is the only place outside of Cambridge where Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals are staged. Performances have been presented in Bermuda during College Weeks (in Mar and Apr) since the 1960s. They're staged at the City Hall Theatre on Church Street in the City of Hamilton; call the box office at the Visitors Service Bureau for tickets, which cost about $26 (£13) each.