Ballet Wooster staging ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ other dances
Ballet Wooster will present a ballet dramatization of the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” and other dances at the Wooster High School Performing Arts Center April 20-21.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. on April 20 and 2 p.m. on April 21. Tickets are $16 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.
“Sleeping Beauty” is based on the traditional fairy tale of Princess Aurora and the evil fairy Carabosse, who casts a spell on the tiny princess as revenge for not being invited to her christening. The ballet includes good and bad fairies, minions, a prince, a battle scene, and a cast of nearly 100 dancers.
“The score is primarily taken from Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty,” said Zelie McLain, artistic director of Ballet Wooster. “Creating the score for the ballet consists of creating a rough story outline and then selecting the music that best suits the scenes. The original Tchaikovsky score is over three hours long, so I condensed it to a 75-minute version.”
The cast includes Anne McLain as Princess Aurora. She is a senior at Norwayne High School who will dance her last production with Ballet Wooster. Cast members also include Sean Tankred as Prince Florimund and Nadia Franks as Carabosse.
In addition to “Sleeping Beauty,” ballet company members will present four reparatory dances, each in different styles:
—“The Caryatids” is a contemporary piece choreographed by instructor Samantha Servais Canfield, with music composed by Thomas Newman and Claude Debussy.
—“Les Cercles” is one of two pieces choreographed by Brenda Schwinn, artistic director emeritus for Ballet Wooster. The piece is set to George Bizet’s suite “Jeux d’enfants” (Children’s Games) and uses the simple prop of a hula hoop to convey the creativity inspired by the playful music.
—“Can Can,” also choreographed by Schwinn, with music by Jacques Offenbach, is an excerpt from a previous Ballet Wooster production.
—“Summer in Paris” is a high-energy piece.
Finally, the historic “Pas de Quatre” — a dance of four ballet dancers — was choreographed by Jules Perrot with music by Cesare Pugni and staged by Schwinn.
“It was first performed in London in 1845 and is one of the most famous ballet dances in ballet history,” Schwinn said. “It displayed the talents of four of the greatest ballet rivals of the time: Marie Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Fanny Cerrito and Lucille Grahn, each one trying to outdo the other in displaying their individual virtuosity. This dance has special significance for me as I danced the role of Fanny Cerrito in this dance when I was with the Ballet Guild of Cleveland.”
Ballet Wooster offers creative movement and ballet classes for all ages. This summer there will be a variety of classes and camps.
“We will be having evening classes, weekly themed camps and Saturday camps, many with fun themes like Taylor Swift, Barbie and Bluey,” McLain said.
For information on how to buy tickets or about upcoming events and classes, visit Ballet Wooster’s website at www.balletwooster.org/sample-page/. Tickets may be purchased in advance via the website or at the door on the day of the event.