GREENFIELD — After the success of last spring’s “Cinderella and More!” and the continued accolades for “Little Things,” Dance East Ballet Company’s annual Christmas ballet, company director Dana Hart was ready for a break. She turned the reins over to her assistant director to head up the troupe’s spring production.
Under the direction of Samantha James, Dance East Ballet Company will present “Peter Pan and More!” at 7 p.m. April 6 and at 2:30 p.m. April 7 at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St in Greenfield.
James has been with the company for six years. Hart credits her as the brainchild for the selection of “Peter Pan” as the spring ballet. Both agreed the fairy tale theme worked for them, and James — having danced the role of pirate in her teen years — thought of “Peter Pan.”
The story of Peter Pan, written by J.M. Barrie in 1904, has been made into a full-length animated feature, a Broadway musical, at least a dozen film adaptations and numerous Tinkerbell spin-offs. Ballet is an art form like no other.
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“We tell the story with our bodies,” said director Dana Hart.
For those not familiar with the narrative, Peter Pan (danced by Paige Spegal in the role traditionally played by a female) is the child who refuses to grow up. He lives an exciting life with the Lost Boys — swimming with mermaids, palling around with Indians and fighting pirates — a life any young boy would thrill to.
However, as the story goes, Peter has made a habit of lingering around the window of a certain London residence to hear the stories that Wendy (Sophie Capen) tells her brothers John and Michael in the nursery. Peter wants Wendy to come and tell the stories to the Lost Boys. So, Peter — along with Tinkerbell (Kaydra Osmundson) — teaches Wendy, John and Michael to fly, and they all go off to Neverland to join in Peter’s adventures with Indians, mermaids and pirates.
James’ first task was to turn the idea of “Peter Pan” into a ballet. By compiling a variety of music, James turned the full-length story into a manageable 35-minute production for Dance East’s young company.
“Peter Pan” will be the first act of the production. The second act will consist of Dance East’s competition teams performing 12 different performance pieces including a variety of dance styles in ballet, contemporary, jazz, modern, musical theater and tap.
As with most of Hart’s productions, “Peter Pan and More!” will feature a guest artist. Hart believes bringing in dance professionals to perform is an important lesson for her young dancers.
Jillian Godwin, a professional dancer with the modern dance company Dance Kaleidoscope, will be performing the part of Captain Hook.
“It’s so valuable for the dancers to be able to learn and watch a professional in action,” Hart said.
It was Godwin’s idea to portray Captain Hook as a woman — not as a woman playing a man’s part — but as a female pirate named Captain Hook. (171)
In another twist, Syearra Liggins, an instructor with the company, plays the part of the Crocodile.
In addition to compiling the music, James took the lead on the choreography, with Hart choreographing the mermaids, instructor Shawna Graves choreographing for the role of Tinkerbell and Liggins and Godwin each choreographing for their own roles.
With a little more than a week to go before performance time, there are still many details to take care of, but each day results in progress for the show and a shorter to-do list for James.
A milestone comes when all of the pieces are finally put together for the first time.
“When I see that first run, I can also see where it’s going and what it will become,” James said. “The potential of that moment is so exciting.”
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Dance East Ballet Company presents “Peter Pan and More!” at 7 p.m. April 6 and at 2:30 p.m. April 7 at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St in Greenfield. Tickets are $10, available by calling 317-318-9266 or at the box office before the performances.
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