REXBURG—Ballet Etude is bringing the magic of Neverland to Rexburg this weekend in its portrayal of Disney’s Peter Pan. The show will incorporate the studio’s company and academy dancers to bring the show to life.
“We’ve had increasingly more children joining our academy, and the idea of a show that they could have a fun role of lost kids in really stood out to us early on, and pirates also, pirates felt like fun character that adult academy students could be a part of. We love creating a production that highlights our company dancers. It gives them an opportunity for the main roles and the challenge of those main roles,” Artistic Director, Kierstin Lewis says.
That was Kierstin Lewis, Ballet Etude’s Artistic Director. She says she and her team try to produce a show where all levels of dancers are featured, and that those who’ve professionally studied dance can also appreciate.
“We love creating a production that highlights our company dancers,” Lewis says.
The production hosts a lot of female dancers, and most of the character roles in the storyline have been changed to female characters to accommodate the cast. The storyline however keeps Peter as a boy, but the role is played by company dancer Sarah Winiecke, and Captain Hook is played by the studio’s co-director Madissen Fujimoto.
”So our Captain Hook is a female character…. The pirates are all women, so Mr. Smee is now Mistress Smee. We changed John and Michael to be Jane and Millie… the lost kids are all girls, so they go by Lost Kids not Lost Boys, and they will correct you on that… Our Nana is actually a man that takes class with us dressed as Nana the dog,” Lewis says.
Lewis says there are things that the audience can look forward to in the show that she appreciates as the choreographer.
“I love how we’ve made Peter, and Tinker Bell, and the Darling Children, the Darling Sisters fly, we’ve done some fun things with that. I love the Peter and Shadow pas de deux, I really love that one. The pirates! I feel like we have just captivated a really fun dynamic with all of these pirates, and I’m just so excited to bring that to the stage,” Lewis says.
Stage props for the show mainly consist of Beds in the Darling Children’s bedroom, and the Lost Kids' hideout tree. Images will be displayed from a projector onto a backdrop.
“We have beautiful mermaid costumes, the crocodiles are adorable, the lost kids, they are so much fun,” Lewis says.
“The whole production. Everything about it has just been so fun and meaningful to put together, and I’m just so excited for it to be presented on the stage and for people to see the magic that we’ve created together,” Lewis says.
The performance will be Friday, May 30 at 6 p.m. and Saturda,y May 31 at 1 p.m.at the Romance Theater in Rexburg. Purchase tickets online at balletetude.com.