>>PREVIEW
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Runs until March 26
Alberta Ballet (Jubilee Auditorium)
Imagine yourself sitting in a grassy meadow, your eyelids getting heavy, wanting to fall asleep. A rabbit passes you, muttering to itself, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"
Ignoring the fact that as a general rule, rabbits don’t speak, you decide to follow it down a hole in the ground. You find yourself falling through the air. "Curiouser and curiouser!" you exclaim, landing in the world of Alice in Wonderland.
The beloved books by Lewis Carroll (including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass) inspire Alberta Ballet’s new production, Alice in Wonderland. Taking themes and stories from both books, choreographer Edmund Stripe felt he needed to strengthen the narrative line in order to translate it to the stage.
"I have reworked the story slightly," he admits, adding that he has not deviated from what people know and love.
Alice’s behaviour in the books is often viewed by readers as precocious and snobbish. Stripe says for the purposes of this production, he has done away with these negative qualities, making her disposition sweet and likable. Her rare shortness of temper is a reaction to treatment she receives from those around her – a murderous royalty and some socially awkward tea parties.
"Most of the characters are very rude to her," says Stripe.
Approached by artistic director Jean Grand-Maitre with the idea in October of 2004, Stripe readily agreed to act as choreographer.
"(I’m) very glad he chose Alice in Wonderland. It is a wonderful story – great scope," he says.
Not to mention an eclectic cast of characters to work with – Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat. Making such unlikely characters dance seems a daunting task, but Stripe says it was quite easy to create the steps for the story.
"When you’ve got characters like that, you have something to base the movements on."
Alice in Wonderland’s steps will be accompanied by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Peter Dala. The dancers will perform to the music of Ravel, Debussy, Walton and Shostakovich, which is fitting, as Stripe says this project is a step away from his recent contemporary works for Alberta Ballet – a more classical approach to the craft.
"This is a work for lovers of classical ballet, but it is also a perfect introduction to ballet for newcomers."
Suitable for children and adults alike, Stripe hopes audiences will allow Alice in Wonderland to linger in their minds, as the books have done for countless generations. |
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