THE SNOW QUEEN BALLET

                                                               SNOW QUEEN
 

Not long ago I commented to a friend that I wished we could find some activities to enjoy that did not involve going out to eat and that were relatively inexpensive. A few weeks ago she presented me with a few ideas. The first was a ballet performance of The Snow Queen a fairy tale written by Hans Christian Anderson. The ballet company was Danse Etolie Ballet which according to the program "is a non-profit organization founded by Marie-Jose Payannet in 2005, dedicated to offering artists of all ages a place to refine their talent and an opportunity to perform. Since its first performance in January 2005, Danse Etoile has produced original story ballets ranging from classical to contemporary and folk styles, offered countless free performances, and participated in outreach programs with local schools and community events in Boulder and Broomfield counties."  The Artistic Director, Marie-Jose Payannet grew up in France and was able to dance and train with many great dancers and ballet masters. Marie-Jose moved to the United States where she performed in many classical and character roles. In 2000 she moved to Colorado and eventually founded Danse Etoile. Danse Etoile stages several performances throughout the year and offers classes to dancers of all levels.

The venue where The Snow Queen was being performed was a 288 seat auditorium. There were performances on a Friday, Saturday and a Sunday matinee. Two friends and I attended the afternoon matinee. In this intimate setting where every seat was filled, we were joined by several groups of seniors from and Assisted Living facility and parents with little girls dressed in sparkly and fancy dresses. Despite the many small children i attendance all was quiet once the performance began. Everyone was enthralled with the dancers, costumes, scenery and music. 

 I am not an expert in anyway about techniques and the intricacies of ballet, so I can not offer any well founded or authoritative opinions on this performance, but I can say that I was fascinated. The dancers seem to take on the personality of the various characters they played. The costumes were  beautiful and instead of shuffling scenery on and off for each scene, there was a large screen behind the dancers that set the scene and offered a sort of magic to the ballet. 

I continue to be enchanted by this ballet and look forward to attending another event upcoming in June which presents The Firebird & Petrushka. I did some research and found that The Firebird is based on a Russian fairy tale of a magical glowing bird. The ballet was written by Igor Stravinsky for the Ballet Russes of Sergei Diaghilev a Russian art critic, patron, and ballet impresario. Petrushka as Stravinsky was completing The Firebird.  Petrushka according to Wikipedia, "tells the story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets.  The three are brought to life by the Charlatan during the 1830 Shrovetide (Pre-Lenten Season) Fair in St. Petersburg, Russia." Those puppets were Petrushka, The Ballerina and The Moor. Petrushka is in love with the Ballerina, but she rebuffs him in favor of the Moor. In response Petrushka challenges the Moor who slays Petrushka with his sabre. Then as night falls Petrushka's ghost rises over the puppet theatre and "he shakes his fist at the Charltan, then collapses in a second death."* 

I imagine beautiful, colorful costumes of the magical flowing bird in The Firebird and the emotion and drama of Petrushka and look forward to seeing this performance. It was much more enjoyable than just lunch! 

*From Wikipedia