On Thursday, 27 October 2011, I attended the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Wonderland.
The ballet is basd on Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland, a story that we're all familiar with.
I was curious as to how a ballet could capture our minds' imagination to create a convincing story. When I saw the performance, I was impressed with the multimedia and stage sets. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet successfully recreated a story that was a joy to watch.
In looking around the audience, I noticed a larger proportion of children than usual, which is always a good thing. However, even us older children enjoy the ballet. If you watch and listen carefully, there are always messages that are applicable to all us, regardless of our age or station in life
"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where--" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat. "--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."
Although Wonderland is not a physically demanding ballet, I enjoyed watching the dancers perform. Because of the storyline, the attention was focused on Alice and the Queen of Hearts. Both were exceptional. I also took notice of the Dormouse.
Although it is too late to recommend Wonderland to Calgary audiences, I highly encourage those in Edmonton to enjoy the ballet this week.
The cast for last Thursday's performance is as follows:
- Alice: Amanda Green
- Queen of Hearts: Tara Birtwhistle
- White Rabbit: Yosuke Mino
- Mad Hatter: Amar Dhaliwal
- March Hare: Jo-Ann Sundermeier
- Dormouse: Emily Grizzell
- TweedleDee & TweedleDum: Tristan Dobrowney & Thiago Dos Santos
- Duchess: Eric Nipp
- Cook: Yayoi Ezawa
- Toony Loons: Alex Lantz, Thiago Dos Santos, Liam Caines, Zhen Guo Chen, Sophia Lee, Alanna McAdie, and Catherine Rutherford
- Creatures: Thiago Dos Santos, Alex Lantz, Liam Caines, Zhen Guo Chen
- Birds: Jo-Ann Sundermeier, Dmitri Dovgoselets, Beth Lamont, Sarah Davey, Harrison James, Tristan Dobrowney, Serena Sandford, and Alexander Garmayunov
- Tooney Cooks: Sophia Lee, Catherine Rutherford, Thiago Dos Santos, and Liam Caines
- Caterpillar: Carrie Broda, Alexander Gamayunov, Tristan Dobrowney, and Alex Lantz
- Flamingos: Carrie Broda, Yayoi Ezawa, Serena Sandford, and Sarah Davey
- Cards: Alanna McAdie, Catherine Rutherford, Sophia Lee, Zhen Guo Chen, Alex Lantz, Liam Caines, Beth Lamont, and Harrison James
- Wall of Heads: Queen of Hearts, Alice, Duchess, Mad Hatter, and Flamingos
- Flowers: Sophia Lee, Sarah Davey, Yayoi Ezawa, Serena Sandford, Carrie Broda, Catherine Rutherfod, Beth Lamont, and Emily Grizzel
- Gryphon & Mock Turtle: Wang Yun, Jiao Yang, and Dmitri Dovgoselets
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