A condensed version of "The Sleeping Beauty" classical ballet will take the stage this weekend and next.
The ballet is typically three hours long, but Northwest Arkansas Ballet has shortened the story to about 30 minutes to give the community a taste of classical ballet, says Margie Bordovsky, executive director of the company based in Bentonville.
FAQ
‘MasterSeries I:
‘The Sleeping Beauty’
WHEN & WHERE — 7 p.m. Saturday at the New School, 2514 New School Place in Fayetteville & 3 p.m. May 3 at Grace Point Church in Bentonville, 1201 N.W. McCollum
COST — $15 in advance through tutuTIX.com/NWABALL…; $20 at the door, limited number available
INFO — 553-7400
FYI
‘The Sleeping Beauty’
Jammie Walker, a former Western Arkansas Ballet dancer, will return home to perform in the Fort Smith ballet company’s production of “The Sleeping Beauty.”
Walker, along with Nathaly Prieto, both members of Dayton Ballet Company, will perform the bluebird duet in Act II.
Performances are set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the ArcBest Performing Arts Center in Fort Smith, 55 S. Seventh St.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children and students and are available at waballet.org.
INFO — Melissa Schoenfeld at 785-0152
"We want to show the audience the quality of things the company can do but in a time frame that will be comfortable for all ages," she says.
"It's a new way to experience a familiar story," adds Karen Castleman, Northwest Arkansas Ballet choreographer. "This is a look at a familiar story in a very refined and artful way."
The performance will touch on the major plot points of the story, Castleman says, but have fewer variations -- solo dances -- than the original version of the performance.
"We've chosen a few of those to embellish our story, but we've stuck to the action-driving part of the story," Castleman says.
In addition to performing "The Sleeping Beauty," regional choreographers will present four original pieces.
-- Kelly Barnett
NAN What's Up on 04/24/2015