Blackbird Academy to present The Little Mermaid

Among the principal dancers in Blackbird Academy of Arts’ upcoming production of The Little Mermaid the Ballet are Amy Lambe, kneeling, who will dance the role of the Little Mermaid, and standing, from left, Kayla Keng as the Sea Witch and Maria Casavechia as the Land Princess.
Among the principal dancers in Blackbird Academy of Arts’ upcoming production of The Little Mermaid the Ballet are Amy Lambe, kneeling, who will dance the role of the Little Mermaid, and standing, from left, Kayla Keng as the Sea Witch and Maria Casavechia as the Land Princess.

CONWAY — For the seventh year since opening its doors in 2009, Blackbird Academy of Arts will once again present an original, full-length ballet. This year’s offering is The Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid tells the story of a young mermaid who visits the world above her world under the sea. The story was first told hundreds of years ago in a fairy tale, but many know the Disney film version of the story. The local production is a marriage of those two versions with enough twists to make it a one-of-a-kind presentation.

The ballet will be presented to the public at 7 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall at the University of Central Arkansas. Tickets range in price from $10 to $20 for adults and $5 to $10 for children 11 and younger and may be purchased online at www.blackbirdacademy.eventbrite.com. There is a handling fee for online purchases. Tickets may also be available at the door.

Adult patrons 21 and older are invited to the Mermaids and Mixers

Cocktail Party, which is set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday at The House, 120 Elizabeth St. in Conway. The event will feature food, drinks and live music. Tickets range in price from $20 to $50 and may also be purchased online.

Adults and children alike are invited to the Under the Sea Party, which is set for 4 p.m. Sunday following the ballet. Those attending will join the Little Mermaid and her friends for an afternoon of tea, sweets, activities and more in the lobby of the Reynolds Performance Hall. Tickets, at $10 each, are available online.

Choreographer Deanna Karlheim of Little Rock said she has melded the fairy-tale version of the story, which was written by the Danish author Hans Christian

Andersen and first published in 1937, with the Disney film version, which was released in 1989.

“There are other ballet productions of The Little Mermaid, but there is no solid music for a ballet,” said Karlheim, who dances with Ballet Arkansas and also choreographed last year’s ballet, Cinderella, for Blackbird Academy. “I listened to lots of music by composers I liked and pulled the music and put that together before I even thought about the choreography. Once we had the casting done, I began the choreography.

“Members of the cast are all children — ages 8 to 16 — except for two dancers from Ballet Arkansas and one dancer who graduated from Blackbird last year and now teaches there,” said Karlheim, who is originally from Clarksville, Maryland, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet from the University of Cincinnati’s College

Conservatory of Music.

“And the dancer who appears as the Little Mermaid is only 14 years old, … but she doesn’t dance like it,” Karlheim said. “She’s amazing.”

Jennie Strange, executive director of Blackbird Academy, said the staff tries to make the annual ballet an all-student production.

“Many in the audience may not even realize the dancers are students because of the quality of the show,” Strange said.

The Little Mermaid, which is stage-managed by Trent Reese of Conway, is in two acts, with the second act being a little longer. The show runs approximately 70 minutes.

“It starts out under the sea,” Karlheim said. “In fact, most of it is under the sea. It starts with the Little Mermaid wanting to go to the surface, [where] none of her sisters has ever been. She sneaks off and goes. She meets rough [waves] but makes it to the surface, where she meets the prince, who is on a boat.

“It does end happily,” Karlheim said.

Strange said the Andersen fairy tale does not end happily.

“We had to have a happy ending,” Strange said, smiling.

“Our production has a lot of big lifts,” Karlheim said. “It even has a pas de trois (a dance for three) that lasts 6 1/2 minutes. It features the Little Mermaid, the Land Princess and the Prince.”

Karlheim said the pas de trois comes “when the Little Mermaid interrupts the wedding between the Prince and the Land Princess.

“No one actually gets married,” Karlheim said with a laugh. “But it is a happy-ever-

after ending for the Little Mermaid.”

Producer Travis Sellers of Conway, who is minister of music at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway, said the ballet is “original to us … by the way we are telling it. It’s Deanna’s vision.”

Four other Ballet Arkansas dancers are involved in the local production of The Little Mermaid.

Megan Hustel, who is originally from Carmel, Indiana, is the rehearsal assistant. She is a graduate of the University of Utah, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ballet performance. She is in her third season with Ballet Arkansas and is also the head ballet instructor at Blackbird Academy.

Hannah Bradshaw, who is originally from Amarillo, Texas, is directing costume design and construction for The Little Mermaid. She began her ballet training at Lone Star Ballet and is now in her second season with Ballet Arkansas.

Paul Tillman, who is originally from McKinney, Texas,

will dance the role of the Prince. He is in his seventh season with Ballet Arkansas.

Tony Sewer, originally from Santa Clarita, California, will dance the role of the Sea King. He is in his third season with Ballet Arkansas.

“We are really excited about partnering with a professional dance company like Ballet Arkansas,”

Sellers said. “It gives our kids a chance to work alongside

professionals.”

Strange said last year was the first time Blackbird had partnered with Ballet Arkansas.

“Our kids learn so much from the professionals,” Strange said.

In addition to the Prince and the Sea King, other principals in The Little Mermaid are the Little Mermaid, the Sea Witch and the Land Princess.

Amy Lambe, 14, will dance the lead role as the Little Mermaid. She attends St. Joseph School in Conway and has been dancing at Blackbird since it opened.

Kayla Keng, 14, will dance the role of the Sea Witch. She attends Conway Junior High School.

Maria Casavechia, 15, will dance the role of the Land Princess. She also attends St. Joseph School.

“All three ladies are a part of our dance apprentice program, which is designed for students who are considering a path in dance after high school,” Strange said. “Beyond their regular dance classes, they take additional classes and private lessons, have dance-enrichment opportunities and serve as teaching assistants.”

At 19, Melodie Moore is the only other adult dancer in the ballet, except for the two male dancers from Ballet Arkansas. She will dance the role of one of the sisters. Moore danced the lead role of Cinderella in last year’s ballet.

“Melodie has also been dancing with Blackbird since we opened,” Strange said. “She graduated from Conway High School last year. She was part of our dance apprentice program for two years, was a teaching assistant for three [years] and also completed a yearlong internship with us last year. She officially joined our dance faculty this year. She is also attending [the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton] to get her prerequisites before pursing a degree in education.”

Dancing the roles of the remaining sisters in The Little Mermaid are Anne Ryan Johnston, Grace Harris, Rebecca Dillon and Abby Woods, all of Conway.

Additional members of the cast include the following:

• Mary Caroline Grimes, Anna Grace Britt and Emmalee Dillon, all of Conway, appear as crabs.

• Bailey Pope, Megan Arnold and Alaina Cupp, all of Conway, portray angelfish.

• Bailee Richards, Carly Vient, Kyleigh Wilson and Zoe Falkner, all of Conway, and Reilly McCann of Maumelle play goldfish.

• Katie Grace King and Toby Tinsley, both of Conway, appear as starfish.

• Katie Huett of Conway plays a dolphin.

• Mary Caroline Grimes, Emma Page, Anna Kate Saxton, Taylor Tinsley and Zabei Frank, all of Conway, and Jay Parrish of Vilonia portray waves.

• Olivia Lipscomb of Conway appears as the Prince’s little sister.

• Elisabeth Bartholomew and Riley Cecil, both of Conway, play toads and bridesmaids.

• Elizabeth Ablondi and Annabel Spayde, both of Conway, appear as snakes.

In addition to the two public performances, Blackbird Academy will present the ballet Friday morning to more than 1,000 school children free of charge, Strange said.

“This may be the first time many of these children have seen a ballet or been to an auditorium such as the Reynolds,”

Strange said. “We do this as a way to bring the arts to the schools. We sent out a teacher’s guide to all of the schools as a way for the teachers to integrate ballet or dance into their literacy curriculum.”

Blackbird Academy of Arts is a not-for-profit organization that provides classes, workshops and scholarships for all ages in both visual and performing arts. For more information, call (501) 326-8200 or visit www.blackbirdacademy.org.

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