Ballet's Guide to the Orchestra fun for all ages

Music and dance. They go together like peas and carrots. Chocolate and peanut butter. But this weekend, at Ballet Arkansas' The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, they'll be even closer than ever.

"It's an introduction, really, to both dance and music for the community," explains associate artistic director Catherine Fothergill.

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra is a popular work by British composer Benjamin Britten. Through music and narration, each instrument is introduced and described, then the sections are formed and, by the end, there's one big symphony.

Normally, it's performed with narrator and an orchestra. But Ballet Arkansas Artistic Director Michael Fothergill has given the piece a twist.

Catherine Fothergill says her husband "has built this new ballet where the dancers are representing the instruments and you see them moving to the themes of that instrument's music. By the end, when they all come together and dance, you are seeing a lot of movement and music together."

She adds, "I'm not sure if it's ever been done as a ballet before. This was Michael's brainchild. It's just a perfect pairing of the two components that are so important."

There had been some discussion about performing the piece with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's Youth Orchestra but the difficulty of the piece's fugue was prohibitive. Instead, the music and narration will come from a recorded track and the dancers will have the instruments they represent on their bodies.

The piece is relatively short and tickets for the Children's Series are lower than regular performances. They hope that entices even more people to come give it a try.

The performance isn't the only event for the afternoon. Everyone is encouraged to come 20-30 minutes early to take part in arts and crafts projects and afterward, people are welcome to stay and visit with the ballet company.

"I think that's an important interaction between the community and the company," Fothergill says.

The production is the second for the Ballet Arkansas Children's Series. Peter and the Wolf was in the fall and this spring will bring The Toymaker. The series is designed to help introduce children to dance through family-friendly productions.

But audience members don't need to have or be children to enjoy this one, Fothergill says. The orchestration and narration they've chosen should be fun enough for the young ones, but mature enough to appeal to adults.

"More than our story ballets, this one would be even better for an older audience," she says. "We want people to have an extra opportunity to come and experience something new, to see music and dance in a different way."

The Children's Series production is actually sandwiched between performances of Tour de Force, part of Ballet Arkansas' regular season. That production features "Chiaroscuro" by Michael Fothergill, "Donizetti Variations" by George Balanchine and the world premiere of "La Esmerelda Pas de Fleurs" by Kiyon Gaines, resident choreographer.

That gives audiences two very different opportunities to watch and enjoy dance.

"I've been talking a lot lately about how now is the time to try something new," Fothergill says. "Come see what's possible with ballet."

Weekend on 02/15/2018