Ballet Midwest plans to keep audiences riveted Friday through Sunday with two ballets at the Topeka Performing Arts Center.
A story of love, betrayal and redemption, “Giselle” will literally give audiences the willies.
The Wilis are a group of female ghosts who haunt the lovers who betrayed them, forcing the men to dance to their deaths. Hence the term “giving someone the willies”.
Sydney Frantz and Alexandria Brant, both teachers at the studio, will share the role of Giselle, who tries to save Albrecht, the lover who broke her.
Albrecht is played by Drew Huskey, who is also Brad's fiance.
Children will take part in the interactive performance “My first ballet”.
“My First Ballet: Once Upon a Ballet” is an interactive performance that highlights shared tales told and set to music and dance.
The hour-long show features characters from Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Mulan, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Princess Picnic (featuring Disney princesses Merida, Belle and Aurora) and Aladdin” (Aladdin and Jasmine).
“We have narrators that go along with the performance and teach the kids some basic ballet steps that they see in each piece,” said Lacee Sandgren, Ballet Midwest's artistic director and owner of Barbara's Conservatory of Dance, home of Ballet Midwest.
“So the storyteller will tell a little bit about the story, the kids stand up, learn a step, and then sit back and watch,” he said.
“We have such strong dancers and such strong talent”
Sandgren selects the ballets for Midwest based on what she believes her students need.
“I just look at all the dancers I have, and see what's the best ballet for the company I have, what's going to challenge them, and I'll stretch the dancers I have and choose the ballet based on that,” Sandgren said. .
“We're not hiring extra dancers,” he said. “We use all our own. We have such strong dancers and such strong talent that we all stay in for it.
Sandgren said the company is opening its auditions to anyone in Topeka, as well as the wider area.
“We have people coming from Emporia, from Manhattan, from Junction City — the whole northeast Kansas area,” he said.
“(The dance) has a high standard and there are high expectations for it”
Longtime dancers Frantz and Brant have been inspired throughout the years.
“I feel like at the core of it all, just learning a lot of personality traits, I've become a much more understanding and independent person because of it all, and not just maturity-wise,” Frantz said.
Bradt said the dance “has a high standard and there are high expectations for it”. Sandgren and her mother Barbara Ebert, who is the former owner of the conservatory, have always held their dancers to those standards, Brant said.
“And when you have those kinds of expectations, we all rise to the occasion to meet them,” Bradt said.
Brad, who has been dancing for 19 years, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a major in dance. She and Sandgren are both certified instructors at American Ballet Theater.
Frantz has been dancing for 17 years and holds a bachelor of arts degree in media from Washburn University.
“I love social media, so anything that has to do with social media, marketing or communication,” Frantz said. “I've gotten a lot of experience here helping Ballet Midwest (with social media).”
“Every life skill, I swear I've learned here,” he said. “I learned a lot about responsibility, working as a team and how to naturally care for someone.”
Ballet Midwest, which began in 1977, is Topeka's longest-running and premier ballet company. Its home, Barbara's Conservatory of Dance, opened in 1974.
Dancing can be good for exercise, Sandgren said. He has taught soccer teams and several adult classes, which he said exercise the mind and body—teaching balance while increasing strength, flexibility and joint health.
It's also good for camaraderie, he said.
Tickets available now for 'Giselle', 'My First Ballet: Once Upon a Ballet'
The performances of “Giselle” are Friday and Saturday at 19:30 and Sunday at 13:30.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for youth under 18, $18 for seniors 55 and older. Family packages for two adults and two children are $55.
“My First Ballet: Once Upon a Ballet” will be on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and include a special after-show party with balloon animals, face painting, crafts and photo opportunities.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes early for pre-show entertainment with musician Kyler Carpenter.
Tickets can be purchased at Barbara's Conservatory of Dance, 4300 SW Huntoon St., or at the door of the Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 SE 8th Ave.
