Dance Theater: Company XIV presents Snow White

I saw these videos for the first time recently and though the show is well past, I thought they would still be of much interest to fairy tale people - especially so that you can keep an eye out in case they produce this show again (which, likely they will, with it selling out).

The company is called Company XIV and they are a multi-media, multi-disciplinary performance dance-theater group. (I'm sure there's a neater way of saying that but this way you get the idea of what's involved.)

Company XIVs version of Snow White is a baroque infused show for all ages inspired by the Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tale. Just in time for the holiday season, the lavish production features opera, dance, puppetry and fun for the entire family. The baroque opera trio Charities joins the cast, providing haunting and beautiful arias by Handel and Bellini as well as Yiddish folk songs and original compositions. Appropriate for all ages.

Here are two trailers, which I believe are from their most recent production that finished showing in January this year. The videos were uploaded a month ago. (I apologize for using Vimeo for those who have trouble with it. These don't seem to be available on YouTube):

Snow White Teaser from Company XIV on Vimeo.

SNOW WHITE LIVE REEL from Company XIV on Vimeo.

THIS SHOW FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY BLENDS OPERA, CIRCUS, DANCE, THEATRE, PROJECTION, & LAVISH DESIGN THAT IS SURE TO DELIGHT CHILDREN & ADULTS ALIKE. 

Choreographed,conceived,& directed by AUSTIN McCORMICK 

“Austin McCormick’s company are an accomplished, versatile ensemble with serious circus, dance and singing skills.”– The Herald (UK)

Here's another trailer from YouTube, which, although different and from 2009 and appears to be a slightly different version (I think the image above is the poster for it) still gives you a good idea of the type of performance and production it is.


From their website, which helps shed a little more light on the sort of show it is:

Company XIV presents a re-imagining of their critically acclaimed sold out hit for the entire family inspired by the brothers Grimm fairytale: SNOW WHITE.

“How can a theatrical approach be both resolutely traditional and irreverently avant-garde? The border between those extremes is exactly where Company XIV dances — sometimes en pointe, sometimes with folk-infused boot stomps — in its fascinating new ”Snow White.”
–The New York Times

“McCormick’s imaginative work ignores boundaries between various theatrical, musical, and choreographic genres and ventures boldly into myriad aesthetic territories….saucy and stylish avant-garde musical theater at its finest.”

– Back Stage NY

“Austin McCormick has manipulated the sugary sweet tale of benevolent dwarfs, innocence and true love into a vibrant tale that has intrigue, nuance, and titillating double entendre, while still remaining a dance/theatre work that parents can take their children to.”
–Stage and Cinema

This is exactly the type of theater I expected to be involved with today (had I not made a detour into animation). I wish I could have seen it live.

Stories for the Season: Fire & Ice

Here's a story that most of you won't know. It's actually a full length 'ice-ballet' devised by world champion skaters Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean and Australia's most famous contemporary choreographer Graeme Murphy.

It's called "Fire & Ice" and has gorgeous sets, costumes and scenery for both the Fire land and the Ice land (in which most of the story takes place) as well as a lot of inventive and beautiful choreography. While it isn't specifically about Christmas it definitely has that seasonal feel- music included. I don't think it was out of convenience or by coincidence that saw this film originally have a Christmas release.I'm positive I've read fairy tales similar to this (Japanese? Russian?) but time is against me to research this properly. If you know of any tales please do add a comment with the title and/or link.

Here's a story description of "Fire & Ice" from Wikipedia:

Fire and Ice is a full length company piece creating narrative ballet on ice. Set between the Planet of Fire and the Planet of Ice, it tells of a love story between a Prince of Fire and a Princess of Ice. It is a full set piece with visual designs and effects depicting different locations on the two planets and telling the story.

The piece opens with Dean performing actually ballet within the catacombs of the Plant of Fire, while seeing Torvill in the blue flames of their alter. Upon diving in he finds himself upon her planet. He meets her, and after taking some time to adapt to her planet, they fall in love. She gets called away to a Royal Ceremony but she rejoins him later. The following morning they are discovered and a violent attack is carried out on the Fire Prince by her own people. She pleads with her father to have mercy on him but he banishes her from his sight and the Fire Prince is left trapped in a prison of ice. Later the Ice Princess sneaks back to him and melts the ice with all her strength, leaving her close to death. The Fire Prince revives her and they are together once more. Meanwhile the Prince’s own people have witnessed his fate in the flames and have arrived on the Planet of Ice. A war breaks out which ends in the death of both the Prince’s and Princess’s fathers. Devastated and alone, they find each other once more and grieve. As time heals their wounds and their love endures a distant archway appears, touring over the icy mountains. We watch them make their journey towards the arch and finally enter and make their break for freedom and a new life together.

Torvill and Dean devised Fire and Ice in Australia with Graeme Murphy, sold it to LWT (London Weekend Television – part of ITV). It was written by Tom Gutteridge and Carl Davis and rehearsed and filmed in Germany ready for its UK television premier in Christmas 1986.

You can find out more about the production HERE and occasionally DVDs surface like the one below and become available to own (yay!). I gather it's also available on the 'Dancing On Ice' DVD from 2006.Some lovely person put up the whole ice-ballet on YouTube (in 19 very short parts - between 30 seconds and 5 minutes each) and I've made a playlist so you can press "go" and watch them all automatically play in order. Just press play.

Enjoy!

Fairy Tales Bollywood Style

Poster for "Cinderella - A Bollywood Ballet"

Since we're looking at Bollywood today, as little bonus for you I found an interview from 2008 with choreographer, Prashanthi Chitre, about her Bollywood version of Cinderella.

From the summary:

The musical numbers you see in Indian film, or Bollywood film, are telling a story. They do that with a mishmash of traditional Hindi, Latin American, and MTV dancing. But for many Westerners, that kind of storytelling is still tough to understand. Local choreographer Prashanthi Chitre grew up in India, and she loved Bollywood style dancing. Her lifelong dream has been to translate the joy and excitement she found in that dancing for everyone, especially non–Indians. But it wasn't until she saw her first Western ballet here in Seattle that she realized how she could do it. She tells Jeannie Yandel the story.

Indian beauty Deepika Padukone as Cinderella
(inspired by Annie Leibovitz's photo of Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella. Found HERE)

You can listen to the audio HERE - the interview starts 14 minutes into the recorded radio program. She talks a lot about why Cinderella works well for Indian audiences, interpreting the Indian joy of fantasy for Western audiences and - of course - dancing.

You can read more about the production of "Cinderella - A Bollywood Ballet" HERE.