Cinderella (Aschenputtel) by Līga Kļaviņa

Cinderella at her mother's grave by Līga Kļaviņa

When we see new Cinderella illustrations it's usually based on Perrault's version with the fairy godmother. Perhaps due to Disney's choice to base his Cinderella on Perrault's, it seems rare that we see an illustrated version of Aschenputtel by the Brothers Grimm, especially in English speaking countries.

These illustrations by Līga Kļaviņa (liga-marta on deviantArt), posted here by special permission, have been circulating for a while now but unless you go to her gallery, you don't tend to see them together (and many people don't seem to be aware that they're from Cinderella at all), so I feel it's overdue that Ms. Kļaviņa be credited for her lovely work and a beautiful interpretation of a much grimmer version of Cinderella than most are familiar with.

Ms. Kļaviņa has asked that people not use her art without her permission or linking to her gallery so if you see one of these images around, please help by making sure she's been given credit for the work and if you can link to her gallery on deviantArt HERE, that would be great too.

Here are the rest of her illustrations for this tale, along with a brief reminder of this version of the story in the captions below:

Stepmother with daughters

In this version, the rich father remarries, bringing his new family home. The women  - all beautiful and fair on the outside but evil-minded and ugly of heart - treat Cinderella badly, teasing her, making her work at very difficult tasks and generally making life miserable. Unlike other tales, the father remains in the picture throughout, though I'm rather mystified at why he allows this treatment of his own daughter.

She has to work again...

All her fine things are taken from her and she's given difficult-to-impossible tasks and made to work as the household maid.

Cinderella's father finds a hazel twig for her

Cinderella's father takes a journey at one point and, like Beauty's father, asks each of the girls what they would like for him to bring back. Like Beauty's story the sisters ask for fine clothes,  jewels and pearls (which he buys) but Cinderella asks for "the first twig that strikes your hat".

At mother's grave

Cinderella plants the twig by her mother's grave and waters it three times every day with her tears. The tree flourishes and birds come and grant Cinderella's small whispered wishes - whatever she asks (I have to wonder what those wishes were and why she wasn't more pro-active in changing her own fortune at this point).

Left at home
Though Cinder pleads to be allowed to attend the ball her stepmother doesn't allow it, despite that Cinderella (with help from her feathered friends) manages to complete impossible tasks which are supposed to be a condition of her going. She's left alone at home (where the father disappeared to so conveniently at this point, is unknown).

A walk in the garden

With no one to watch her, Cinderella goes to her mother's grave, weeps and wishes for a dress fine enough to go to the ball...

The first dress
Her wish is granted...

At the ball
...And she remains unrecognized even by her stepsisters and stepmother. She dances with the Prince then avoids him so she can leave undetected, depositing the dress under the tree by her mother's grave at the end of the night.

The second dress
The second night, the events repeat, only with the second gown being more splendid than the first.

The third dress
The third was the most splendid of them all and it was a little more difficult for Cinderella to get away this third time as the Prince had a plan...

Glass slipper
The Prince had cleverly spread pitch over the stairs and though Cinderella manages to get away, she loses a shoe in the trap.

Happy end

In case you were wondering, yes, this is the version in which the sisters do some "self-surgery" in order to make the shoe fit when the Prince (who deduced Cinder had disappeared in the vicinity of this house) comes knocking at their door. The birds in the story are there throughout and alert the prince to blood in the shoe twice before he returns to the house (depositing the fake-Cinders - twice) and demands to see any other daughters that might live there.

And here's the part I understand least of all in this story: even after the stepmother urges both daughters to mutilate themselves in order to catch a prince and they fail, at this point it's the father who says there's only "nasty little Cinderella" and she couldn't possibly be the one the prince was searching for. (Wut?!)

Then there's the whole thing with the stepsisters eyes being plucked out by those "gentle" doves at the wedding (which balances the fact that the prince does, indeed take a more scrutinizing look at Cinderella when the shoe fits and finally recognizes her) but what of the parents? Misery loves company has a whole different shade in this tale!

Ms. Kļaviņa has illustrations for numerous fairy tales on her deviantArt gallery (though this is the most completely illustrated one), along with lots of lovely fantasy illustrations. You can find all those HERE.

Cress: Cover Reveal, Excerpt, Interview w Marissa Myer, a Contest & a Movie Option To Boot

Big news for Marissa Meyer's sci-fi fairy tale series, The Lunar Chronicles, yesterday afternoon: The third installment of The Lunar Chronicles, Cress, got a cover reveal, we got another excerpt, USA Today had an interview with Ms. Meyer and there's now another chance to win an ARC via a Pinterest competition!

More on the book first. :)

Cress, if you weren't tipped off by the lovely cover, or the title, is based on Rapunzel, although this sci-fi Rapunzel's tower is out of reach in a different way - she's trapped in a satellite in orbit.

Here's an excerpt from the interview (in which Ms. Meyer teases a lot more about the plot and characters than I'm posting here, so be sure to go read the whole interview):

Q: Will Cress be more sci-fi than Scarlet or Cinder?

A: We are moving into more sci-fi elements. There is more time spent on the spaceship that we were introduced to in Book 2, and of course the satellite and the computer hacking. It still stays pretty focused on the characters and the different human things that they're facing as opposed to the technology.

Q: How is Cress similar to the Rapunzel we all know and love?

A: In the fairy tale, the prince finds Rapunzel because he hears her singing. I've taken that and given Cress this very overactive imagination that's a result of being stuck in this satellite solitary for so long. When she is in danger or in an uncomfortable situation, she goes into this imaginary world where she pretends she's an opera singer or an actress or a dancer. She has this fantasy life going on in her head that played off the original tale and how Rapunzel liked to sing.

Q: Does Cress borrow from the original fairy tale more or less than Cinder andScarlet did?

A: I'd say it's pretty comparable. As with all of the books, I've taken the iconic moments of the fairy tale and then gone off on my own after that. You still have the tower symbolism and this witch who's keeping her there. Rapunzel still has long, flowing locks of hair. Those iconic moments are still there, but then it does take on a life of its own in the world as she meets up with Cinder and Scarlet and the other characters.

You can read the rest of the (much longer!) interview HERE.

There is also a nicely-sized excerpt HERE as well (scroll down the page to read). One warning: if you read it, there's a very good chance it will make you even more impatient for the book!

But there is also a new chance to win an advance copy now and The Lunar Chronicles Pinterest Contest is the way to do it: "Create a Lunar Chronicles-inspired Pinterest Board for your chance to win a signed advance copy of CRESS." Full details and rules are on Marissa Meyer's post HERE. It's super easy and fun and open internationally!

The two books so far, Cinder & Scarlet, & their short story prequels, Glitches & The Queen's Army
(short stories published online at tor.com)

Cress is due for release on February 4th, 2014 so we've got a while yet to wait for the rest of the story BUT there MAY be movie news on the horizon as well! The Lunar Chronicles (yes, that means the series, not just the first book) has been optioned. (Congrats Marissa!)

Though optioning a book does not mean a movie is going into production, it means a company is seriously assessing whether or not they can do one. I have to wonder if the buzz around Jupiter Ascending (the sci-fi movie based on Snow White with Mila Kunis) will have any affect (hopefully good!) on the company's decisions...

Meyer will wrap up the series in early 2015 with Winter — her take on the Snow White legend — and already, her Lunar Chronicles novels have been optioned for a movie series. While the studio involved is still a secret, "I believe they're looking for a director at this point," says the author, who's halfway through the second draft of her final novel.

"I know what elements of the early books are foreshadowing bigger things to come, so I would assume that for them, having all the material in front of them could help them make decisions for the movies as well." (USA Today)

I really love seeing how Ms. Meyer has played with the themes, motifs and familiar tale elements for each fairy tale character so far and was so tickled just over the title, since the association with the plant has been quite lost since the "Tangle angle" ("The character is named after watercress — like rapunzel, it's a type of lettuce - quote from USA Today article).

I also love the fact that Rapunzel is traditionally up high in a tower (so the satellite in orbit is like the most remote tower possible) and that she's a spy - what a perfect vantage point a Rapunzel character - traditional or modern - would have from her 'prison' to view the world/s! It never occurred to me to have her be a secret onlooker before and I like the connection (seems obvious now, right?).

The Next Wave of Fairy Tale Movies.. (Humor)

The Three Little Pigs 
Potential Synopsis: Thomas Giles is a successful farmer, a faithful husband, a loving father, and a mad scientist. When three of Giles' genetically engineered pigs escape, he embarks on a race with town officials to hunt them down before it is too late.

Just a little light post for you all. :)

There's a lot of both excitement and eye-rolling about the continuing trend of making fairy tales into big budget movies in Hollywood so the folks over at College Humor thought they'd have some fun with it.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf 
Potential Synopsis: Prankster Aaron Jeckles has been crying wolf for years. When he takes one of his jokes too far, though, Jeckles quickly gets more attention than he's ever wanted… from a pack of wild beasts. Now, it's up to him to save his town.

Perhaps my perspective is different from the average College Humor reader (one hopes!) but I also find something thought provoking about the posters and the silly synopsis.

The Ugly Duckling 
Potential Synopsis: Haunted by the derision of the other ducklings, Cyngus flees from the public eye. It is only after he reaches adulthood does he realize his true swan identity… and the power that it yields.

There's more at the link HERE, including one about Goldilocks and magic porridge - which, come to think of it,we really haven't seen yet, and there are a lot of magic porridge tales in the world...

What do you think?

"Fables" Movie Must-Haves (According to Mark Buckingham)

Fables Cover with Snow White and Bigby Wolf

While there hasn't been any new news from the Fables movie front (yet)  - apart from at Comic-Con last week DC's Diane Nelson said "Fables is a top priority" (!) - it doesn't mean it isn't being talked about, nor that some fairly qualified people aren't weighing in with their (worth more than just) two cents.

Fables artist Mark Buckingham, while acknowledging that the Fables world is very complex and has a huge variety of options in story lines and characters to concentrate on, regarding a "first" movie, he believes there are at least two "must have" characters, if the world (and franchise) is to get off on the right foot.

In talking to iO9 he said:

I think if it doesn't have Snow White and Bigby [Wolf] in it, then... [that's a problem]. They were such a core element of the first 50 issues of the story. So I think their romance, their relationship, is a really core aspect of the series. Beyond that, the beauty of Fables is it has such a rich cast, and you can really cherry-pick a lot of different aspects from it, and create a really good story, even if you don't necessarily follow the entire narrative.

He adds that he hopes director Nikolaj Arcel and whoever winds up being the cinematographer don't try to copy his art style:

I always treat these things as very different beasts. When they take a comic and decide to make a TV series or an animation or a movie, I think it's up to them to find their own voice and their own vision for how to make that translation into another medium. So for me, the excitement's going to be seeing how they interpret what we do and take it into a new and exciting direction. I'm not looking for anyone to be wedded to the comic, I think all of these things are springboards into new areas. (Edit FTNH: video of Mark saying all this at the link - though it's a little difficult to hear properly with the background chatter)

Splashpage has some important reminders to add to the mix as well:

The "Fables" universe has grown to rival that of the entire DC superhero universe, which makes sense considering that the title counts pretty much every fairy tale character created across the world in its cast—and plenty of original characters too. 

"Fables" has been running since 2002 and produced over 130 issues, not including any of its spinoff series like "Jack of Fables" and "Fairest." Pinpointing one story to tell in one film seems like a rather daunting task, especially considering that the comic's first main storyline—involving the return of the mysterious and dangerous Adversary—took about 75 issues to tell. That's a lot of story for a movie. 

No actors have been cast yet and the project is still very much in the development phase over at Warner Bros. Nikolaj Arcel ("A Royal Affair") will direct, with Jeremy Slater handling the screenplay. 

Given that there really is just so much to choose from, what would be your choice? Do you think Warner Bros will follow a growing trend of telling more male oriented fairy tales* such as those Jack or Peter & Max (though that wouldn't open the way for a franchise in quite the same way), or will they follow Issue 1 to set up the world and "cherry pick" from there?

(Gosh, you can see an almost endless possibilities of very engaging movies from this vantage!)

Personally, given that the Fables game (scroll down link to see game info) tells the prequel of Bigby Wolf, I'd be surprised if he wasn't a key player in the movie. That combined with the "first 50 issues" argument makes for a strong case for Snow & her Wolf to be the stars of a first Fables movie.

(I think we just got even more pumped for this!)


*Have you noticed Peter Pan and Neverland are popping up all over the place recently? Just an observation...

Kafka for Kids (Very Different Sorts of Fairy Tales)

It's Kafka for kids! Writer and video game designer Matthue Roth reads Kafka to his kids one night, almost by accident ("Tell us a story Daddy! No. A NEW story!..") and boom: an idea for a children's book is born.

And it's a good one.*

From TimesOfIsrael:

‘My First Kafka’ offers a new sort of fairy tale

Our infatuation with fairy tales is at an all-time high, from young adult novels like “Cinder” by Marissa Meyer to darker fare from Hollywood, such as the upcoming Angelina Jolie vehicle “Maleficent.” Of course, there’s a long history of grim (and Grimm) tales that have fascinated children, who are as delighted by the spooky and scary as they are by Cinderella’s mice. It’s just we’ve spent a long time Disney-fying them for modern audiences. 

Matthue Roth’s new book “My First Kafka: Runaways, Rodents, and Giant Bugs” fits perfectly into this genre of satisfyingly strange tales for children. Yes, they’re illustrated Kafka stories, which makes it sound like it’s the sort of wink-wink-nod-nod tchotchke you might pick up for a gift for new parents. When you talk to Roth, however, you realize “My First Kafka” is no joke.

The 34-year-old stumbled upon the idea after reading Kafka to his two daughters. “It happened because it happened,” he says over tea in DUMBO, Brooklyn. “I was sitting around reading Kafka, my kids wanted a story, we’d already read all their books, and I was like, okay, here we go! Here’s a story... 

Instead of unknown crimes and piles of never-ending paperwork – the more mundane, adult terrors of Kafka’s world – we’re given the sad tales of confused, lost creatures. Yet the grotesquerie of a man who is inexplicably transformed into a bug is exactly the sort of thing that would thrill a young audience.

But what exactly is this book about? Isn't Kafka well... Kafka?

Here's a synopsis from Amazon:

Runaway children who meet up with monsters. A giant talking bug. A secret world of mouse-people. The stories of Franz Kafka are wondrous and nightmarish, miraculous and scary. In My First Kafka, storyteller Matthue Roth and artist Rohan Daniel Eason adapt three Kafka stories into startling, creepy, fun stories for all ages. With My First Kafka, the master storyteller takes his rightful place alongside Maurice Sendak, Edward Gorey, and Lemony Snicket as a literary giant for all ages.

It misses this important aspect though, which brainpickings describes so well:

With stunning black-and-white illustrations by London-based fine artist Rohan Daniel Eason, this gem falls — rises, rather — somewhere between Edward Gorey, Maurice Sendak, and the Graphic Canon series. 

As for the choice to adapt Kafka’s characteristically dark sensibility for children, Roth clearly subscribes to the Sendakian belief that grown-ups project their own fears onto kids, who welcome rather than dread the dark. Indeed, it’s hard not to see Sendak’s fatherly echo in Eason’s beautifully haunting black-and-white drawings.

Here's a good introduction to Metamorphosis, an illustration from which graces the front of this gem, from The Guardian:

Did you feel OK when you woke up this morning? Spare a thought for Gregor Samsa, that most unlucky of literary heroes. "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed … " 

Thus Franz Kafka opens one of the most resonant stories of 20th-century literature, about an ordinary man who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into an bug of indeterminate kind – an insect, a beetle, a cockroach – the original German "ungeheueren Ungeziefer" leaves his exact species ambiguous...

Here's the Google Doodle from this year, celebrating Kafka's birthday, showing how much appeal a man transformed into a "bug" can have (the image is static, but facts about Kafka appear below):
There is also a great little picture book called Beetle Boy by Lawrence David (and illustrated by Delphine Durand) that reminds me very much of this. When I finally found it in our bookshelves, I found that it was, indeed, inspired by Kafka's Metamorphosis, the intent being to rewrite the story for much younger readers. I'm pleased to say this one is a favorite in our house, so this "Kafka for Kids" should fit in well.

* I nearly posted on the Google doodle on Kafka's birthday, thinking that Metamorphosis has a certain fairy tale quality, albeit with a difference. 

Just Right for a OUAT Morning Show: Yvette Nicole Brown Is Goldie Locksley

I should apologize for not highlighting this when it came in, but honestly I didn't think it was weird, different or standout when it did. It didn't occur to me to make a big deal of a black woman being cast as Goldilocks because, well, why not?

Perhaps, because I've been looking at a lot of different fairy tales from cultures all over the world again lately, including variations of what we think of as "European ones", it just didn't stand out.  But isn't that just as it should be? I don't know...

                    

 

So I'm posting a LOOK AT THIS! just in case I really should have pointed this out as a big deal, because to some people it (rightly) will be.

Yvette Nicole Brown is playing Goldilocks (actually, Goldie Locksley) on Once Upon A Time! Sort of.

From WetPaint: 

Yvette won’t be on the hit ABC show when it returns this fall; instead, she’s featured as Good Morning Storybrooke news anchor “Goldie Locksley” on OUAT Season 2 bonus features, ET Online revealed today (July 18, 2013). She describes her unique portrayal of Goldilocks as a “Katie Couric” type who is “really bubbly and smiles a lot,” which is unsurprisingly familiar to her Community character, Shirley.

Here's Yvette Nicole Brown's response on taking Goldie Locksley's chair on the OUAT morning show:

Though Yvette admitted that “every black chick in Hollywood is waiting for that call for [The Princess and the Frog’s] Tiana,” she’s happy “they made Goldilocks a curvy black chick.” To see her twist on the classic character — including Goldie Locksley’s reports on Bambi’s survival, the town’s wolves acting up, and the Little Lady Who Lives in a Shoe,” pick up Once Upon a Time: The Complete Second Season on August 13. 

Here's a little, extremely-excited-crew interview, behind-the-scenes of Good Morning Storybrooke from ETonline:

I do find this interesting though: a call to see whether people would like to have Ms. Brown join the OUAT cast as a show regular. The only problem I see with this is that such a character really is larger than life and difficult to keep under control the radar, which may not fit well with the soap-like dynamic of individual crisis' happening in Storybrooke (although the main cast aren't even there this season, they're in Neverland), but I like the potential for shaking things up.

Would you like to see Yvette Nicole Brown on OUAT permanently? Check out a Good Morning Storybrooke set visit video below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!

For myself, I would LOVE to see her riff on the Once upon A Time doings! She was a fantastically insightful, smart and very funny guest on The Talking Dead last season (hosted commentary show immediately airing after the latest episode of The Walking Dead - not to be missed if you like pop-culture - the thoughts thrown around here are really punchy stuff) and I wondered then why I hadn't seen her talk more as herself, rather than just as a character. 

Attention OUAT creators: If you want some extra thought-provoking and hilarious material, let Yvette ad lib! (You can always edit later...)

If you want to see Ms. Brown join the regular cast, pipe up HERE!

Course Details on the FREE USF Fairy Tale MOOC with Kevin Yee (Starts August 5th!)

Note: All images in this post are from one of my newer favorite illustrated version of Snow White. These are from "Blancanieves" by Iban Barranetxea (website/blog at link)

Free Online Class: Fairy Tales by Kevin Yee 

(Reposted from HERE with permission)

Some of you know that my “day job” is in Higher Education. Among the classes I teach is one on Fairy Tales, with focus on Disney, Grimms, and Perrault. This college class is now available to the general public, and it’s completely free! There’s not even a book to buy for the class! 

The class is a massive open online course (MOOC) and is administered through canvas.net - it’s free to sign up and take the class! It’s a four-week course starting on August 5. 

Here’s the schedule:
Week 1 – Cinderella
Week 2 – Snow White and Sleeping Beauty
Week 3 – Rapunzel and the Frog Princess
Week 4 – Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast 

The class was built to expect about two hours of engagement/interaction (“work”) per week, so it’s not meant to overload the participants with chores and duties. In that sense, it’s less rigorous than my regular college classes. The class doesn’t have any required (synchronous) meetings; you do the work whenever you want within the week. 

This course does not have a completion certificate – you’d be taking it just for the fun of it. There aren’t any papers or projects. While the class does offer quizzes and discussion boards, there isn’t really a rigorous process to “pass” the course since there isn’t a certificate offered anyway. 

The class is, however, experimental in a different sense: it’s got game elements in it. We added badges and group competition, as well as Easter eggs, throughout the class. Each group is named after one of Walt’s seven dwarfs–it works a lot like the Harry Potter “house” competition, where individuals can earn badges for the whole group. This should be fun! 

Please feel free to sign up and spread the word. I can’t wait to share with you what these fairy tales used to mean and how they’ve been changed for modern audiences!! Sign up HERE.

One of the "nicer" (?) ways I've seen the Queen depicted ,dancing to her death in red hot iron shoes

I've signed up. Will you join me? Hope to see some of you next week and talk fairy tales with you!

Labyrinth Prequel Available For Pre-Order

And it's beautiful!

Illustrated by the amazing fantasy and fairy tale artist, Cory Godbey, this soon-to-be-released hardcover is definitely on my wishlist. (If you want a quick overview of his work you can check the OUABlog Pinterest board for Godbey HERE.)

The plot, being a prequel, revolves around how Jareth became The Goblin King Sarah encounters in the movie, giving us a strong sense that this story has been going on (or in circles) for a very long time (sounds very "Faerie").

Synopsis from Amazon.com:

Archaia and The Jim Henson Company are proud to present an original prequel to Jim Henson’s classic fantasy film. Labyrinth is one of Jim Henson's most beloved works, with a built-in audience of millions of fans worldwide. Years before Sarah entered the labyrinth, a young boy named Jareth faced his own incredible journey in a desperate attempt to rescue his true love from the clutches of the wicked and beautiful Goblin Queen. This graphic novel is produced under the complete supervision of Lisa Henson, the daughter of the late Jim Henson and CEO of the Jim Henson Company.

Although the book isn't set to be released until April 29, 2014 (Argh! So far away!) you can now pre-order, and get a decent discount to boot, HERE. (*cheers*)

We got a little preview of how the book might look on free-comic book day (May 4, 2013) and after I tracked one down I was even more impressed than I expected to be. Cory's illustrations are just perfect and fit the Labyrinth designs so well, it almost appears as if they were meant to be drawn that way from the start. Peeks are below:

The prequel writers are Ted Naifeh (who has recently been working with Holly Black) and Adrianne Ambrose (nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for her work writing video games) and worked very closely with Lisa Henson (the late Jim Henson's daughter) as well as the Jim Henson company in general, which means, this project wasn't just farmed out for profit. The people in charge of the Labyrinth "property" (rights) cared very much about how it came together and I think it shows.

Here's what we were told was in the works when the prequel was first announced (excerpts from the exclusive article with EW on January 6, 2012):

“We can say it’s a prequel*,” (Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy) says with understandable excitement. “It’s the story of how Jareth is brought into the Labyrinth for the first time. So, it doesn’t deal with Sarah, it doesn’t deal with Toby or anything like that."

...“It’s a very tragic story that is the opposite of Sarah’s, which has triumph at the end,” Christy explains. “It’s a prequel, so we know what happens in the movie. We know how it’s going to end: Jareth is going to be the Goblin King … so we’re showing how he’s pulled into the Labyrinth for the first time. It’s going to be cool. We’re switching up the dynamic of it, but what we’re doing is completely true to the spirit of the original.”  

...Of course, since music also a played such a large role in the movie, Christy is hoping to see songs integrated into the graphic novel as well. “I don’t know if this will work out,” he cautions, “but I want to do songs where they’re songs being sung (by characters) and we show the notes on the page, so you can actually play along.”  Which only begs the question: will these be David Bowie songs?  “We’re talking,” he says with a smile. “The budget to get Bowie to do one song would be the budget of all the books, but we’re talking to him to at least get his blessing or maybe an introduction or something.“ 

“He also has likeness approval,” Christy clarifies, an important fact given that the (as-of-yet-unannounced [Edit FTNH: Cory Godbey!]) artist on the book will be “drawing Jareth like a young David Bowie.” The character would be Sarah’s age or a little older during the course of the story. “He’s kind of a punk in his own way. We’re huge fans so we know that if we’re getting excited, other fans will.”  

...“I hope that Jim would be happy to see how a whole generation grew up with this movie,” he says, reflecting on the film’s cult following. “Labyrinth was a big deal to a lot of people. It was one of those movies that stays with you from your childhood. We can probably count on two hands the movies that really affected us when we were kids, and I think for a lot of people Labyrinth was one of them.”

So we have yet to find out how much of the original intent remains. All we can say for certain right now is that it's gorgeous!

* The graphic novel follows a series of manga sequels to Labyrinth, which featured an older Toby as he returned to the Labyrinth to become Jareth's heir.

Anvita: Awakening To The Art of Indian Classical Dance With Sleeping Beauty

Note: I began writing a post, only to realize the whole article was so interesting I didn't want to leave any of it out. Rather than pick and choose I contacted Knight Arts Blog and Ms. Warier who kindly gave consent to reproduce the whole article here.

Classic fairytale reawakens with a twist: Indian dance group to perform “Sleeping Beauty”
By RANJANA WARIER, Rhythms School of Dance

Nearly everyone knows the story behind the famed children’s fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty,” but an energetic new adaption of the classic story could help promote a new level of cultural understanding. The Rhythms School of Dance will present two performances August 31 and September 1 that will use the beloved story to help showcase the beauty of traditional Indian classical dance.

Artistic Director Ranjana Warier says using a familiar story like a fairy tale provides a creative way to connect Indian traditions with other cultures. “The problem with traditional Indian dance is that it is abstract and obscure. There are symbolisms and complex codes and if you are not familiar with all these details, it’s hard to stay engaged. This dance drama puts customs into a story that people already know very well. Instead of highlighting the differences, the performance will show our similarities,” said Warier.

“Few things like the arts can bring people together, providing the kinds of collective experiences that build great communities,” said Dennis Scholl, VP/arts at Knight Foundation. “By providing a hybrid performance, the Rhythms School of Dance will provide a way for our diverse community to connect and celebrate all that our various cultures have to offer.”

As a 2012 Knight Arts Challenge Miami winner, Warier has brought together a team of professional Indian classical dancers and advanced students for the production, which will include English narration to help make the ancient Indian art form understandable. The colorful and high energy show is ideal for all ages and will also include a surprise twist at the end. There will also be a lecture series surrounding the performances to demystify the complexity of traditional Indian storylines.

Ranjana Warier was introduced to Indian classical dance at the age of six and thrives on preserving and promoting India’s artistic traditions. She has performed at events worldwide and says dance is a wonderful way to breakdown cultural barriers. “South Florida, like India, is a melting pot of cultures coming together. People are recognizing a lot of things they haven’t been open to before because of the beautiful diverse opportunity here,” Warier said.

The performances will be held August 31 and September 1 at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, located at 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd. on the campus of Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.  The show will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20, $30 and $40 and can be purchased by calling 954-462-0222 or at www.miniacipac.com. For more information, contact Ranjana Warier at 954-472 6004 or by email at info@erhythms.net.

This article was reposted with permission from Ranjana Warier, originally published on the Knight Arts blog. 

Note: Anvita is an Indian girl's name meaning "understood".