Imagine Ballet Theatre to Present ALICE, 4/15-16

Imagine Ballet Theatre (IBT), an Ogden-based ballet company, will present the ballet "Alice: Adventures in Wonderland," based on the beloved novel by Lewis Carroll, this spring. The full-length ballet features choreography by IBT Artistic Director Raymond Van Mason and will be accompanied live by David Van Alstyne on the piano. The company will offer three opportunities to see the show at the Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden on April 15th and 16th.

Van Mason's ballet tells the story of Alice, a young girl who falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a magical and unusual world. Audience members will "fall" with Alice in a short film depicting Alice and friends falling into Wonderland. In search of the elusive White Rabbit, Alice meets and interacts with the odd characters in Wonderland throughout her journey, which ultimately ends in mayhem in the Queen of Hearts' court. Van Mason's choreography stays true to the fun and often chaotic intertwining personalities in the classic Carroll book, and audience members can look forward to seeing all their favorite characters in a new yet familiar way, from the Cheshire Cat to the Mad Hatter and Doormouse.

David Van Alstyne, former conductor of the Ballet West Orchestra and current conductor of the New American Philharmonic, also joins the ensemble to accompany the dancers with live piano music as they perform on stage. The buoyant score, composed by Joseph Horovitz, translates beautifully to the quirky and playful style of the overall story. Speaking highly to Van Alstyne's talent and years of performance, Imagine Ballet Theatre received exclusive permission from Horovitz to use his score in this way - it has only been performed live on the piano with IBT's performances of "Alice."

Keeping with tradition, Imagine Ballet Theatre's "Alice" will also pull from the local community to bring the ballet to life. Sherry Ferrin, a well-known Ogden artist, hand-painted the enormous backdrop for the stage, masks for the ballet have been created by Gregg Tew, while additional set pieces and props have been constructed by other artisans in the area.

IBT's "Alice" runs April 15th at 7:30 PM, and April 16th at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM. Tickets range in price from $15-29 and are available through the Peery's Egyptian Theater box office at (801) 689-8700 or online at http://www.smithtix.com/item/root/imagine-ballet-theatre.

For more information about Imagine Ballet Theatre and its upcoming performances and other dance opportunities, please visit www.imagineballet.org.

Funded in Part by RAMP.

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