Texas Ballet Theater to Present BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Texas Ballet Theater, accompanied by Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, will present a ballet performance of Beauty and The Beast, featuring music by Tchaikovsky, September 29 at 8 p.m., September 30 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., October 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Bass Performance Hall.

Tickets range from $20-$120 and are available at www.texasballettheater.org or by calling 877-828-9200.

This is not the Disney version of the story. It follows the old fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont. But Belle does wear a yellow tutu; the costumes are bright and colorful, and there are lots of masks and headpieces.

At some points in the story, people become part of the set and are still as statues to make up the set. It's mostly a soft set (meaning very few large pieces on stage, mostly backdrops). There are no real special effects, however the transformation of the beast to the prince on stage is interesting. It is done with lighting and costume removal.

Live accompaniment will be provided by Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Opera Orchestra.

This ballet was first performed in San Francisco in the '50s. Pittsburgh purchased the ballet (set, costumes, choreography) from SFB and performed it in 2015. TBT is renting the ballet from Pittsburgh to debut here.

There will be a Wiggle Room available for parents to bring children who are restless during the performance, allowing them to move around and play, while the parent can continue watching the performance via a screen.

This performance is kid-friendly, though it is a full-length ballet (2 Acts, 90 minutes). A "Tutus and Tiaras" event is available before the Oct 1 performance starting at 1 p.m. Anyone with a ticket to the ballet may attend this free event, which features crafts for children.

Pictured: Carolyn Judson as Belle, Alexander Kotelenets as Beast. Photo by Steven Visneau.

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