Fairy tale comes true for trio of teenage dancers
A fate worthy of a fairy tale awaited three teenage dancers after a lengthy audition in late February: feature leading roles in Plainfield Dance Academy's spring production of "The Sleeping Beauty."
After the leotards and leg warmers were carefully placed into dance bags, 16-year old Naperville dancers Rachel Kelly and Jubilation Wang and 17-year old Lockport native Shelby Vennekotter were selected to perform the all-important lead roles of Princess Aurora, the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse.
The dancers, all students at Plainfield Dance Academy, will take to the stage in two performances of "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet: 5 p.m. Sunday, May 13, at Chicago's Studebaker Theatre, 401 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago; and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 20, at Plainfield North High School auditorium, 12005 S. 248th Ave., Plainfield.
Tickets for the Chicago performance are $28 and can be purchased online at www.artsentertainment.thundertix.com or by calling (312) 753-3210. Tickets for the Plainfield performance are available online at www.tututix.com. Tickets are $25, $20 for children and seniors, or $30 the day of performance.
The Chicago performance, which coincides with Mother's Day, features a special "Dance, Dine and Drive" package that includes a ticket for the performance at the historic Studebaker Theatre located in the Fine Arts Building; a 15-percent discount for lunch or dinner at the Artists Café located at the entrance of the Fine Arts Building; and a $12 flat rate parking special at the adjacent Grant Park South garage when showing your ticket for "The Sleeping Beauty."
Plainfield Dance Academy's presentation of "The Sleeping Beauty" features a lavish set and costumes, a company of 50 dancers including students, ages 8-18, and professional dancers of international renown such as Arionel Vargas with choreography by Altin Naska and Olena Nalyvaiko after Marius Petipa. Music for "The Sleeping Beauty" was composed by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky.
First presented at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890, "The Sleeping Beauty" remains the best example of narrative ballet theater. As this timeless story unfolds, viewers come to believe in fairies who can magically soften a curse, thereby rescuing all goodness from evil, and in a hero united with his true love.
"The visual images of movement, the sumptuous music and the story works together to create a powerful and emotional experience," said Altin Naska, artistic director of Plainfield Dance Academy. "This is an ageless story for all ages to enjoy!"