photo by Brooke Meyer
Recital is a special time at any studio, but at Cary Ballet we really strive to make a magical experience for our audience with full storylines, production scenes and quality dancing. Above you can see our beautiful opening to Rhythms of the Rainforest – backdrop, props, smoke effects, a decorated proscenium and our dancers all come together to wonderful effect. From the opening curtain, the stage is colorful and mysterious. And backstage, our younger dancers get to learn and be inspired by our senior dancers. Here are our Rhythms leads backstage- Rayna, Victoria & Nibbles.
To create these moments for the audience, the backstage side of things can be harried with sets, props, crew, dressing room chaperones, teachers, TAs and hundreds of dancers all working together. Meanwhile, the dancers are getting irreplaceable performance experience learning about the process of putting on a show with costuming, the hustle of backstage and using your rehearsal time to help you adjust with performance surprises.
photo by Brooke Meyer
Rhythms of the Rainforest is especially close to our hearts because it is an original show created by the faculty of Cary Ballet. It is a vibrant show full of catchy music and is a departure from the fairytale themes we often have. We get to have our traditional beautiful ballet moments and dramatic contemporary pieces like the Spider Queen soloist Stephanie Kim.
photo by Brooke Meyer
Cary Ballet Spider Queen solo performed by Stephanie Kim, choreography by Darra Gasper. Photo by Brooke Meyer
Meanwhile, our Jazz dancers love to get into a character, as seen in the Tiki People dance.
photo by Brooke Meyer
and their leader the Witch Doctor, portrayed by Darien.
photo by Brooke Meyer
As usual with any recital, everyone is upstaged by our littlest dancers seen here in their Cricket lullaby dance.
photo by Brooke Meyer
The tap number near the close of the show is very cool as the dancers utilize flashlights and a scrim to look like headlights. A great effect!
Cary Ballets Bulldozers, choreographed by Shannon Snover. Photo by Brooke Meyer
By the end of our dress rehearsals and performances, all of the work and fluster turns into a giddy release as the faculty and crew see the show come to life. We are excited and proud to see our students finish another year of dance with stronger technique and smiles on the faces. We can’t help it- we get a little goofy.
We hope our enthusiasm for our students and each other show through. It’s what makes Cary Ballet such a special place!