Fabled Family Fun

Sunday, March 7, 2021 at 2:00 pm

Join us for two delightful ballets! First up is Hansel & Gretel with a cast of 90 dancers! Humperdinck’s 1893 Opera Score, specially adapted by Ballet Chicago for orchestra only, serves as Artistic Director Daniel Duell’s inspiration for this beloved tale, rendered in three deftly paced scenes. The magnificent music themes are retained, as are the key characters, with epic-scale scenes in the forest and the Witch’s house. Hansel & Gretel, an instant audience favorite, is sure to enchant! Next is Act 3 of Coppélia, a lavish rendering of Swanhilda and Franz’s joyous wedding celebration. The splendor of this large-scale work would be exciting enough on its own, but this historic archival performance from 1998 features the original Ballet Chicago Studio Company in its very first appearance on the stage of the Auditorium Theatre, performing “Waltz of the Hours” and as the corps de ballet for the entire Act 3 of Coppelia!

Hansel & Gretel

Choreography by Daniel Duell

Music by Engelbert Humperdinck, arrangement by Kimberly Schmidt*

Costume Design by Patricia Blair and Susan Eitner

Animal Costumes by Elizabeth Lorena Lopez, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Lighting Design by Margaret L. Nelson

Props by Margaret Nelson, assisted by Mike Diaz, Danny Valente, and Means of Production

Revised and Adapted from the 1993 Ballet Chicago Premiere

Scene 1: The Cottage in the Woods

Hansel: RUSSELL SCHMIDT

Gretel: EMMA WITTIG

Mother: EMMA KAPETYN

Father: PARIS STIGGER

Squirrels

Leighton Baumgartner, Sofia Mae Hunt, Savannah Lee, Gabriel Martinez,

Tate Million, Francesca Pelc, Sofia Strang, Laura Thrush, Corinne Williams

Scene 2: The Forest

Birds: Mia Thompson with Eve Eismann and Greer Den Houter

Deer: Zoey Addison with Ruby Sindelar and Brooklyn Winter

Angelicorns: EMILY FUGETT and NINA MONTALBANO

Wolf: ALEXANDER ALLEN

Bunnies

Idina Arends, Leighton Baumgartner, Simone Bedi, Veda Calhan, Daniela Cloppert Patino, Lyla DiPasquo, Madeleine Grofman, Erika Imashova, Gabriella Joew, Leila Kantner, Mathilda Konrady-Sloan,

Mari Million, Grae Navarro, Luciana Domenica Pacilli, Amber Radzevicius, Lilliana Spurgeon, Natalya Szidik

Forest Faeries

Tru Annafi, Eden Casimiro, Daisy Herrera, Lillian Hundley, Alyssa Kantner, Claudia Kantner,

Isabelle Markel, Rebecca McCain, Brianna Moose, Lucie Richard, Skylar Rutman, Allison Yusim

Angels

NINA MONTALBANO and ZACHARY GUTHIER

Gabrielle Foley, Morgan Jankowski, Devin Johnson, Anna Tworzyanski

Zoey Addison, Katherine Alvarado, Claire Brocker, Maya Canestaro, Anna Graczyk, Tayte Joiner,

Hayley Lampariello. Kyra Lin, Morgan Moose, Dani Streever, Mia Thompson, Brooklyn Winter

Cherubs

Leighton Baumgartner, Sasha Daley, Alaina Fernando, Leila Kantner,

Madeline Morrow, Grae Navarro, Lilly Spurgeon, Clara Stochetti

Scene 3: The Witch’s House

Witch: Katherine Alvarado

Eden Casimiro, Alaina Fernando, Daisy Herrera, Madison Hinton, Claudia Kantner, Annabelle Kim

Otto Moose, Phoebe Pearlman, Gabriella Rauch, Alexa Risley, Quinn Rutman, Skylar Rutman,

Sophia Smith, Agustina Stocchetti, Caroline Stoughton, Molly Teschner, Nicole Vaneekeren

*Music for the Witch’s Cookie Dance composed by Kimberly Schmidt.

......

Coppélia Act 3

Music by Leo Delibes

Choreography for Act 3 Divertissements by Daniel Duell

Staging by Daniel Duell after Frederic Franklin

Assisted by Christine DuBoulay and Richard Ellis

Costume Design by David Heuvel

Waltz of the Hours Costumes by Primadonna Tutus

Scenic Design by Charles Caldwell

Lighting Design by Todd L Clark

SWANHILDA: ANASTASIA BABAYEVA

FRANZ: ANTON KUNIKEYEV

DR. COPELLIUS: GORDON PEIRCE SCHMIDT

DAWN: HEATHER HAWK

PRAYER: GRETCHEN KLOCKE

BURGEMEISTER: JAMES LACEY

Swanhilda’s Friends

Verna Carter, Laura Dunlop, Sarah Folger, Courtney Kalata, Abigail Rose, Jody Skye

The Ballet Chicago Studio Company - Waltz of the Hours

Lydia Aurinko-Mostow, Thalia Aurinko-Mostow, Megan Chalmers, Genevieve Custer,

Megan Fencl, Ellen Green, Faith Howard, Lesley Hubbard, Kathryn Katsaros, Brooke Kush,

Anna Mason, Alecia Medley, Melina Milcarek, Julie Niekrasz, Lara O’Brien,

Katrina Oeffling, Gayle Ratliff, Kate Wascher, Katrina Wysomirski

Prayer Corps

Alana Czernobil, Margaret Evers, Caitlin Farrell, Ayani Herrera, Sarah Hess, Alexandra Penovich,

Abigail Reiss, Laura Schmidt, Genna Sears, Rachel Stupay, Alexandria Tsevis, Shannon Yee

Work

Verna Carter, Laura Dunlop, Sarah Folger, Courtney Kalata, Abigail Rose, Jody Skye

Ensemble

Kelly Cabrera, Michelle Carlson, Ayesha Levy, Lilla Makkai, Kristin Mitchell, Hannah Payne, Maya Pingle

Paul Abrahamson, Todd Brown, Terrence Fox, Bryon Heinrich, Troy Night, Florian Rouiller

Finale

Full Company

RSVP