Dancers don tutus for a yellow brick road soiree
JOHANNESBURG - The characters of The Wizard of Oz have been brought to life in a myriad of ways since the much-loved classic was first published. Now, the Ovation Youth Dance Company has revived the classic tale, adapting its narrative to a wonderland of tutus, tiaras and ballet magic.
The company’s newest production, The Wizard of Oz, will be showcased at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Theatre from 12 July.
“We have tried to move away from the pure ballet classics like The Nutcracker. Last year, we put on an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland,” explained Benmore resident and
Ovation spokesperson Lesley Legrange. She said the company had 66 dancers between the ages of five and 19 years old, many of them from the Sandton area. “The dancers have been divided into groups for the show.
Some dance as the yellow brick road, others as the Emerald City, or the rainbow. In one scene, Dorothy dances in the snow through a field of poppies. Some of the dancers are poppies and others are snowflakes.”
She said one of the highlights of the show was guest star Nigel Hannah as the wicked witch of the west, flying across the stage using a harness.
Show choreographer and director Leigh-Anne Gorrie started putting her ideas for the show together from October last year, “Because there is no set ballet choreography for The Wizard of Oz, I worked out the choreography from nothing, researching the story and scratching through archives of music, movies and art. Choreographing a show of this magnitude is a lengthy process but rewarding when you see everyone dressed up and the magic you envisioned coming alive on stage. We held auditions for the show at end of last year and started practising from January.”
“The dancers have practised as often as five days a week during school holidays,” said Legrange. “They are committed to putting on a show of excellence. This will be The Wizard of Oz as you have never seen it before. Most have heard the song, ‘Follow the yellow brick road’, but few have seen the road actually come alive and dance in brilliant yellow before their eyes.”
The show will be held at the UJ Theatre, Auckland Park on Friday 12 July at 7.30pm, Saturday 13 July at 3pm and 7.30pm, and Sunday 14 July at 11am and 3pm. Bookings can be made through Computicket.
