A romantic fairy tale Johnstown Concert Ballet to present 'Sleeping Beauty'

Apr. 9—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A classic ballet based on a romantic fairy tale will be danced on an area stage.

The Johnstown Concert Ballet will present its spring performance of "Sleeping Beauty" at 2 p.m. April 22 at the Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus in Richland Township.

"I wanted to do a fairy-tale ballet that has a princess and a familiar story, but I also wanted to do a ballet that we as a company have not done in some time or ever before," said Bethany Thomas, the company's artistic director. "As far as I could tell, we did excerpts about eight years ago, but the whole ballet we have not done since 1989."

She said that "Sleeping Beauty" has traditionally been used as a training ballet.

"It's a good piece for students who are learning difficult, more advanced techniques to do and get some expertise from," Thomas said.

The ballet tells the story of Princess Aurora, cursed by the evil Carabosse to die on her 16th birthday, when she will prick her finger on a spindle.

The spell is partially undone by the Lilac Fairy, who modifies the spell so that the princess will not die, but instead will sleep for 100 years.

The spell can only be broken by the kiss of a prince. The Lilac Fairy chooses Prince Desire to awaken the princess and leads him to her.

Despite Carabosse's attempts to foil the prince, he arrives at the castle and awakens Princess Aurora.

The production is danced predominantly to music composed by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

"We have been doing a combination of the classic variations, and some of the pieces are all original new choreography that I've done," Thomas said. "The ballet doesn't usually have young children, but I wanted to include our junior company members, so I created some characters and dances and found music that could go in. The production is ours in the way we're taking the classic and brand-new and putting it together."

The role of Princess Aurora will be danced by Erin Casale, a member of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

The Johnstown native trained with the Johnstown Concert Ballet and the Academy of Russian Ballet prior to joining Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.

Casale has danced in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre productions of "The Nutcracker," "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty," "Raymonda," "Giselle," "Paquita," "Napoli" and "The Great Gatsby." Her repertoire also includes George Balanchine's "Rubies," "Divertimento No. 15," "Western Symphony" and "Allegro Brillante"; Nacho Duato's "Duende"; and Susan Jaffe's "Carmina Terra."

Casale was chosen by Dance Magazine as one of its "25 to Watch" for 2023.

"It worked out that Erin was able to get permission from her company to come do the guesting role, which is really exciting and a great opportunity for us," Thomas said.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancer Jacob Miller will perform the role of Prince Desire.

The role of Bluebird will be performed by Pittsburgh dancer Luke Moss.

Penelope Lee, a Johnstown Concert Ballet alumna, will dance the role of Princess Florine.

Community member dancers will be Isaac Berkey, Damian Byer, Jay Kycko, Heather Mack, Eileen Pears and William Marsh.

Alan Teich will perform the role of the King.

The role of the Queen will be danced by Samantha Stevanus.

Ava Berkey will perform the role of the Lilac Fairy.

Ivy Peterman will dance the role of Carabosse.

Senior company members are Lena Bennethum, Bella Dixon, Haidee Errett, Meara Gleason, Josie Hill, Helena Kycko, Taylor Ling, Haley Mosorjak, Lucia Niida, Regan Reynolds, Alana Respet, Olivia Tallari and Tia Yannitelli.

Junior company members include Chase Bennethum, Zane Kendig, Meradi Knapp, Hazel Peterman, Emily Thompson, Kaelyn Deater, Mackenzie Kendig, Senya Malcolm, Angelica Marsh, Jordyn Oherrick, Alaina Tallari, Abigail Graham, Addison Greenwell, Jocelyn Furdella, Laci Hutchinson, Havana Kycko, Sophia Krum, Emerson Mangus, Raeleigh McKool, Saige Myers, Elizabella Stevanus, Margaret Zajdel, Lillian Kendig, Aurora Krupa, Adeline Lokesak, Emma Mack, Isla Paskowski, Hannah Saylor, Alivia Cole, Harper Salat, Shelby Salat, Leyton Smalley, Shyonna Smith and Aubriella Stevanus.

"The ballet has a lot of classic solo variations, which is new for a lot of these girls who have never danced a complete solo before, so it has been intimidating to them, but in a good way, and they're working really hard," Thomas said.

She said costuming for the ballet includes many tutus.

"I went through our costume stock of tutus and pulled everything I thought would work, and we've been doing minor tweaks," Thomas said. "The costuming for this ballet is all stock of our handmade costumes."

Although the Johnstown Concert Ballet is known for its annual Christmas production of "The Nutcracker," Thomas said the spring performance gives the community an opportunity to see a different type of performance.

"Ballet can seem really elitist and boring, and that's why I think it's important to show more than just one ballet," she said. "While I think 'The Nutcracker' is a lot of fun and a great beginner's guide to ballet, if it's not for you, it doesn't mean that all ballet isn't for you. Seeing 'Sleeping Beauty' might be the ballet you love, so it's important to put more of this art form into our community."

She said that along with the talents of the company dancers, audiences will be able to see professional ballet dancers in Johnstown.

"This year, we are able to bring three of them to our community, which is an opportunity that I'm sure many people have never had before, and that will be a cool experience," Thomas said.

Tickets are $22.

To order tickets, visit www. johnstownconcertballet.org.