Dancers breathe life into Tales of the Brothers Grimm

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Three Strathmore talents are taking to the stage this weekend in the Alberta Dance Theatre for Young People’s production of Tales of the Brothers Grimm. While the dance company never fails to impress, having previously featured Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland, and James and the Giant Peach, the production is squeezing in a long list of beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales all in time for celebrating 35 years of dance creation in Calgary.
Neve Raycroft, Saige Aleman, and Lane Habing, all from Strathmore, will join 47 aspiring dancers in bringing stories such as Snow White, Cinderella, The Frog Prince, and Rapunzel to the audience.
“What makes the Alberta Dance Theatre different from other groups, is that the dancers themselves are involved in the creative process … and we see so much growth with their dancing ability, their personalities, and maturity,” said Heather Mitchell, general manager for Alberta Dance Theatre (ADT).
“It’s not just choreographers choreographing numbers for them. The dancers in each number do get the opportunity to express themselves somewhere within the dance piece. It’s like anything, football or hockey; it’s a team, they’re a unit.”
In her sixth year with the theatre, Neve Raycroft is now the oldest dancer among her group at age 13. As the theatre takes on dancers aged seven to 17, the dedicated full-time Strathmore dancer has noticed slight changes in her responsibilities among other dancers in comparison to previous years.
“The older dancers tend to get picked to transition the dances more, so that’s a little bit different,” she said. “Instead of having the age groups, we’re doing casting so there’s more of an age difference. But it’s just a fun way to express yourself and perform.”
As a full-time dancer Raycroft dances nearly every day of the week. Along for the ride is her mother Marnie, who until recently manned the role of Chairperson of the Guild on the ADT board. With her decision to step down, she is now left in the dark about the production as much as the audience.
“This is when you really see a lot of growth, then they’re 13 years old and you see them blossom into the dancer that they’re going to be,” said Marnie Raycroft.
“This year is the first year that I haven’t seen a lot. I’ve taken a step back from the board, so typically in dance we don’t get to see a lot until they perform, unless you’re directly involved. So this is a really exciting year for me because I haven’t seen anything.”
Tales of the Brothers Grimm will take to the stage at the University of Calgary Theatre on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m., Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 before Nov. 27 and can be purchased at the University of Calgary Campus ticket office, calling 403-220-7202, or online at ucalgary.ca/tickets.