Dallas Arts Month, the city-wide celebration that showcases the city's vibrant arts and culture scene, is in full swing.
The month-long event is a great reminder that we have a whole city of visual, musical and performing arts just waiting to be explored. With that in mind, now is the perfect opportunity to take a leap and try something new.
And speaking of leaping (pun fully intended), Ballet North Texas is embracing the month with the help of a fairy godmother and a glass slipper. Its production of the classic ballet "Cinderella" is coming to Moody Performance Hall this month.
KERA’s Alexsis Jones and I paid a visit to the studio a few weeks ago to see firsthand how the art of dance plays into Dallas Arts Month.
The company was bustling about with costume fittings, final rehearsals and photo shoots, and in the middle of it all was Nicolina Lawson, artistic director and founder of Ballet North Texas.
Lawson, who founded the company back in 2017, has been dancing her whole life.
“My mom was a dancer, so I'm pretty sure I was dancing in the womb,” Lawson laughed. “And then grew up in the studio.”
But it isn’t just dance. Lawson’s involvement with the arts goes deep. She also played an instrument, and her grandfather was a conductor.
"The arts have just always been a big part of my life," Lawson said. "I think arts month is important because it exposes the arts to people that maybe don't have that in their daily lives and I think it's a way for us to share what we do on a bigger platform."
GIVE BALLET A WHIRL
Lawson is hoping Ballet North Texas’ production of the fairytale ballet will draw audiences in for Dallas Arts Month, not only because of romance and the familiar story of the girl with the glass shoe, but also because--well, it's a good time.
“It offers that comic relief with the stepsisters and the mom, and there are some other funny elements that happen,” Lawson said. “It kind of reaches a little bit of all of those emotions, and that I think is something that is relatable for most people.”
Because there is no dialogue, ballet can sometimes be intimidating--especially if you've never been to one. If you're watching a ballet that tells a story, like Cinderella, Lawson says you should identify the characters and then let the story build freely in your mind.
“I think what's unique about ballet specifically is, because we're not using words, there's nothing literal about it,” Lawson said
“There might be a scene where somebody thinks it's hilarious and another person might think, ‘Wow, that stepsister is awfully mean.’ So, I think letting your own interpretation of what you're watching is incredibly valuable as a patron.”
FINDING CINDERELLA
Alexis Breen, who plays Cinderella, says the most surprising thing that audiences will find at this ballet is the range of emotion for the title character.
She is a very deep character, but it's delicate in the way you portray her,’ Breen explains. “That's something that I'm really working on. You can't just be super extroverted with how you're going to play Cinderella. You have to take a step back and almost internalize the feelings so they can be shown to the audience.”
CHALAMET SHMALOMET
Now we can't talk about ballet without mentioning the elephant in the room--and that is Timothée Chalamet’s remark about no one caring about ballet or opera anymore. Assistant Artistic Director Cindy Michaels has an interesting take on a live performance vs. watching a movie.
“In a movie, the director decides where your attention is going to go by directing the camera, so at any given time you're only looking at what the director wants you to see,” Michaels said. “In a live performance, it's the people on stage telling the story and having to draw the audience's attention to them. And then with our mime and our gestures, we have to hold them long enough for the audience to understand what's being said. There is no help that they receive and there are no retakes.”
In the end, ballet is about inviting the audience into your story. Breen describes it like this in a very Cinderella-like way.
“This is something that everyone should feel comfortable and welcome to,” Breen said.
Breen said the goal is to really excite people from all walks of life and all generations.
“I want to see kids in the audience. I want to see families coming to the show because that's why I do it, and that's so many of us do it, is to send the message to the next generation.”
Details: Performances of Ballet North Texas’ production of Cinderella are on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at 8 p.m. at Moody Performance Hall in Dallas. There is also a sensory-friendly matinee on Saturday, April 11, at 2 p.m.
You can also catch these dance performances during Dallas Arts Month.
Pegasus Contemporary Ballet - Common Language - April 3 & 4, Kalita Humphreys Theater
Dallas Black Dance Theater: Rising Excellence - April 17 & 18, at Moody Performance Hall
TITAS: Command Performance - April 18 at Winspear Opera House
