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A Ballet Based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Faerie Queen STUDY GUIDE Elizabeth Lamont PHOTO: Réjean Brandt Photography 2014/ 15

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A Ballet Based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Faerie Queen STUDY GUIDE

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THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 1

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet

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Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally founded Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School nearly 75 years ago. The two women met when Lloyd was running a dance school in Leeds, England and Farrally was her student. They both immigrated to Canada in 1938, and settled in Winnipeg. There they offered dance classes to the community – starting out with only six students in their first year. Word quickly spread, however, and by year two their enrolment had grown and they were able to establish the “Winnipeg Ballet Club.”

By 1943, The Winnipeg Ballet was formed with all of its dancers coming from the Club. Six years later, the Company officially became a not-for-profit cultural institution. In 1951, the Company was invited to perform for then Princess Elizabeth during her visit to Winnipeg, just prior to her becoming Queen of England. Following her coronation in 1953, she bestowed The Winnipeg Ballet’s “Royal” designation.

Between the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) School’s two divisions of study, there is a place for virtually every type of dance student: from preschoolers to adults, those new to dance and those aspiring to become professional dancers.

ABOUT

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THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 2

PREPARING This booklet is designed to enhance the student’s experience at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s performance of The Faerie Queen, A Ballet Based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The activities and information included are organized to help students prepare, understand, enjoy, and respond to their experience watching the performance.

DURING THE PERFORMANCE: Enjoy the ballet! As part of the audience, your attendance is as essential to the ballet performance as the dancers themselves. Prior to arriving at the theatre, discuss proper audience etiquette using the keywords below. These steps will help students handle their feelings and enthusiasm appropriately. It is also very important to arrive on time or even early for the performance in order to allow enough time to settle in and focus on the performance.

CONCENTRATION: Always sit still and watch in a quiet, concentrated way. This supports the dancers so that they can do their best work on stage.

QUIET: Auditoriums are designed to carry sound so that the performers can be heard, which also means that any sound in the audience (whispering, laughing, rustling papers or speaking) can be heard by dancers and other audience members. Your movement or checking your phone and texting disrupts the performance for everyone, so always ensure that phones and other electronic devices are turned off during the entire performance.

RESPECT: By watching quietly and attentively you show respect for the dancers. The dancers show respect for you (the audience) and for the art of dance by doing their very best work.

APPRECIATION: Do clap at the end of a dance (when there is a pause in the music) if you feel like showing your appreciation.

“To enrich the human experience by teaching, creating and performing outstanding dance.”

Whether touring the world’s stages, visiting schools, offering rigorous dance classes for all experience levels, or performing at Ballet in the Park each summer, the RWB consistently delivers world class dance and instruction to the citizens of Winnipeg and far beyond.

To see the ballet

AFTER THE PERFORMANCE: Process and respond to the performance by engaging in class discussions or writing a letter to the RWB. We love to get feedback from our student groups.

WRITE TO:

At Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, our mandate is:

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet 380 Graham Avenue Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4K2

[email protected]

facebook.com/RWBallet

twitter.com/RWBallet

instagram.com/RWBallet

pinterest.com/RWBallet

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Find out more about us at rwb.org.

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THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 3

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BalletThe First Ballet In 16th century France and Italy, royalty competed to have the most splendid court. Monarchs would search for and employ the best poets, musicians and artists. At this time, dancing became increasingly theatrical. This form of entertainment, also called the ballet de court (court ballet), featured elaborate scenery and lavish costumes, plus a series of processions, poetic speeches, music and dancing. The first known ballet, Le Ballet comique de la Reine, was performed at court in 1581 by the Queen of France (and her ladies) at her sister’s wedding.

The Sun King In the 17th century, the popularity and development of ballet could be attributed to King Louis XIV of France. He took dancing very seriously and trained daily with his dance master, Pierre Beauchamp. One of the King’s famous roles was the Rising Sun which led him to become known as the “Sun King.” King Louis also set up the Academie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance) in 1661, where, for the first time, steps were structurally codified and recorded by Beauchamp. These are the same steps

that have been handed down through centuries, and which now form the basis of today’s classical ballet style.

The First Professional Dancers At first, ballets were performed at the Royal Court, but in 1669 King Louis opened the first opera house in Paris. Ballet was first viewed publicly in the theatre as part of the opera. The first opera featuring ballet, entitled Pomone, included dances created by Beauchamp. Women participated in ballets at court, but were not seen in the theatre until 1681. Soon, as the number of performances increased, courtiers who danced for a hobby gave way to professional dancers who trained longer and harder. The physical movement of the first professional dancers was severely hindered by their lavish and weighty costumes and headpieces. They also wore dancing shoes with tiny heels, which made it rather difficult to dance with pointed toes.

Revealing Feet and Ankles Early in the 18th century in Paris, the ballerina, Marie Camargo, shocked audiences by shortening her skirts to just above the ankle. She did this to be freer in her movements

and allow the audience to see her intricate footwork and complex jumps, which often rivaled those of the men. Ballet companies were now being set up all over France to train dancers for the opera. The first official ballet company (a collection of dancers who train professionally) was based at the Paris Opera and opened in 1713.

The Pointe Shoe By 1830, ballet as a theatrical art form truly came into its own. Influenced by the Romantic Movement, which was sweeping the world of art, music, literature and philosophy, ballet took on a whole new look. The ballerina ruled supreme. Female dancers now wore calf-length, white, bell-shaped tulle skirts. To enhance the image of the ballerina as light and ethereal, the pointe shoe was introduced, enabling women to dance on the tips of their toes.

Classical Ballet Although the term “classical” is often used to refer to traditional ballet, this term really describes a group of story ballets first seen in Russia at the end of the 19th century. At this time, the centre of ballet moved from France to Russia. In Russia, the French choreographer Marius Petipa collaborated

with the Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky to create the lavish story ballet spectacles such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Today, these ballets still form the basis of the classical ballet repertoire of companies all over the world.

One Act Ballets In 1909, the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev brought together a group of dancers, choreographers, composers, artists and designers into his company, the Ballets Russes. This company took Paris by storm as it introduced, instead of long story ballets in the classical tradition, short one act ballets such as, Schéhérazade, Les Sylphides, The Rite of Spring, Firebird and Petrouchka. Some of the worlds greatest dancers, including Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Vasslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) and choreographers Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942) and George Balanchine (1904-1983) were part of Diaghilev’s company.

DID YOU KNOW … ? Dancing ballet puts a lot of wear on a dancer’s shoes. Some dancers need to get new shoes every week!

SEE FOR YOURSELF! Do a search for images of ballet dancers throughout the ages. Can you notice the differences in costumes over time? What do most dancers wear today?

ABOUT

THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 4

The career of a dancer is relatively short and it is not unusual to spend more years training than dancing professionally. As in Olympic-level sport, the movements demanded of the human body in ballet are very specific and require great precision and care. For that reason, the physique must be prepared for a professional ballet career at a young age.

The professional training period usually consists of at least seven years of intensive, precise work. Ideally, girls and boys should begin their professional training by age ten. Training is a very progressive process. The young professional student begins with daily classes, practicing the basic ballet positions and movements, learning body placement and how to move through the space with balance and artistry. As the student progresses, time spent in classes each week increases, as do the difficulty and extensiveness of the skills taught. In addition to daily class in classical technique, students also receive instruction in variation (solo) work, pointe (dancing on the toes), pas de deux (a dance for two), character (ethnic), jazz and modern dance.

Prior to the introduction of pointe work, a number of criteria must be considered. These include the amount of previous training, a dancer’s strength and ability, as well as age as it relates to the bone development in the dancer’s feet. Pas de deux and repertoire (the collection of different ballets a dance company performs) are introduced only when the student has adequate strength, ability and training.

Students who graduate to a professional ballet company usually begin dancing as a member of the corps de ballet (ensemble). After a few years, corps de ballet members whose artistry, technical ability, musicality and ability to communicate with the audience set them apart may be promoted to first or second soloist. Finally, the highest achievement in the company, the position of principal dancer or ballerina, is attainable by only a few select dancers.

THE LIFE OF A DANCER

ESTABLISHING DANCE IN NORTH AMERICAAlmost all contemporary ballet companies and dancers are influenced by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. The first visit by this company to North America in 1916-1917 stimulated great interest in ballet. Dancers from the Ballets Russes were instrumental in furthering this new interest in ballet. For example, dancer George Balanchine went to the United States and founded the New York City Ballet (originally called the American Ballet). He became renowned for perfecting the abstract ballet and for establishing neo-classicism through his choreographic masterpieces such as Serenade, Agon and Concerto Barocco. Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert also went on to found, respective, England’s Royal Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company. It is from these English roots that two English Women, Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farally, founded the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1939 (the oldest ballet company in Canada). Celia Franca also came to Canada and in 1951, she founded The National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. Some of the worlds greatest dancers, including Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Vasslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) and choreographers Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942) and George Balanchine (1904-1983) were part of Diaghilev’s company.

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PROLOGUE: ATHENS

The valiant Greek hero Theseus and his warrior bride Hippolyta are celebrating their wedding in a glorious garden in ancient Athens. They recall the story of their love and how they won each other’s hearts through acts of bravery, charm, and courage in battle. The joyous celebrations are interrupted by Egeus, a noble Athenian who demands judgement in the case of his daughter, Hermia, who is refusing to marry the man he chose for her, the noble Demetrius. Hermia is in love with another young man, Lysander. Undeterred by the judgement of her father, the lovers run away together into the forest and are pursued by Demetrius, who himself is pursued by yet another love-struck Athenian, Helena. Egeus dashes off after all of the young lovers with their hearts in a muddle.

Meanwhile, a mysterious spirit conjures a magical storm that transports Egeus and the young lovers into another world…

CHOREOGRAPHY: John Alleyne STORY ADAPTATION: John Murrell COMPOSER: Michael Bushnell & Owen Underhill (adapted from Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen)

COSTUME DESIGN: Kim Nielsen SET DESIGN: Darren Waterston LIGHTING DESIGN: Jean Phillippe Trépanier LENGTH: 2 hours (run times are approximate)

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SynopsisTHE FAERIE QUEEN A Ballet Based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream

ACT 1:

Here, too, there are troubled hearts. Titania, the Faerie Queen, has adopted two human foundlings and possessively keeps them from her husband, the Faerie King Oberon. Hurt by her selfishness, Oberon decides to teach Titania a lesson. He recruits Puck, a mischievous spirit, to find a magical flower with the power to make sleeping victims fall in love with the first creature they see when they wake.

Before Oberon and Puck and decide how they want to use this magical flower on Titania they are interrupted by the arrival of all four Athenian lovers – Hermia with her beloved Lysander, and Demetrius, who is still being followed by Helena. Oberon leaves, instructing Puck to use the magical flower to make Demetrius love Helena and resolve the quarrel. Puck promises to follow orders, but instead delights in causing all kinds of chaos and amorous confusion. She has her fill of mischief and is about to set everything right when Egeus bursts into the scene, furious. It occurs to Puck that Egeus might be just the right selfish fool to teach Queen Titania a lesson.

ACT 2:

King Oberon returns from spying on his wife and her foundlings. Inspired by Puck, he transforms Egeus’ head into that of a donkey. Together they take him to the sleeping Queen Titania and use the magical flower to trick her into falling in love with the donkey-headed Athenian. Oberon and Puck spirit the foundlings away, and Titania’s faerie retinue is forced to fawn over and entertain the ludicrous couple.

After the new lovers fall asleep Oberon removes the enchantment and makes the lesson known to Titania, who sees the error of her ways and agrees to share her foundlings. Puck arranges the Athenians into their appropriate couples and returns them to the mortal world. Egeus, finally understanding his daughter’s happiness and remembering the lessons of his mysterious “midsummer night’s dream,” is prepared to let well enough alone in the realm of love. The mortals return to Athens to celebrate a double wedding while twilight descents and the Faerie court revels in the power and mystery of love.

THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 6

FAERIES BEHAVING BADLYMorgan le Fay is King Arthur’s half-sister in the Arthurian Cycle. Different versions of the stories depict her as sinister or benevolent.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), written and Directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a dark faerie tale set during the Spanish Civil War.

German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their famous collection Grimm’s Fairy Tales in 1812 under the title Children’s and Household Tales (“Kinder- und Hausmärchen“ in German). Would we consider the original stories suitable for children today?

Jim Hensen’s Labyrinth (1986) casts David Bowie as the Goblin King after European legends of a faerie king who snatches children.

Disney’s Maleficent (2014) reinterprets the old faerie tale (and previous movie) Sleeping Beauty (1959) where Maleficent is a faerie on a quest for vengeance.

THESEUS Hero of Athens

HERMIA ward of Egeus, in love

with Lysander

HELENA in love with Demetrius

EGEUS Hermia’s guardian, wants her to marry

Demetrius

HIPPOLYTA Queen of the Amazons

LYSANDER in love with Hermia

OBERON King of the Faeries

OBERON’S RETINUE

PUCK A spirit of mischief

TITANIA Queen of the Faeries

TITANIA’S ATTENDANTS The Woodland Faeries:

Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Mote, Mustardseed, Thistledown, Will-o-the-Wisp

TWO FOUNDLINGS

human children adopted by Titania DEMETRIUS

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CharactersTHE FAERIE QUEEN A Ballet Based on a Midsummer Night’s Dream

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BIOGRAPHIES

John Alleyne

John Alleyne was born in Barbados and immigrated to Canada with his family in 1965. After graduating from The National Ballet School in Toronto in 1978, he joined the Stuttgart Ballet where he began his choreographic career, creating numerous compelling works for the Noverre workshop and the company’s repertoire, including Phases (1983), In Variation on a Theme (1984), as well as his first commission, Weiderkehr (1985).

In 1984, Alleyne returned to Canada and joined The National Ballet of Canada as a First Soloist, accepting the position as the company’s resident choreographer from 1990 to 1992, creating “innovative and challenging works,” including Blue-Eyed Trek (1988), Split House Geometric (1989-1990), and Interrogating Slam (1991). Alleyne began his association with Ballet British Columbia (Ballet BC) in the late 1980s when he was invited to choreograph several new works for the west coast company, among them Flying To Paris (1989), Go Slow Walter (1990) and Talk About Wings (1991).

Alleyne was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet BC in 1992. His leadership marked the beginning of a creative and prosperous period in the company’s history where he created one act and full-length ballets to expand Ballet BC’s contemporary ballet repertoire. Alleyne implemented assertive outreach strategies for strengthening the company’s identity locally, nationally and internationally. He developed collaborative approaches to choreographing and presenting contemporary work, evolving a signature Ballet BC style, and actively encouraged artists from various mediums to partake in the spirit of creativity and innovative thought inherent within the company.

Dedicated to the development of his craft, Alleyne’s choreography is noted for its technical complexity and innovative expansion of the classical ballet lexicon.

A bold, dynamic creator, Alleyne raised the profile of Ballet BC with his contemporary ballet choreography, showcasing such works as The Archeology of Karl... A romantic adventure (1993), Three Visible Poems (1994), The Don Juan Variations (1995), Can you believe she actually said (1995), Remember Me From Then (1996 with Peter. Goldberg (1998), Schubert (1999), The Faerie Queen (2000, adapted and filmed by CBC), Orpheus (2002) Scheherazade (2002), Carmina Burana (2004), The Rite of Spring (2005), A Streetcar Named Desire (2006), and The Four Seasons (2008).

During his tenure at Ballet BC, Alleyne developed audience awareness and greater accessibility and appreciation of dance through numerous community outreach initiatives and educational programs, which directly supported the environment of innovation and creativity inside the company dynamic. These community outreach initiatives and educational programs included ‘Pre- Performance Chats’, ‘Studio Series’, ‘Kids Club’, ‘School Shows’, and ‘The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) tours’ to the necklace of communities outside of Vancouver, ensuring children and audiences from various backgrounds were given the opportunity to experience live dance performance in an intimate environment. Ballet BC’s annual international Summer Dance Intensive and Mentor Program were also established by Alleyne to provide rigorous training to students preparing to make the leap to professional dancer.

A number of internationally respected companies, festivals, and institutions have commissioned new choreography from Alleyne performed as part of a variety of festivals, co-productions, and special events, including the Canada Dance Festival, the New York City Ballet’s Diamond Project and the San Francisco Ballet’s celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations – United We Dance, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Les Ballet de Monte Carlo, the National Arts Centre, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and EDAM with the Firehall Arts Centre.

Alleyne is the recipient of many prestigious awards acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the world of dance. He was the recipient of Toronto’s Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Choreography for Interrogating Slam (1992); the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence from the Black Business and Professional Association (1993); the first-ever honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University (2003); the Vancouver Arts Award for Performing Arts, recognizing extraordinary achievement and promise (2004); the Exceptional Achievement Award in the Performing Arts from the Black Historical and Cultural Society of British Columbia (2005); and he was a keynote speaker at the Golden Key International Honorary Society at the University of British Columbia (2006).

THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 8

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, who wrote the play on which the ballet of The Faerie Queen is based, is probably the most internationally renowned and most widely read of all playwrights. Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in England in April, 1564, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are scarce. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. He went to the King’s New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November of 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway and their marriage produced three children.

By 1592, Shakespeare (though not severing ties completely with Stratford) left for London to pursue the life of an actor and playwright. In London, he joined up with the acting troupe, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later under King James I, called The King’s Men). The Theatre was one of the main sources of entertainment in Elizabethan England. With the emergence of the middle class, the theatre offered a social gathering place and, above all, entertainment.

Many painters, writers, and other artists of the Renaissance used a common language of symbolism to express their ideas. Plants and animals had specific meanings; for instance, ivy meant eternal love and hounds were symbols of loyalty and devotion. Here are the meanings of some traditional plants and animals – some of which you’ll find in The Faerie Queen:

In antiquity, conch shells were symbols of love. According to myth, Venus, goddess of love, was born out of sea foam and sailed to land on a conch shell.

Butterflies were used as symbols for the soul.

Mules were symbolic of stubbornness and ingratitude.

Tulips were a symbol of vanity, an association that came from wealthy Europeans’ greed for tulip bulbs imported from the Middle East. They were so popular that they caused an economic collapse in 17th century Holland.

For the ancient Greeks and Romans, owls were symbols of wisdom sacred to Athena, but to medieval Christians they were a bad omen.

Poppies were associated with sleep and dreams.

Nature Symbolism

PHOTO: Larry Smith

Suggested reading: Nature and Its Symbols (A Guide to Imagery) Paperback – December 1, 2004, J. Paul Getty Museum, by Lucia Impelluso (Author), Stephen Sartarelli (Translator)

THE FAERIE QUEEN S TUDY GUIDE | 9

DID YOU KNOW … ? English composer Henry Purcell composed his score for an opera of The Faerie Queen in 1692 at the age of 32 (three years before his death) but it was lost, and not rediscovered until 1901.

DID YOU KNOW … ? The ancient Greeks considered romantic love a form of madness, especially ‘love at first sight’.

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DID YOU KNOW … ?

• In some adaptions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck is called ‘Robin Goodfellow’ after a legendary English trickster, and is played by a man.

• Oberon and Titania are characters in the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s masterpiece Metamorphoses.

• Faeries are mythical beings from European folklore that have many different names and variations. The word “faerie” comes from Middle English, and can also be spelled fayerye, feirie, or fairie.

• When the play was first created, all female roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream would have been played by male actors. Women were not permitted to act on stage.

• Plays were public property in Shakespeare’s day, meaning that anyone could claim that they had written them. This has lead historians today to question the authorship of some plays that have long been attributed to William Shakespeare.

• In 1599, the least expensive seat at the Globe Theatre cost one English penny, the most expensive, three English pennies.

LANGUAGE ARTSWhy do you think people are still adapting Shakespeare’s plays hundreds of years after he died? What makes his stories still relevant today? Discuss other adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays and how they compare to the ballet.

To understand The Faerie Queen, you should be familiar with terms related to the world of Shakespeare and mythology. Discuss the words below, and see if you know their meaning.

• Summer Solstice• Faerie tale• Foundling• Arranged marriage• Madness• Juxtaposition• Eros• Carnivalesque• Renaissance• Farce

Why is a Midsummer Night’s Dream considered a comedy? How does a Shakespearian comedy differ from what we typically consider to be a comedy?

The Faerie Queen takes place partly in the Land of the Faeries. What is this place, and where else is it depicted in literature?

Oberon and Hippolyta are characters from Roman mythology. Research and discuss the fascination with Greek and Roman stories that occurred in Europe during the Renaissance.

FINE ARTSThe costumes in The Faerie Queen are not classic ballet style costumes. Why do you think they chose to design the costumes that way? How does costuming effect your perception of the ballet?Ballet tells a story using movement instead of words– a challenging task indeed. Pick your favourite scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream or another work of Shakespeare and act it out without using any words.

CLASSROOM Activities

HISTORYResearch the celebration of Midsummer and the other holidays that occur on the solstices and equinoxes. What do they tell you about the cultures that celebrated them? How do they compare to holidays that are celebrated today?

SOCIAL STUDIESHow is a Shakespearean Theatre different from today’s style of theatres? Research the social structure of the Elizabethan era. During the plays, who would have had seats and who would have been standing?

It is a combination of the performers on stage and the audiences in front of them that make each performance unique.

For this reason, it is in the audience’s best interest to be visibly and audibly attentive and appreciative – the better the audience, the better the performance on stage will be.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! Write to: Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet 380 Graham Avenue Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 4K2

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LIKE ALL LIVE PRODUCTIONS, EACH BALLET PERFORMANCE ONLY HAPPENS ONCE.

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PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

IN MEMORY OF

Peter D. Curry

STUDENT MATINEE SUPPORTER