MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Morgantown’s Metropolitan Theater will host a dance tribute to one of the most well known stories in history this weekend.
Starting Saturday, The Met features Alice in Wonderland in a compilation performance which includes multiple interpretations of dance from local performers with the Morgantown Dance Sutdio and Morgantown Ballet Company.
“There’s tapdance, there’s a little bit of contempary, modern, then there’s a little bit of the traditional ballet,” said Jessica Lee of the Morgantown Ballet Company. “Alice is actually on point in the show, so yeah there’s a good variety.”
This take on Alice in Wonderland is expected to blend in both the darker and lighter elements of the Lewis Carroll tale — aspects that are both common in the modern takes and the older tellings of the 154-year-old story. With the contrasts and variations in how the tale is presented and how different age groups look at the story, it was an easy decision for the Morgantown Dance Studio and Morgantown Ballet to collaborate.
“We were looking for a show that we would capture an audience,” said Lee. “It’s interesting to get people involved with the ballet that would see dance that wouldn’t normally. So when you take a story like Alice that people are familiar with and you put it out there it attracts a lot more attention and people to come and see this dance.”
Lee says to expect diversity in both style in dances and with the scenery and other visuals. As with the different interpretations of the story presented over the past 150 years, there will be different interpretations of certain scenes that will include aspects of light and dark in comparison.
“We kind of have a little melting pot I guess of vision in the show,” she said. “The scenery is very colorful and with a little bit of animated feel and then a little bit of darkness too, because Alice in Wonderland kind of has all of that incorporated into it’s story but definitely bery bright and lots of set pieces. We have a giant mushroom the caterpillar sits on and some really really cool stuff.”
While there will be a diverse set of visuals being presented in this adaptation, there will be some consistent elements as well. The time frame and in certain aspects costumes have relatively stayed the same.
“And then the costumes are more of a traditional feel that fits the time period that’s relative to the story,” Lee said. “Some bright colors, definitely a lot of red for the Red Queen, but then also a little bit more muted so they kind of stand out from the scenery at view so it doesn’t all blend in. So it’s a nice mix what’s going on onstage.”
There will be three performances of Alice in Wonderland at The Met during St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The first performances are Saturday at 2:30 p.m and again at 7:30 p.m.
Another showing is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m.