Union County PAC, 1601 Irving Avenue, Rahway
- Saturday, April 30, 8:00 PM
Swan Lake Act II and more
Tickets are $37, $32, $27, $32 - Sunday, May 1, 3:00 PM
Sleeping Beauty
Tickets are: $22 and $15
Box Office: 732.499.8226 or www.ucpac.org
bergenPAC, Van Brunt Street, Englewood
- Saturday, May 7, 8:00 PM
Swan Lake Act II and more
Tickets are $20 to $50 - Sunday, May 8, 4:30 PM
Sleeping Beauty
Tickets are: $20 to $35
Box Office: 201.227.1030 or www.bergenpac.org.
In the next few weeks, New Jersey’s Favorite Dance Company, the New Jersey Ballet, will visit Rahway and Englewood with two of its most popular productions: Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Performed with New Jersey Ballet’s original “storyteller” narration, It’s a splendid introduction to dance theatre for young people and enjoyable entertainment for the whole family.
Saturday night audiences will get to see both White Swan and Black Swan when the company performs Swan Lake Act II and other classics. The second act of Swan Lake features the Swan Queen (white swan) and the Prince who meet and fall in love beside Swan Lake. The Swan Queen was a human Princess named Odette who was turned into a Swan by an evil Sorcerer. The spell can only be broken by a Prince whose love is steadfast and pure. Later in the ballet, the sorcerer brings his daughter, Odile, to a lavish ball at the palace. Odile is a look alike to Odette but for one thing: Odile is dressed all in black. When the prince sees Odile, he mistakes her for his beloved and pledges his love to her, condemning Odette, to remain a Swan forever. (Above: Ballerina Mari Sugawa is the Swan Queen Odette and Vladimir Roje, the Prince, in New Jersey Ballet's Swan Lake. Photo:Joseph Schembri)
The famous Black Swan Pas de Deux from the third act is also on the program.
The evening also includes Walpurgisnacht, the bacchanale from Faust, in which dancers in the roles of nymphs and satyrs, show off spectacular jumps and lifts as they cavort playfully at the gates of Hades.
Sunday Matinees are family times perfect for going out to lunch and then seeing Sleeping Beauty. This beautiful fairy tale ballet, with its famous Tchaikovsky score, is filled with high drama, tender romance, and a cast of favorite fairytale characters including Princess Aurora, the Handsome Prince, the Lilac Fairy, the wicked fairy Carabosse (left), Puss in Boots, Red Riding Hood and more. New Jersey Ballet’s troupe of international artists brings the story to life with elaborate pantomime and glorious dancing in a magical fairytale castle, with phantasmagorical costumes straight out of an old storybook. (Above: The wicked fairy Carabosse hurls her curse at the Queen in New Jersey Ballet's Sleeping Beauty. Photo: Joseph Schembri)
New Jersey Ballet is committed to making its performances fully accessible to everyone who wishes to attend. The theatres where the company performs meet ADA barrier-free requirements and offer assistive listening equipment. Upon request, program information and/or program notes are available on audio cassette up to 2 weeks prior to performances. Large print programs are available at all performances. New Jersey Ballet’s extensive performance schedule is made possible in part by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and by other generous corporate, foundation, and individual contributors. The company has been designated a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for “artistic excellence, substantial programming, and broad public service.” New Jersey Ballet was recently voted New Jersey’s Favorite Dance Company for the second year in a row. For more information and a complete performance schedule, visit New Jersey Ballet on the Web at www njballet.org
