Sequim ballerinas appearing in ‘Swan Lake’

Performance slated for Sunday afternoon at PA High School

 

by Diane Urbani de la Paz

For the Ballet Workshop of Port Angeles

Teenage dancers from Sequim, Port Angeles, New York and San Francisco are poised to bring “Swan Lake,” Tchaikovsky’s epic ballet, to life for a single 2 p.m. performance Sunday, June 12, at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave.

“There is so much action,” says Sequim’s Emily Grubb, “and drama. I love the drama,” in this full-scale production from the Ballet Workshop of Port Angeles.

Grubb, 16, dances the role of the Italian princess while another Sequim ballerina, 12-year-old Isabella Knott, is the Hungarian princess. They’re two among more than 60 cast members in  the production.

Like last December’s “The Nutcracker” from the Ballet Workshop, the stage will be filled with performers from across Clallam County and the continent. Sam Rodriguez, 19, is coming from New York City’s American Ballet Theatre to dance as Prince Siegfried, the romantic hero; Martina Prefontaine, 15, of the San Francisco Ballet School is his beloved Swan Queen.

Tickets to the ballet, presented by the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts, cost $15-$35 at brownpapertickets.com, Port Book and News in Port Angeles and the Joyful Noise Music Center in Sequim.

“This is the first time that ‘Swan Lake’ will be performed on the Olympic Peninsula and I couldn’t be happier to be staging it with our talented local kids,” says Kate Long, owner of the Ballet Workshop and the production’s artistic director.

Long adds that the youngsters range in age from 5-20, and for many, this production will be their first time ever onstage. For others, it’s a chance to soar in a leading role.

Port Angeles’ Mia Tatum, 17, is the Spanish princess while Kayla Avery Oakes, a faculty member at the Ballet Workshop, appears as Her Majesty the Queen. David Shargel dances the role of the Chancellor and Ava Johnson, a junior student at the Ballet Workshop, portrays the Court Jester. Noah Long, Kate Long’s brother who also danced in “The Nutcracker,” appears as the sorcerer Rothbart. His credits include dancing with the National Ballet of Canada.

In “Swan Lake,” Prince Siegfried, while out wandering, comes upon a mystical lake. Swans glide on the surface. Then his eyes settle upon a most enchanting swan, one with a crown on her head. This is Odette, the Swan Queen.

The sorcerer Rothbart sees Prince Siegfried falling for Odette. Being evil, Rothbart fools him into choosing another maiden, the Black Swan, as his bride.

“Chaos ensues as a flood overtakes the kingdom,” notes Kate Long. Come Act III, the prince must return to Swan Lake to save Odette from a terrible fate. “The audience is kept guessing,” Long promises, until moments before the curtain falls.

For more information, visit JFFA.org.