JOIN USFairytales spring back to life
Happily Ever After’, a collection of popular children’s fairy tales, were brought to life through the beauty and elegance of classical ballet by the students of The Shona Dee Academy of Dance. Chowdaiah Memorial Hall was packed with people from different generations — from children and young adults to parents and even grandparents of the dancers — to watch the show.
Love stories with ‘they lived happily ever after’ endings and good over evil were brought out through the dances, with the movements and music creating the right emotions needed. Even the costumes were made realistic so that one could enjoy the storytelling aspect.
The first performance was a depiction of the famous tale of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ and the wolf she encountered. This was followed by ‘The Fantastic Toyshop’, where a toymaker’s entire shop full of soldiers and ballerinas came to life and performed cartwheels, acrobatic stunts and elegant group dances.
In each of the pieces, dancers of different age groups danced together and it was a sweet addition to see children dressed as flowers, butterflies, deer and even dwarfs, as was the case in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’. There was also a simple but effective rendition of the classic fairytale of ‘Sleeping Beauty’. A variety of other non-classical dance forms like hip-hop, contemporary dance and jazz ballet were also introduced to the audience, who appreciated both forms. In this section of the performance, there were dances to popular songs like ‘Titanium’, ‘Call Me Maybe’, ‘International Love’ and ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ among others. “It was not only adorable to watch some of the kids who performed but surprising to see how good they were. It was a wonderful evening and I’m glad my grandson dragged me here,” shares Nandalal, an attendee.
His thoughts resonate with others, who had not been exposed to a dance form like ballet too often. And the entire credit of the show’s success went to one woman — the director-cum-choreographer, Shona D’Sa.
“I really enjoyed seeing the difference in movements between the classical and non-classical dances. It was the right level of energy needed and the costumes were also quite delightful,” says Vikram H, an audience member.