Ballet Spartanburg to Present 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

Spartanburg's Professional Dance Company and  

Dance Center Students to Use Original Choreography

Ballet Spartanburg will present its last show of the 2014-2015 season, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's most whimsical play set to original choreography by Artistic Director Carlos Agudelo, on Friday, April 24, for a one-night only production. The performance starts at 8 p.m. in Chapman Cultural Center's theater, and ticket prices range from $15 to $25.

"The course of true love never did run smooth," the hopeless romantic character Lysander said in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare used that chaos brilliantly to create his most delightful comedy that is full of star-crossed lovers; meaningless quarrels; and magic spells woven by romance and  meddlesome fairies. This timeless classic is the perfect Shakespearian play-turned-ballet for both adults and youth alike. Set to the enchanting music of Felix Mendelsohn, this ballet is comprised of dancers from Ballet Spartanburg's professional company and student dancers from The Dance Center.

"This wonderful tale unfolds in a world of love potions, spells, fairies, and magic," Agudelo said. "A supernatural world of fairies is a difficult world to tackle because the fairies are crucially important to the play, and the key to A Midsummer Night's Dream is that you believe you have entered into a mystical world."

"We want the audience to feel as if it is in the presence of fairies and magic, and anything can happen! The questions that resonate throughout the ballet are what is real, what is true, what is illusion, and what is love?" Agudelo said. "Can you have one without the other? Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in love?  So we hope to answer all those questions through the beauty of dance which is a perfect instrument of storytelling."

Emily Hodge, 13, who played Clara in Ballet Spartanburg's Christmas production of The Nutcracker is thrilled about this piece. "In A Midsummer Night's Dream, I play the part of a fairy on the one night of the year when fairies are able to interact with the real world. The night is filled with humor and love and magic. The music and costumes are beautiful, and the dances are elegant, yet fun. I think the audience will be enchanted by the magic that Ballet Spartanburg brings to this interpretation of Shakespeare's work."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream is presented by many national ballet companies around the country," Tom Jennings, Executive Director. "We are so pleased to expose this rich piece of literature to our community.  Ballet Spartanburg strives to present pieces to our community that have never been presented here before.  This ballet commands more than just dance; the dancers must evoke emotion through acting as well."

"There is no dialogue. The audience will feel the silliness of the adorable fairies and the mischievousness from the characters through music and dance. This particular comedy written by Shakespeare is so whimsical and dreamy-our audiences will love the performance. The ballet is an hour long. We will also announce before the performance our  2015-2016 season which we feel our community will be thrilled to hear", Teresa Hough, Development Director.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is sponsored by Lindsay Webster and Amy and Martial Robichaud.

For tickets, call 864.542.ARTS or go online: ChapmanCulturalCenter.org