Almost a dozen young circus performers will immerse themselves in the unusual circumstances of an outlandish storybook this weekend.
Spectacle Blue Performance Company is combining dance, acting, acrobatics and aerials in its spellbinding performance Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with shows May 12 at 8 p.m. and May 13 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Ten performers ranging in age from 11 to 28 will portray the storybook’s beloved characters including Alice, the white rabbit, the Queen of Hearts, the Cheshire cat and the caterpillar in an intense circus performance.
“We are telling a non-verbal version of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland,” said Robin Szuch, artistic director and owner of Spectacle Blue. “It’s about being able to move your body in space with grace and purpose.”
The characters will be on the ground doing walkovers, back handspring and cartwheels and in the air on silks, hoops and trapezes.
“You will see all kinds of things in the show,” Szuch said. “As a circus, studio aerials is a very strong component of what we do so all of these young artists are very talented and very strong and we utilize that to have them off the ground while they tell their story.”
Dance is also a huge component of the performance, said Szuch, although there isn’t a particular dance type portrayed outside of some ballet contemporary moments.
Preparing for a show like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a huge commitment for the company’s performers, Szuch said.
Auditions are held in June for those interested in being part of the company performances.
“It’s a fairly intense commitment in order to be part of the company,” she said. “All of my performers have to take a movement class, even if it’s a dance class at another location. It’s super important that aerialists know how to move on the ground as well as in the air. In order to be a well-rounded artist you have to have as many tools in your tool belt of movement as you can.”
The company has house shows at Halloween, Christmas and in May and off-site performances throughout the year, Szuch said.
“To be part of the company they put in six to 10 hours a week,” she said. “Most train three to five days a week.”
With so much practice required, Szuch said the quality is impressive.
“These performers have always exceeded my expectations,” she said. “My expectation for the company are very high and they know that. I treat them as I would professional artists, both with my expectation of professionalism. Respect and responsibility is the same. I also have a lot of respect for them. They give me more than I ask for.”
Eighteen-year-old Brianna Knox joined the company this year after being a part of the program for the last five.
“I thought it would be a good way to spend my last year here,” she said, adding she’s heading off to university in a few months. “I love having a challenge and just pushing myself to be better.”
Knox plays a confused Alice who wanders through Wonderland meeting an array of strange characters while dancing, swinging on trapezes and doing flips in the air.
“We really tried to bring the characters to life and embrace them,” she said. “We looked back on the story and figured out who is going to be who. It’s just something different. I think people will really like it.”
Szuch said Spectacle Blue Performance Company put its own unique spin on the story of Alice in Wonderland.
“We were not influenced by any specific version of Alice in Wonderland,” she said. “In the last year I’ve read the story about five times. That’s where I got the bulk of my inspiration from.”
Szuch hopes to see large crowds watch the animated characters come to life in this unique adaptation.
“I hope people love it – we love it,” she said. “We’ve been around for five years in Okotoks and the general public is starting to know that we’re here. The biggest comment we get is, ‘I can’t believe there is a circus of this quality here in Okotoks.’”
Tickets to see Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland cost $15. The matinee show on May 12 offers a discounted $10 rate for seniors and free concession items.
To purchase tickets call 403-601-3474 or go to www.spectacleblue.ca
The studio is located at #9-1 Fisher Crescent.
