Ann Toner was 20 when she first took the stage as a ballerina. Now, her students at The School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance (where she is the director), start from as young as three. And today, these youngsters bring Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty to the stage.
The production stars a 94-member cast, ranging from the age of five to 30. “It is a set standard, choreographed by Russian ballet dancer Marius Petipa in the 19th century, with music by Tchaikovsky. It’s classical ballet, but it’s been adapted and redesigned to suit the standards of our Indian students,” explains Toner, director and choreographer of the show. There will also be a contemporary dance performance titled Emancipation .
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When Toner joined the school in 1985, the only students interested were those exposed to western classical music and dance styles. “Now people are enamoured by the twirling, balancing and gracefulness of ballet. But it’s a lot of hard work,” she says.
Her 13-year-old student, Harshita Narendran, who took to ballet even before she turned three, agrees. “My mum asked me if I wanted to learn Bharatanatyam or ballet. My choice was inspired by Barbie shows like 12 Dancing Princesses, ” she says.
Toner explains that ballet is a common set of movements, which are modified in each country. “With so many ballet schools coming up, it’s time India fronted ballet as part of its culture while still staying true to the nature of the dance — think Bollywood Salsa or Kollywood Zumba,” she says.
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Preparation on point
Over the last 30 years, the school has also staged Swan Lake , Les Sylphides, Nutcracker, Giselle and more, all choreographed by Toner. For this biennial performance, the troupe has been practising for nearly six months. Fifteen-year-old Tushti Aravind, who plays Sleeping Beauty, says it no longer feels like a fairy tale because of all the work that’s gone into the performance. “Even if there’s no class, I practise for at least half-an-hour en pointe , to refine the movements and understand the music more,” she says, adding that she has been performing since she was five.
Toner says that the biggest challenge is motivating her students to become one with the characters they are playing. “Technicality is required in ballet, but if the performers aren’t dancing immersively, it just looks like a series of gymnastics or sports movements,” she says. Narendran adds, “ Sleeping Beauty is a very emotional drama with a lot of characterisation and expression, which is not seen in most other ballets. It will be very interesting for children even if they’ve already heard of these characters.”
Today at 7 pm at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall. Tickets priced at ₹500, ₹700, ₹1000 and ₹ 2000, and available on eventjini.com. 9789073708