2022 Lawrence Ballet Theatre's Coppélia

Coppélia

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has been a favorite of mine since I danced it with Tulsa Civic Ballet in 1971, featuring famed dancers Melissa Hayden and Jacques d’Amboise in the lead roles of Swanhilda and Franz. Later in life, I had the honor of dancing Swanhilda in Tulsa Ballet’s professional production of this delightful ballet. Since I founded Lawrence Ballet Theatre (LBT) in 2010, I have wished that LBT could present this ballet. We started the production in 2020, but you know what happened. So, it is with great joy that LBT now presents this ballet to the community of Lawrence.

To lead the cast of LBT pre-professional dancers, three of the Lawrence Arts Center’s favorite performers come together for this production: Elizabeth Lollar, Tristian Griffin and Jerel Hilding. The combination of ballet technique and comedic timing makes it a challenging ballet for the cast and fun for the audience.

Coppélia breaks the notion that ballet is only serious and sad with this balletic version of a romantic comedy — no tissues, just laughs.

PRODUCTION STAFF

Gordon Marvin, Tevin Mershon

Samaria Fleig, Lexey Jost, Ezra Martinez-Haskins, Aidan Holland, Gordon Marvin, Tevin Mershon, Elliot Yochim, Alexandra Sanchez, Alia Leon, Cylas Divine-DeVictor, El Lord, Fletcher Mack, Isabel Sanchez, Lacey Cooper, Laurel Hunsinger, Quinn Nissen

Beth Dearinger, Megan Greene Beth Dearinger, Allison McNellis

ACT ONE

The story opens in the public square of a central European town. A young girl reading a book sits on the balcony of Dr. Coppélius’ house. Swanhilda enters and tries to get the attention of the girl they call Coppélia, believed to be the daughter of the mysterious Dr. Coppélius. When Franz arrives, Swanhilda hides to surprise her sweetheart but catches him blowing kisses to Coppélia. A lovers’ quarrel ensues but is interrupted by the arrival of the villagers. The Burgomeister announces the unveiling of the new bell for the clock tower will happen the next day. All who are married on that day will be given a generous dowry. Swanhilda’s mother passes out wheat stalks to the girls. It is said that if you shake a piece of wheat and hear a rattle, your sweetheart is true to you. Swanhilda does not hear her wheat stalk rattle, which confirms for her that Franz has not been true. As night falls, Dr. Coppélius comes out of his house. He is surrounded by a group of boys who try to compel him to dance. In the shuffle, he drops his key. Swanhilda and her friends find the key and enter the house, hoping to meet this girl who has caught Franz’s attention. Franz, not sure which girl he wants, climbs into the window so he can meet the beautiful Coppélia.

ACT TWO

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Inside Dr. Coppélius’ house, Swanhilda and her friends are delighted by the amazing mechanical dolls he has built. They soon discover that Coppélia is nothing but a doll. Dr. Coppélius returns, and all but Swanhilda flee. When Coppélius discovers Franz sneaking into his house, he devises a sinister plot. He tricks Franz into drinking a drugged wine so that he can use alchemy to magically transfer the human spirit of Franz into the doll Coppélia. It appears Dr. Coppélius’ magic is working as his beautiful doll becomes animated and human. As the doll becomes full of mischief, it is revealed that Dr.Coppélius has been tricked, for it is Swanhilda dressed as Coppélia. Franz, realizing his folly of being attracted to another girl, proposes to Swanhilda.

ACT THREE

The villagers gather to celebrate two events: the marriage of Swanhilda to Franz and the new bell for the town clock. The festival includes divertissements reflecting the different lifetimes as all revel in this happy day.

Coppélia

Dr. Coppélius: Jerel Hilding

Swanhilda: Elizabeth Lollar

Frantz: Tristian Griffin

Coppélia: Madi Pierson

Swanhilda’s Mother: Shannon Pickett

Burgomeister: Kory Kaul

Swanhilda’s Friends: Rhubarb Brubacher, Gracia Greenhoot, Linnaea Radley, Jahnava Sibilla, Celeste Stinson, Grace Xie

Villagers: Henry Horan, Zana Kennedy, Finn Lotton-Barker, Phoebe Morris with Photina Adrian, Odelia Colvin, Isla Gnojek, Zoë Kaul, Nathan Kramer, Annalise Lantz, Belzimere Maletsky, Maria Mosconi, Kellar Musser, Mary Swartzlander, Sydney Tiemann, Genevieve Williams and Bridgett Collins, Alana Stewart, Elise Vigne, Nichole Weis, James Whittaker

Spanish Doll: Finn Lotton-Barker

Scottish Doll: Zana Kennedy

Sailor Doll: Henry Horan

Chinese Doll: Phoebe Morris

Mechanical Monkey: Nathan Kramer

Waltz of the Hours: Isla Gnojek, Zoë Kaul, Maria Mosconi, Kellar Musser, and Photina Adrian, Odelia Colvin,, Annalise Lantz, Belzimere Maletsky, Madi Pierson, Mary Swartzlander, Sydney Tiemann, Genevieve Williams

Dawn: Gracia Greenhoot with Bridgett Collins, Zoë Kaul, Kellar Musser, Alana Stewart, Mary Swartzlander, Sydney Tiemann, Elise Vigne, Nicole Weis

Prayer: Linnaea Radley with Photina Adrian, Odelia Colvin, Isla Gnojek, Annalise Lantz, Belzimere Maletsky, Maria Mosconi, Madi Pierson, Genevieve Williams

Harvest: Rhubarb Brubacher, Zana Kennedy, Phoebe Morris, Jahnava Sibilla, Celeste Stinson

Marriage: Rhubarb Brubacher, Zana Kennedy, Phoebe Morris, Jahnava Sibilla, Celeste Stinson

War and Peace: Henry Horan, Nathan Kramer, Finn Lotton-Barker, Grace Xie

Wedding Pas de Deux: Elizabeth Lollar and Tristian Griffin

Finale: Full Cast

SPECIAL THANKS

To the Lawrence Arts Center for their dedication to maintaining a pre-professional dance company in its programming; Max Griffith for his expertise with the audio files; and the parents of LBT members, past and present, who support this company and its dancers. Many thanks to Megan Green, Cami Kennedy, Lisa Dahl, Nikki Stewart, Alana Stewart and Genevieve Williams, who spent many hours cutting, pinning and sewing. Special mention to Beth Dearinger for creating the Doll costumes.

A very special thank you to Wanwan Cai for creating the authentic Chinese Doll dance.

ARTISITIC STAFF

Cynthia Crews (Artistic Director of Lawrence Ballet Theatre)

Cynthia started her dance training in Tulsa, Okla., with Roman Jasinski and Moscelyn Larkin, acclaimed Ballet Russe stars and co-founders of Tulsa Ballet Theatre. She performed solo roles with Tulsa Civic Ballet, including Tulsa’s first Clara in The Nutcracker, before continuing her dance education in New York as a full-scholarship student for Joffrey Ballet and Harkness Ballet. She then returned to Oklahoma and earned a BFA in Ballet Pedagogy from The University of Oklahoma.

Cynthia performed as a principal with Tulsa Ballet Theatre for nine years. She danced leading roles in Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Ruth Page’s Die Fledermaus, Peter Anastos’ Footage, Loyce Holton’s Wingborne, and Giselle, Coppélia, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She also taught master classes, performed as a guest artist and presented numerous school lecture demonstrations each year. Cynthia has performed and choreographed in various community and professional musical theater productions for organizations, including Oklahoma’s Discoveryland Outdoor Dramas, Theatre Tulsa and Florida’s Manatee Players.

Cynthia’s teaching career began at The School of Tampa Ballet. It continued at the Post School of Ballet in Roanoke, Va., and Jasinski Academy, the former official school for Tulsa Ballet. At the collegiate level, she has served as an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and as a guest lecturer at the University of Kansas. Cynthia joined the Lawrence Arts Center in 2004, teaching primarily ballet and pointe. She is the founder and artistic director of the Lawrence Ballet Theatre. Cynthia is the current Vice President of Regional Dance America/MidStates and sits on the National Board for Regional Dance America, serving as Scholarship Chair.

Shannon Pickett (staging and choreography)

Shannon received her initial ballet training under Christine Fossemalle in Hot Springs, Ark., and Barbara Ebert in Topeka, Kan. As a teenager and young adult, Shannon had the opportunity to dance many solo and lead roles with Ballet Midwest, a civic ballet company in Topeka specializing in classical repertoire. While at Ballet Midwest, Shannon danced lead roles in ballets such as Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Nutcracker. She also began her teacher training under Barbara Ebert in high school and continued her training at the University of Kansas.

Shannon studied dance on scholarship at the University of Kansas with Jerel and Krystyna Hilding, both former Joffrey Ballet dancers. She performed leading roles in original ballet, jazz and modern works with the University Dance Company while completing her BA in English.

Shannon has worked with the dance program at the Arts Center for 20 years as a dance instructor, performer, choreographer and show director. Shannon danced the title role in the Arts Center’s production of The Snow Queen, as well as

the roles of Hummingbird and Snow Queen in past productions of The Nutcracker, A Kansas Ballet. This year Shannon is working with LBT as a choreographer and rehearsal director. In addition to teaching dance, Shannon also holds an MA in education and teaches English Language Arts at Eudora High School.

Tristian Griffin (Franz)

A native of Kansas City, Tristian Griffin graduated from Texas Christian University with a BFA in Ballet and a minor in English. Following graduation, Griffin danced for Garth Fagan Dance Company for three years. More recently, he performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Springboard Danse Montreal and Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. Dancing works by William Forsythe, Ronald K. Brown, Ohad Naharin, Gary Abbott, Gregory Dawson, Christian Von Howard, Frank Chaves and Christian Denice. He was selected for the Charlotte Street Foundation’s studio residency program and Friends of Alvin Ailey. As a choreographer, Tristian has been commissioned by the University of Kansas, Island Moving Company, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Regina Klenjoski Dance Company and Malashock Dance Company. Tristian started his own dance company, Tristian Griffin Dance Company, in 2019. TGDC has appeared at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Charlotte Street Foundation, KC Fringe Festival, International Dance Festival, Newport Dance Festival and Dance St. Louis. Over the past year, he taught full-time at the University of Kansas as a Visiting Professor of Practice.

Elizabeth Lollar (Swanhilda)

Elizabeth Lollar began her formal training in 2007 with the Southold Dance Theatre in South Bend, Ind. and shortly after began studying with Bonnie Boilini Baxter. She worked with Ms. Baxter for five years and then moved to Lawrence, Kan., in 2011, where she trained at the Lawrence Arts Center for nine years. Lollar was a member of the Lawrence Ballet Theatre pre-professional company under the direction of Cynthia Crews for six years (2014-2020). While in the company, she worked with guest artists, including Paula Weber, Kameron Saunders, Kristopher Estes-Brown and Melissa Hale Coyle. She has attended the Regional Dance America Festival seven times with LBT, where, this past year, she received the Director’s Choice Award for Emerging Choreography for a piece she set on the company.

She attends the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of MissouriKansas City. At UMKC, she has enjoyed performing work by choreographers Tom Gold, Tempe Ostergren, Ronald Tice, Gary Abbot, DeeAnna Hiett, Kameron Saunders, Michael Blake, Ray Mercer and Karen Brown. Through the conservatory, she has attended workshops and masterclasses with artists from Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Tristian Griffin Dance Company, Ailey II and Parsons Dance. She also recently attended the Regional Dance America National

Choreography Intensive as an Emerging Choreographer and enjoyed working with esteemed Directors of Music and Dance, Pablo Piantino and Penny Saunders.

Jerel Hilding (Dr. Coppélius)

Jerel Hilding was a principal dancer with the Joffrey Ballet for 15 years, performing in works by many of the most influential choreographers of the last 100 years, including George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, John Cranko, Kurt Jooss, Leonide Massine and Gerald Arpino. Jerel began his dance training in New Orleans while earning a BA in musicology at Louisiana State University in New Orleans (now the University of New Orleans). He recently retired in 2020 from the University of Kansas, where he was a professor of dance teaching all levels of ballet, pointe, pas de deux, music for dancers and choreographing for the University Dance Company. He has appeared as a guest artist in various Arts Center productions and also has accompanied ballet classes at the University of Kansas, the Lawrence Arts Center and the Lawrence Dance Intensive.

Ian VanDusen (Lighting Design, Stage Manager)

Ian is from Kansas City and started their career in 2017, right after graduating high school. Over the years, he has worked to build up his career, beginning as a technician and recently moving toward the designer role. He has worked with Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Faust Theater, Heritage Christian Academy and Hope Chapel. Ian attended the University of Missouri Kansas City and graduated in 2021 with a degree in Lighting Design. Since graduating, Ian has worked full-time as a freelance Lighting Designer, Projections Designer, Photographer, Director of Photography and Sound Designer. https://www.ianvdesigns.com/

LAWRENCE BALLET THEATRE COMPANY MEMBERS

Main Company

Rhubarb Brubacher, Isla Gnojek, Gracia Greenhoot, Henry Horan, Zoë Kaul, Zana Kennedy, Finn Lotton-Barker, Belzimere Maletsky, Phoebe Morris, Maria Mosconi, Linnaea Radley, Jahnava Sibilla, Celeste Stinson, Grace Xie

Apprentice Company

Photina Adrian, Odelia Colvin, Nathan Kramer, Annalise Lantz, Kellar Musser, Madi Pierson, Mary Swartzlander, Sydney Tiemann, Genevieve Williams

SPRING DOUBLE DANCE FEATURE

BALLET THEATER’S