LITTLE WOMEN BALLET

As someone who’s attended, and really enjoyed, a couple of the Little Women Ballet Immersive Experiences at the fascinating Heritage Square museum in the past year, I was very curious to see their original full-length ballet of the classic tale, Little Women, which was a visiting production at the venerable Pasadena Playhouse last weekend. And I’m happy to report that it was beautiful!

Because the immersive experiences were soooo unique, I really didn’t know what to expect from this performance. But it was just about perfect. And very professional, which I’m not sure I expected because it’s all put together by someone so young. My friend Marc and I were really pretty amazed at what the in-her-mid-twenties creator and choreographer, Emma Andres, has accomplished with her equally young troupe. It’s all so impressive!

Actually, although most of the dancers look pretty youthful, this ballet includes all ages. As a matter of fact, there’s a set of parents, an elderly aunt, and a gentleman friend. I have to admit that I’m usually not a fan of the few older characters in many ballets, (which I feel is always a bit obligatory,) unless it’s the incredible Alan Vincent in any Matthew Bourne work, but this company’s Production Advisor, Diane DeFranco Browne, as Aunt March, actually made me smile. And she got the audience clapping along a time or two, which is always fun. Marc loved her!

He also told me that Sophia Moritz as Jo and Christopher Flores as Laurie “have good chemistry together.”

For me, Claire Simmons, as Beth, is the most balletic. I could see her character’s soul through Claire’s arm movements.

We loved the whole production. It was actually the most we had ever enjoyed that theater, and we have both seen many a show there! It was such a lovely day, from start to finish. Marc said the ballet was peaceful and relaxing.

There was not a weak dancer in the bunch. As a former dancer myself, (not even close to the caliber of these talented people, though,) I was happy to see so many young LA ballet dancers have this wonderful opportunity.

The ballet tells the story of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, which follows the quartet of March sisters as they grow-up. I actually remembered a lot of the tale as it went along, such as the ice skating accident. So that means that the choreography and the characters’ portrayals are very well done. And it all begins by showing us Louisa writing her novel, which adds an extra layer of interest to the narrative.

I especially appreciated the backdrops, which were not only beautiful but also very helpful in showing us the locations of each scene, so that even someone unfamiliar with the story could figure it out. The props were also spot-on. And the costumes were good, as well. It was all accompanied by lovely music, much of it composed by Daniel Robbins. Everything about this show worked!

My favorite part of this Little Women Ballet was the ensemble wedding scene, performed by the entire corps de ballet, which closed Act One. The much bigger ballet companies that I’ve seen here in Los Angeles and in New York could not have done better!

And, of course, I adored the brief all-guys section!

There was also a short Can-Can, which was fabulous. I’ve been a fan of that dance since performing one with my Brownie troop back in the day. My mother had to buy me frilly underwear, and when we bent over at the end, which exposed our cute panties, they had pinned the troop number on all of them. Adorbs.

The Little Women Ballet featured two different casts over the weekend, so I’m discussing the one we saw on Saturday afternoon. That casting was mainly perfect, especially when we saw the little girls turn into their teenage and adult selves, which was done very smartly. We both said how extra-adorable Audrey Ye was as young Beth; I had also enjoyed her in one of the immersive shows. But it was a tad confusing in this show to see a dark-haired little girl turn into the very blonde Claire Simmons in those days waaay before hair dye. (Also, that particular scene of them growing up should be before the party scene that comes first in this production, when Meg and Jo are already grown-ups.)

There was one other thing that confused me even more as it went along—Sophia Moritz, who played Jo March, was the only one not on her toes throughout the presentation. She’s a beautiful dancer who seems perfectly capable of being en pointe, so I kept wondering what was up with that. But, luckily for all of us, I was able to ask Emma about it through a mutual acquaintance. And she explained to me that Sophia being the only one to dance in ballet slippers as opposed to toe shoes is basically to show that Jo is the “marching to her own drummer” sister. (My wording, not hers.) Actually, Emma gave each of the sisters a different footwear situation, to show their personalities. How does a twenty-six-year-old girl think of these things??? It boggles the mind.

I wonder if Emma chose Little Women for so much of her work because it’s her favorite story, or rather, because there are so many interesting characters and moving parts to the tale, that it lends itself to various entertainments.  I don’t think that a previous ballet of the story exists, so it’s a great choice.

And once again, I must say that you do not need to love Louisa May Alcott’s novel, Little Women, nor even be familiar with it, to immensely enjoy this ballet.

I have to give an odd shout-out to the timing of the entire presentation. Not only was the intermission the exact fifteen minutes that they said it would be, but the whole production ended right on time, which is rare in the theater these days.

As a happy addendum to the afternoon, we bumped into a bunch of the dancers when we were getting a bite to eat after the show, and they were all so sweet, adorable, and appreciative of our praise. They were not at all full of themselves, even though they are all so gifted. And I loved that they were so complimentary about their leader, Emma.

I suggest you see this ballet no matter where it next appears. (It was previously performed at the Wilshire Ebell, so it moves around.) To make sure that you do not miss it, please follow them on their website, right here: www.littlewomenballet.com