Saturday, February 7th, 2015, I attended The Snow Maiden ballet at E.J. Thomas Hall in downtown Akron.  It was presented by The University of Akron’s Dance Institute and dedicated to Francia Albrecht who was a major supporter of classical ballet. The ballet was based off of a Russian fairy tale. The most notable version is an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It’s a story about a Snow Queen,  a couple’s desire for a child, and the Snow Maiden, the child born of that desire. The big theme I found was that love can melt the cold.

The 90-person cast was made up of a mixture of children and adult dancers with scores by Tchaikovsky and Glazunov. “Firestone High School senior Rebekah Gray is the Snow Maiden, and Walsh High School senior Alyssa Heller is the Snow Queen.” (Source)

I enjoyed this performance not because it was the best I’d ever seen, but because I could see the time and dedication put into making it great. You could tell that the main characters had practiced dance for quite a many years. The smaller children who performed were adorable. Some waved to their parents while others had a hard time keeping up with the older dancers who led them.

I’ve always been a big fan of Tchaikovsky, so hearing him combined with the performance was a great way to wrap up the evening. It was such a soothing experience and I can’t wait to check out similar events.

To keep up to date on cool, local events, check out this blog’s Facebook page.

Thanks for reading,

*Flyer design is property of University of Akron*