Fifteen-year-old Lily Davis has the role of Avery in ‘The Little Mermaid.’
Submitted photo
Performances will be June 1-2 at Wilkes University
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Lily Davis, seated, has the title role of ‘The Little Mermaid’ in the children’s ballet, to be presented along with other works June 1 and 2 by the Degnan Ballet Center at the Wilkes Conservatory. Kelly Grevera, at right, has the role of Ursula, the Sea Witch, and guest artist Brandon Forrest Binkly, at left, is the Prince.
Submitted photo
Guest artists Katharine Marianacci and Brandon Forrest Binkly from the South Carolina Ballet will dance the roles of Diana and Acteon’ as part of the spring dance production presented by The Degnan Ballet Center at the Wilkes University Conservatory this weekend.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
“It’s wonderful, a dream come true,” 15-year-old Lily Davis of Wilkes-Barre said of her starring role in “The Little Mermaid.”
“I love the entire thing!”
Truly, what’s not to love? When the Degnan Ballet Center at the Wilkes University Conservatory presents the story of this young princess of the sea June 1 and 2, audiences no doubt will cheer her on in her quest to become human.
And no doubt they’ll be delighted by the antics of dancing versions of the beloved characters from the Disney movie — including sea creatures like Flounder the fish, Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull.
There’s a sea witch, too. (Of course, there has to be a villain.) But there’s also a happy ending in this children’s ballet, with lots of fun along the way.
The spring performance, which takes place at the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, also features other works, including a pas de deux by guests artists Katharine Marianacci and Brandon Forrest Binkly from the South Carolina Ballet.
Marianacci, who studied at the Degnan Ballet Center as a child and later taught there before joining the US International Ballet Co., followed by the South Carolina Ballet, will appear with Binkly in “Diana and Acteon,” based on a story from Greek mythology.
“She’s the goddess of the hunt, bathing in a waterfall and he sees her. It’s kind of a little flirtation,” Marianacci said, explaining she and Binkly have had to adapt to the challenge of dancing with a hunter’s bow.
While a wooden bow isn’t particularly heavy, she said, it still can affect a dancer’s balance.
“Everybody thinks ballet is so sweet and gentle,” said Binkly, who stretched out on the studio floor for a moment or two after a demanding rehearsal. “But it’s intense, alchemic endurance.”
Alchemy? As in, turning a performance into gold?
Binkly, by this time on his feet, said his role as Acteon, and as the prince in “The Little Mermaid,” is “to lead by example,” demonstrating for the young dancers the “chivalry and gallantry that are part of the ballet school code” and to strive for excellence, “always with humility.”
“The girls have been working very hard,” instructor Karla Kovatch said with a smile for her young protegees as a recent rehearsal break came to an end. “It’s great for them to be able to look up to our guest artists.”
Tickets to the show are $20, available at wilkes.edu and at the box office. More info, 570-408-4426