This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Of course Johnny Depp left a larger-than-life impression as the Mad Hatter in the recent movie adaptation of "Alice," but now comes the Wonderland-flavored whimsy of 300 pint-sized performers in Children's Dance Theatre.
The University of Utah's Virginia Tanner Dance Program will debut "Alice Through the Looking Glass" for its annual concert.
"We were looking for something light and whimsical we could have fun with," said Mary Ann Lee, artistic director of Children's Dance Theatre, the performance arm of Tanner Dance. "It was also nice to have a piece of literature to base the performance on to help motivate the kids to read more."
And the dancers couldn't be more excited. Eleven-year-old Annie Campbell says she feels really connected to the spirit of Alice.
"I feel like Alice is a lot like [me and my friends]," said Annie, who is performing with the sixth-grade Tanner Dance class. "She's independent and wants to go on adventures, and I'm, like, really bubbly and sort of can't wait for elementary to be over and junior high to start. She feels like she's our age."
The program features 11 other dance vignettes about Alice's journey through Wonderland. Along the way, she meets familiar characters from Lewis Carroll's classic tale, including the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar and the Red Queen. Young dancers and professional actors in the community recorded the performance's narration.
The characters and situations in "Through the Looking Glass" lend themselves to an array of dance opportunities for the children, said Joni Urry Wilson, a longtime teacher with Tanner Dance, where the dancers range in age from 5-18.
"It's wonderful because they love being able to transform into caterpillars," said Ann Carter, who teaches the fifth-grade dancers. "And because they're just kids, they know how to do that. There's not the reservation and hesitation that comes as you get older."
Meanwhile, Lydia Owens, 17, who plays Alice in the senior production, has been engaged by the psychological aspect of "Through the Looking Glass."
"Being an older dancer, you can recognize the feelings of frustration and confusion Alice goes through," Owens said. "It's a mixture of enjoyment and innocence in the dreamlike state Alice is in. But I think there are also aspects of dreams that are not all whimsy and can be kind of terrifying."
In the end, the dancers' range of emotions and interest is exactly what Lee had hoped for. "As educators, I think you want something that excites kids, that they can grab a hold of and find an aspect of the [work] that makes the most sense to them."
'Through the Looking Glass'
When • Friday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, March 26, 2 p.m.
Where • Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South, Salt Lake City
Info • $16-$25 at 801-355-ARTS or http://www.arttix.org.