THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040035
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
FROM THE puppet-with-a-heart tragicomedy of ``Petrouchka'' to the dreams-can-come-true sagas of ``Cinderella'' and ``The Nutcracker,'' fairy tales have long provided the fantastical fodder for great ballets. Now the Grimm Brothers classic ``Snow White,'' best known from Walt Disney's animated interpretation, comes to life en pointe with a world premiere performance by the Old Dominion University Ballet.
ODU ballet director Istvan Ament hopes children will take to his version as readily as they embraced Uncle Walt's.
``I arrived personally to the conclusion that we really have to teach the growing children that going to the theater is a special event,'' Ament said, ``that there they can find the same kind of entertainment, the same type of joy and emotional result just like going to the movies or anything else.''
Ament choreographed, wrote a theatrical libretto and arranged Sergei Prokofiev's music for the show. It debuts at the Virginia Beach Pavilion on Friday evening, with additional performances at the University Theater in Norfolk next weekend.
Ament has choreographed more than 40 ballets in his lifetime, most dealing with weighty messages aimed at adults. ``Snow White'' reflects his growing interest in ``educating a young audience for the future,'' he said.
Ament's search for appropriate subject matter began early last year. He was immediately drawn to the story of the lovely princess who befriends seven industrious dwarves, is poisoned by an evil queen, then revived by a dashing prince. He found in the plot enough colorful characters, enchanting locations and moral framework to easily captivate children and engage adults as well.
He researched the tale by rereading the Grimm Brothers' version, which he'd learned as a child, and borrowing a copy of the animated Disney film. Though most of the American public has been raised on the Disney rendition, Ament says, he opted to combine both versions.
Ament wrote a theatrical libretto, then searched for music. ``I considered several composers,'' he said. ``At first I was considering using one single work, but very quickly I realized they are not descriptive, and emotionally, it wouldn't be enough support for the different scenes, so I had to piece it together.
``Listening to hundreds of hours of music, I decided that the best would be Prokofiev,'' who composed the score for the ``Cinderella'' ballet, which Ament has presented with ODU Ballet. He chose selections from the Seventh Symphony, ``The Stone Flower,'' ``Peter and the Wolf,'' ``Summer Day'' and ``Winter Bonfire.''
``I arranged it, put it together, then asked three professional musicians to listen to see if as a unit, as a whole, it could stand by itself.'' It passed the test.
Though the Grimm and Disney versions of the Snow White story are very similar, there are a few significant differences, Ament points out.
``Disney made a very conscious choice to make the dwarves individual characters'' - distinct personality traits like Happy, Dopey, Sleepy, etc. - ``which is completely against the symbol of what they are. They symbolize the passion for work and the happiness that work gives to mankind. They are used in almost all fairy tales as a teaching tool to youngsters that you should work because that makes you happy and productive.
``In the ballet, I tried to use the dwarves as a unit, almost like a chorus. They dance together; they move together. I didn't create the individual characters because I really wanted to emphasize Snow White. This is really her story.''
Another difference is the fate of the evil queen. The Grimms have the queen dance herself to death in a pair of red shoes. A British film of Snow White starring Diana Rigg as the queen puts her in a pair of iron shoes that kill her after becoming red hot. In the Disney scenario, the dwarves throw the queen into a ditch after returning home from work to find their beloved Snow White dead.
Again, Ament combines elements of each story in his ballet. His queen arrives at Snow White's wedding celebration, dances with the others, then is thrown offstage by the dwarves.
The role of the prince will be performed by Virginia Beach resident Steve Schmitter. A lifelong athlete and current computer science teacher and soccer coach at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, Schmitter would seem the last guy anybody would expect to be a ballet dancer.
He was formally introduced to the world of dance ``just after college with a young lady who needed a partner,'' Schmitter recalled after a Snow White rehearsal. ``It was modern dance and at first I said, `Forget it, I'm not going to put on tights!' But she was pretty enough and intriguing enough that I went for it.''
Schmitter enjoyed the sheer physicality of his modern dance experience and was hooked. Not long after, some of his fellow modern dancers introduced him to ballet, an equally arduous form.
``It turned out to be a real blessing,'' he said. ``I've always been an athlete and this took the place of that outlet - it's musical, it's acting and it's very physical for men.''
It is surprising - and not - that Snow White has gone heretofore untouched by the ballet world.
``The story lends itself very much to dance,'' Ament remarked, ``(but) it's a tremendous challenge after the immense popularity of the Disney movie. I was terrified when I started working on the ballet how it was going to compare. Would I be able to tell the story of Snow White - believably - in dance, almost completely eliminate pantomime?
``Every character, you have to come up with a completely different language. Not just different costumes, but in the medium of dance, different movements which would suggest character. I took it upon myself as a personal challenge. It was a wonderful struggle. I think it came out fine, and I hope other companies will pick it up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Steve Schmitter, who plays the prince, dances with Jennifer Weidner
in the ODU production of ``Snow White.''
Graphic
DANCE FACTS
What: The world premiere of ``Snow White,'' performed by the
Old Dominion University Ballet. Choreography and libretto by Istvan
Ament, director. Music by Prokofiev, arranged by Ament.
Also, ``Ballads and Blues,'' choreographed by Gwen Spear Meng,
music by George Winston.
When, where: 8 p.m. Friday at the Virginia Beach Pavilion. Also
at 8 p.m. May 12 and 13 and 3 p.m. May 14 at the University Theater,
Norfolk.
Tickets: $10 and $12. 683-4486.
by CNB