Curiouser and curiouser is certainly how you’ll feel after watching Septime Webre’s ALICE (in wonderland) at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House.
The show is a delight to the eye and ear. Webre, the innovative artistic director for the Washington Ballet, premiered ALICE at the Kennedy Center in 2012. But even in 2016, performed by the Colorado ballet with the same costumes and scenery, the effect remains dazzling. It’s a show the Washington Post aptly described when it premiered as “wacky ballet, a theatrical extravaganza whose charms don’t give out until composer/conductor/first violinist Matthew Pierce plays his last note of his beautifully realized score.”
Entering Webre’s psychedelic vision of Alice is like watching a pop-art painting in motion — the costumes, set design and music, all come together in whimsy that is both high-fashion, fantastical and simply a lot of fun to look at.
That’s because the creative collaboration for ALICE is a dream team of sorts, with Cirque du Soleil designer Liz Vandal behind the vibrant costumes, an original score by composer-violinist Matthew Pierce, set design by James Kronzer and puppetry by Eric Van Wyk.
With 13 string players and two percussionists, Colorado Ballet’s conductor Adam Flatt does not disappoint and keeps the music pulsing to match the corps’ high-intensity movement.
ALICE has an aesthetic akin to the beautiful surrealist world of Michel Gondry — think “Science of Sleep,” but with dancers. Or even of Wes Anderson, with its minimalist set dotted with brilliant flashes of color — whether it’s the fiery red tights of the Queen of Hearts or the oversized, retro flamingo peeking out from the wings.
The show begins with a prologue where we see Alice with her family, and the fun here is remembering which family members become which whimsical characters later on in the production.
It’s also here that Alice meets Lewis Carroll, who takes her on a boat ride to a picnic in the country. To get there, the pair step into a handmade canoe and proceed to wade through blue silk ribbons that flow across the stage — all against a dreamy, white backdrop.
Later in the scene, after we see Alice fall down the rabbit hole via a harness that lifts her high in the air, the curtains close and we are presented with a “puppet” version of Alice, spinning round and round and round.
Alice, played by Sharon Wehner, is lithe, intrepid and seemingly ageless, despite that this is Wehner’s 20th season with the Colorado Ballet.
For this reimagined Alice, Webre took inspiration from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” “Through the Looking-Glass” and “What Alice Found There.”
As a result, audience members are dazzled through the show by an array of characters, some they are familiar and some they may not be: from the Dodo and Eaglet to the Frog-Footman. The grand pas de deux of the Dodo and Eaglet is just one of the many examples of technical, difficult partnering that pairs with the footloose and fancy free-spirit coursing through the show.
Yosvani Ramos delights as the Dodo and has enviable control of every fouette and pirouette while making his movements seem effortless.
The Caterpillar, played by Melissa Zoebisch, never leaves the ground. She also emphasizes the beauty and strength of the corps dancers, who stand below her and hold her up as she writhes serpentinely towards Alice and the audience. The choreography is sometimes reminiscent of the modern dance troupe Pilobolus, with their gymnastic, weight-sharing partnering.
The show has lots of “cute” factor to balance out the intensity, with the company’s youngest members providing short stints as cuddly piglets, flamingos and of course, hedgehog/croquet balls for the evil and delightfully sultry Queen of Hearts performed by Maria Mosina.
ALICE proves Denver’s dance scene is alive, thriving and certainly full of wonder.
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“ALICE (in wonderland)”
Through Feb. 28 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House with live music by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra
Tickets for remaining dates are sold out.