Ballet Wooster to bring 'Peter and the Wolf' to life

“Peter and the Wolf” is a classic tale that not only teaches young audiences about the various instruments in the orchestra, but also teaches children the importance of following directions. Ballet Wooster will bring the story of Peter, his grandfather, the wolf and a variety of other animals to life April 25-26 in its spring production of this symphonic ballet.

Sergei Prokofiev, a Russian composer from the early 20th century, wrote the symphony. Prokofiev designed the symphony to tell a story using different instruments to represent different characters. For example, the oboe represents the duck, the clarinet represents the cat, the flute represents the bird, the bassoon represents the grandfather, the string section represents Peter, the French horn represents the wolf and the timpani represents the hunters. The ballet will be a visual depiction of the characters in the symphony using Prokofiev’s score.

“Accentuated by beautiful costumes and lifelike set pieces, the 30-minute story is narrated and highly entertaining," said Zelie McLain, who has been the artistic director of Ballet Wooster since 2022. "Volunteers, dancers and instructors have spent countless hours since January preparing for the performance, and we can’t wait to share it with you.”

Peter is played by Elise Sabourin, the bird by Abby Wiles and the duck by Olivia Carnes. All three are dancing their final performance with Ballet Wooster, as they are all graduating seniors. Rounding out the cast of characters are the cat, played by Ruthie Finney; the wolf, played by Lillian Richardson; the grandfather, played by Nash Flory; and the hunters, played by Evangeline Carter, Vivian Franks, Rosalie Houmard, Paige Murray, Ashlyn Rammel, Kylie Tietz and Leonora Zemancik.

The performance will be held at 7 p.m. April 25 and at 2 p.m. April 26 at the Wooster High School Performing Arts Center, 515 Oldman Road. Tickets can be purchased online at www.balletwooster.org or at the door the day of the performance.

In addition to “Peter and the Wolf,” attendees will be treated to an additional performance of a variety of dances in act two including over 100 Ballet Wooster dancers from age 4 and up. These dances include “Swan Lake” variations from act two, “Kitri’s Friends” from “Don Quixote,” “Waltz of the Hours” from “Coppelia,” and original choreography that includes a Tarantella-style dance, a ballet piece choreographed to Pachelbel’s Canon in D and a compilation of dances using Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.”

Choreography and/or restaging of these dances was done by Ballet Wooster instructors including Zelie McLain, Myra Yurchek, Meghan O’Planick, Heidi Vander Boon and Brenda Schwinn.

Ballet Wooster has various plans for this summer and fall.

“Ballet Wooster will offer various summer classes for ages 18 months through adults beginning in June," McLain said. "Registration is coming soon. In the near future, we will also begin renovations to our current studio space on Cleveland Road. In March of this year, we were able to acquire a third unit in the building and cannot wait to have everything completed. Improvements to enhance dancer and family experiences include an expanded waiting area, three large studios, a costume fitting and storage room, and a fresh, updated look to the building.”