The beloved, playful and colourful production of Anne of Green Gables is being staged in Vernon.
The Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre Society proudly presents Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� by Canada鈥檚 Ballet J枚rgen, (an audience favourite who most recently brought us Coppelia and Anastasia), at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre for one night only, Sunday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� is the third show in the Society鈥檚 2019-20 SPOTLIGHT Dance Series.
Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� is a brand new, full-length ballet based on the beloved 1908 Canadian novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery, following the adventures of Anne Shirley, an orphan girl sent to live on a farm in the fictional town of Avonlea, Prince Edward Island.
The highly imaginative and precocious 11-year-old, Anne, is mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, who anticipated adopting a boy to help run their farm at Green Gables. When Anne Shirley wins over the hearts of her new guardians, Anne begins to thrive in the close-knit farming community, making friends and enjoying the idyllic town of Avonlea. Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� is sure to become an instant favourite for Canadian audiences of all ages.
Canada鈥檚 Ballet Jorgen is committed to telling Canadian stories by Canadian Choreographers. Director Bengt Jorgen turned to what he calls 鈥減erhaps the most quintessential Canadian story鈥� of all time. Jorgen has choreographed the work and collaborated with Alexander Levkovich, who orchestrated a version of the familiar Anne of Green Gables-The Musical鈩� score, (originally composed by Norman Campbell), with costumes and set design by Sue LePage.
鈥淎nne is a strong, female character who鈥檚 exuberant, bubbly and emotional, and made to dance,鈥� says Jorgen. 鈥淧eople connect with this work because she鈥檚 human. It doesn鈥檛 matter what time period you put Anne in, she鈥檚 universal.鈥� The cast features Hannah Mae Cruddas as Anne, Daniel Da Silva as Gilbert Blythe, Hiroto Saito as Matthew Cuthbert and Clea Iveson as Marilla Cuthbert.
This first-ever full-length ballet staged its world premiere on Sept. 28, 2019 in Halifax, Nova Scotia which launched a two-year tour of Canada and the US. The project was announced as part of Ballet Jorgen鈥檚 post-show public talk-back following their SPOTLIGHT Season performance of Coppelia at Vernon鈥檚 Performing Arts Centre in February 2019.
鈥淚t鈥檚 awesome that so much creativity has been accomplished in such a relatively short period of time since,鈥� said the Society鈥檚 artistic director, Erin Kennedy.
Of the premiere performance, a Halifax audience member posted:
鈥淚f [L.M.] Montgomery鈥檚 words could dance off the pages, this is exactly how they would look.鈥�
Audiences can see photo galleries, preview videos and a 鈥淏ook to Ballet鈥� documentary video at:
Ballet J枚rgen will be hosting a Master Class for dance students Saturday, Feb. 1, in the at the Performing Arts Centre鈥檚 Marie Fleming Hall, where students aged 14+ are invited to take a class taught by a Ballet Jorgen dancer. Pre-registration is required as space is limited. Enrolment in the Master Class includes a ticket to the Sunday night鈥檚 performance. To register, call the Society鈥檚 Ticketseller Box Office at 250-549-7469.
Local dancers are also wanted for Ballet J枚rgen鈥檚 Local Participant Program, which calls for young dancers to join the company onstage during the performance of Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩�. The Company will be hosting auditions for their Education programs in the Marie Fleming Hall on Febr. 1. Visit for more information about the Local Participant Program, how to participate and for other Education programs.
Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� is made possible with the assistance of the heirs of Lucy Maud Montgomery and in partnership with Avonlea Productions Ltd. And Erinsharn Productions Ltd. The creation of Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� is made possible by Margaret and David Fountain with additional support from the Sobey Foundation and The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain. National Presenting Partner is BMO Financial Group and creative media support is provided by the George Brown College Centre for Arts, Design and Information.
Tickets for Ballet J枚rgen鈥檚 Anne of Green Gables 鈥� The Ballet鈩� are $49 for adults, $47 for seniors and $44 for students and can be purchased now through the Ticketseller Box Office by calling 549-SHOW (7469) or online at .
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