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Far beyond the sea lived the Emperor of China, his kingdom a beautiful garden of never-ceasing wonders. Tall shady trees ran all the way down to the ocean, and by their feet grew lovely little flowers with bells tied on them, so no one would pass by without noticing them. But loveliest of all was the nightingale that dwelt among the branches; it sang so sweetly that old faces turned young and the stones themselves had been known to shed silent tears.
Thus Hans Christian Andersen tells us in his beloved fairy tale "The Emperor and the Nightingale." Naturally, when the Emperor himself hears the nightingale sing, he grows so fond of it that he must have the bird with him all the time. But the nightingale cannot be easily commanded, even by the Emperor of China. Fortunately, as the Emperor learns, a mechanical bird can be made to perform the same feats, and then some. And so the scene is set for a parable that pits mechanization and modernization against spiritual essence; and the only thing we know for certain is that, in the end, they will all live happily ever after.
The Emperor and the Nightingale, Dance Theatre of Iowa's newest production, will premiere in the Student Union Theatre on Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m., and performances will continue November 14-15 and 18-21 (see calendar listings for performance times). The ballet promises to be an audio-visual experience extraordinaire--it is set to contemporary music with choreography by Emma Rainey, Dance Theatre of Iowa's talented Artistic Director. Fairfield artist Lyn Durham has designed the spectacular set and original costumes for the show, and Gary Holmquist, lighting designer and technical director for the University of Iowa's Dance Department, is designing the lights.
More than 34 children are busy rehearsing for the performance. Many of the dancers have studied ballet for more than five years now, and this will be a unique opportunity to enjoy the considerable talents of DTI's dancers. Starring as the nightingale is Rebecca Busch, who debuted as a dancer in 1993 at age 9 in the Joffrey production of The Nutcracker at Hancher Auditorium. Monica Ratner plays the mechanical nightingale, Laura Moses the angel of death, and Sothea Shreck the kitchen maid. Paul Stokstad is the emperor, Alexander Grace is the music master, and Sarah Posner, Kate Vigmostad, Alison Gritz, and Johannah Reimer appear as court ladies.
DTI was recently honored with a grant from the Iowa Arts Council to provide partial funding for the production, and no effort has been spared to make this a performance that will lift your heart to the stars.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children and MUM faculty, staff, and students. Reserved seats are available in the front two rows for $15. In addition, a small selection of tickets for the opening night fund raiser are available for $50; these are in addition to the regularly priced tickets for the opening evening. Participants in the fund raiser will get reserved seating and will have an opportunity to meet the dancers at a reception after the performance. All tickets are available at Somebody Cares.
