“Love is in the Air”

Valentines Cocktails & Gala  Performance

In the Courtyard

Friday February 15^th at 6:30pm

Saturday February 16^th at 6:30pm

“The Sleeping Beauty”

Restaged by Darren McIntyre

At the Davis Theatre

LEAP School performance

Friday March 15^th at 10am

Public Performances

Friday March 15^th at 7:30pm

Saturday March 16^th at 2pm & 7:30pm

Sunday March 17^th at 2pm

The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was by Pyotr Tchaikovsky (his Opus 66). The score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his three ballets. The original scenario was conceived by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and is based on Charles Perrault's La Belle au bois dormant. The choreographer of the original production was Marius Petipa. The premiere performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1890. The work has become one of the classical repertoire's most famous ballets.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue
In a magical Fairyale Kingdom, King Florestan the XXIVth declares a grand christening ceremony to be held in honor of the birth of his daughter, Princess Aurora named after the dawn. An entourage of six fairies is invited to the Christening to be godmothers to the child. They are the Candide Fairy, the Coulante Fairy, the Miettes Fairy, the Canari Fairy, the Violente Fairy and—most importantly—the Lilac Fairy, who is the last to arrive (the names of fairies and their gifts vary in productions). As the fairies are happily granting gifts of honesty, grace, prosperity, song and generosity, they are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the wicked fairy Carabosse, who is furious at the King's failure to invite her to the ceremony. The King and Queen begin to remonstrate, and the Master of Ceremonies, Catallabutte, intervenes to take responsibility, whereupon Carabosse rips off his wig, laughing. With spite and rage, Carabosse declares her curse on Princess Aurora: she will prick her finger on her sixteenth birthday and die. But all is not lost: the Lilac Fairy, fortunately, has not yet granted her gift to the Princess. She acknowledges that Carabosse's power is immense and she cannot completely reverse the curse. However, she declares, though the Princess shall indeed prick her finger, she will not die, but instead sleep for 100 years until she is awakened by the kiss of a prince. Carabosse departs, and the curtain falls as the good fairies surround the cradle.

Act I
It is Princess Aurora's sixteenth birthday. Celebrations are already underway: the atmosphere is festive, made complete with a waltz danced by the villagers with garlands. There are women knitting close by: Catallabutte orders them taken away to prison lest their needles precipitate calamity. The king angrily agrees, as he has decreed. After entreaties by the four princes, the women are reprieved amidst rejoicing. Aurora receives her four royal suitors and their gifts of exquisite roses. Soon after, Aurora is presented with a spindle as a gift from a disguised Carabosse—an object which she has never before seen. Carelessly, she dances with it despite her mother and father's warnings before accidentally pricking herself. She faints. To the horror of all, Carabosse immediately reveals her true wicked self triumphantly, vanishing before the princes can vanquish her. The princes and their attendants depart for their native countries in fear. At that very moment, the Lilac Fairy appears as she had promised. She reminds the remaining guests and the King and Queen of her gift—Aurora will not die, but merely sleep. She then casts a spell of slumber upon the entire kingdom so that they will only awake when Aurora does.

Act II
One hundred years later, Prince Désiré (in some productions, Florimund) is at a hunting party with his companions. He is not happy and his hunting party tries to cheer him up with a game of blind man's bluff and a series of dances. Still unhappy, he asks to be alone and the hunting party departs. Suddenly, Désiré sees the Lilac Fairy who presents him with a vision of Aurora and he is entranced by her beauty. The Prince pleads with the Lilac Fairy to bring him to see Princess Aurora, to which the latter consents. The Prince discovers the castle, which is now overgrown in thick vines. His first act is to defeat Carabosse. Once past her and inside the castle, the Prince finds Aurora and awakens her with a kiss. The entire kingdom awakes with her. The Prince then declares his love for Aurora and proposes to her. The King and the Queen are happy to give their blessings.

Act III
Preparations for the wedding are made. On the day of the festivities, different fairies are invited. These are the fairies to bless the marriage – The Gold Fairy, the Ruby Fairy, the Sapphire Fairy, The Emerald Fairy,  and the Diamond Fairy. The Lilac Fairy also makes an appearance. Many fairytale characters, such as Puss in Boots and the White Cat, are also among the guests. A golden chain of dances is held, including a Pas de Quatre for the four precious jewel and metal fairies, a dance for Puss in Boots and the White Cat, a Pas de Deux for the Bluebird and Princess Florine, a dance for Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, a dance for Cinderella and Prince Charming, and a Pas de Deux for Aurora and Désiré. The Prince and the Princess are wed, and the Lilac Fairy blesses their marriage. The ballet ends with an apotheosis (apothéose) where all the characters make a final bow and like every great fairytale, they seal their marriage with a kiss and live happily ever after.

"Mary Poppins”

Montgomery Ballet School's Recital Production

At the Davis Theatre

Friday May 24^th at 6pm

Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by the Sherman Brothers. It was shot at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mary Poppins and the film also won Oscars for Best Film Editing, Original Music Score, Best Song for "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and Best Visual Effects, and received a total of 13 nominations

SYNOPSIS

London banker George Banks advertises for a nanny in the Times when his wife, a suffragette, has difficulty finding a governess firm enough to handle their children, Jane and Michael. The children also write an advertisement, but Mr. Banks throws it into the fireplace. The next morning, a number of severe-looking women apply for the job, but a strong wind blows them away; Mary Poppins glides down from the sky on her umbrella, is interviewed by Mr. Banks, and decides to give the family a trial period. She gets the children to clean up the nursery, making the task enjoyable with her magic, and then takes them for a walk. They enter a picture of the countryside that her friend Bert has chalked on the sidewalk. After having tea served by dancing penguins, they ride on a merry-go-round, leave the carousel on their horses, and trot off to a fox hunt. When rain washes the sidewalk drawing away, Mary rushes the children home. The following day, Mary takes the children and Bert to visit her Uncle Albert, whose incessant laughter causes him to float in the air; soon they are all laughing and floating on the ceiling. Mr. Banks, meanwhile, refuses to believe his children's stories and wants to fire Mary, but adopts her suggestion that he bring his children to the bank and show them how he spends his day. Michael is to open an account, but instead he attempts to retrieve his money to buy birdseed from The Bird Woman, thus creating panic in the bank. The children escape, and Bert takes them home. Mary appears; and she, Bert, and the children travel across the rooftops of London. When they return home, their gaiety spreads throughout the household, and Bert points out to Mr. Banks how damaging his severity can be. When Banks is fired from his job, he tells chairman of the board Dawes a joke he learned from Michael, then leaves to take his children to fly kites in the park. Dawes, who has not laughed in 90 years, dies laughing at the joke, and Banks is offered a position on the board. Feeling that her job is complete, Mary opens her umbrella and flies away.

“Don Quixote”

Restaged by Darren McIntyre

At the Davis Theatre

LEAP School performance

Friday July 26^th at 10am

Public Performances

Friday July 26^th at 7:30pm

Saturday July 27^th at 7:30pm

Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, Russia on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1869. Petipa and Minkus revised the ballet into a far more expanded and elaborated edition in five acts and eleven scenes for the Imperial Ballet, first presented on 21 November [O.S. 9 November] 1871 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre of St. Petersburg. All modern productions of the Petipa/Minkus ballet are derived from the version staged by Alexander Gorsky for the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow in 1900, a production the Ballet Master staged for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in 1902.

SYNOPSIS

Prologue: Driven by the vision of Dulcinea, the tarnished, yet inspired, Don Quixote begins his adventures with his trusty squire Sancho Panza in tow.

Act I: Sevilla. Kitri, Lorenzo's daughter, is in love with Basilio. Much to her chagrin, she learns of her father's plans to marry her to Gamache, a foppish nobleman. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza enter the village, causing great commotion. Noticing Kitri, Don Quixote wonders if he has, at last, found his Dulcinea. At the height of merriment, Kitri and Basilio, aided by their friends, Espada and Mercedes, sneak off followed by Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Gamache and Lorenzo attempt to pursue the young couple.

Act II. Scene 1: Gypsy Camp. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza discover the fleeing couple in a friendly gypsy camp. All are inspired by the romance of the night. As the vision of Dulcinea appears to him, Don Quixote realizes Kitri is not his "ideal", but indeed belongs with Basilio. Suddenly the wind gains momentum. Don Quixote foolishly attacks a windmill, believing it to be a giant threatening Dulcinea's safety. Failing miserably, he collapses into a deep sleep.

Act II, Scene 2: The Dream. Don Quixote has an enchanted dream of beautiful maidens in which the image of Kitri symbolizes his Dulcinea.

Act II. Scene 3: Sunrise. Lorenzo and Gamache interrupt Don Quixote's dream. Sympathetic to the plight of the young lovers, Don Quixote attempts to lead Lorenzo and Gamache astray.

Act II, Scene 4: A Tavern. Finally discovered, Kitri is forced by Lorenzo to accept the attentions of Gamache. The thwarted Basilio commits "suicide". Upon learning of the farce, Kitri implores Don Quixote to persuade Lorenzo to wed her to the "corpse". Instantly Basilio comes to "life"! Triumphantly, Kitri leaves to prepare for marriage while Don Quixote and Basilio salute Lorenzo and Gamache for stoically accepting the inevitable.

Act III: The Wedding. The village celebrates the marriage. Don Quixote congratulates the couple, bids them a warm "farewell", and resumes his ever-lasting adventures.

“National Dance Day”

Dance Expo and Fair

In the Courtyard

Saturday July 27^th from 10am-2pm

National Dance Day was created by Nigel Lythgoe, executive producer and judge for the So You Think You Can Dance television series. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, a long-time proponent of healthy lifestyles, introduced a National Dance Day resolution to promote dance education and physical fitness across the U.S. National Dance Day is an annual event and "grassroots initiative to encourage the nation, young and old, to move!" in the United States. This event occurs annually on the last Saturday of July. Come join The Montgomery Ballet as we celebrate National Dance Day with the rest of the nation at our home location in the Courtyard.

"Ballet and the Beasts”

At Montgomery Zoo

September 27th

Gates open at 6pm and the Performance commences at 7pm

"The Phantom of the Opera”

Choreography by Darren McIntyre

(World Premiere)

At the Davis Theatre

LEAP School performance

Thursday October 10^th at 10am

Friday October 11^th at 10am

Public Performances

Friday October 11^th at 7:30pm

Saturday October 12^th at 2pm & 7:30pm

Sunday October 13^th at 2pm

“Masquerade Ball”

Friday September 20th, 2013 at 7:30pm

Location TBA

The Phantom of the Opera (French: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialization in Le Gaulois from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910. Initially, the story sold very poorly upon publication in book form and was even out of print several times during the twentieth century;^[1] it is overshadowed by the success of its various film and stage adaptations. The most notable of these were the 1925 film depiction, Ken Hill's 1976 musical at the Theatre Royal Stratford East followed ten years later by Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical that in turn inspired the 2004 film adaptation directed by Joel Schumacher.

SYNOPSIS

Gaston Leroux claims that Erik, the "Phantom of the Opera", was a real person. We are then introduced to Christine Daaé who with her father, a famous fiddler, travelled all over Europe playing folk and religious music. When Christine is six, her mother dies and her father is brought to rural France by a patron, Professor Valerius. During Christine's childhood, her father tells her many stories featuring an "Angel of Music", who is the personification of musical inspiration. Christine meets and befriends the young Raoul, Viscount of Chagny. One of Christine and Raoul's favorite stories is one of Little Lotte, a girl who is visited by the Angel of Music and possesses a heavenly voice. Christine now lives with Mamma Valerius, the elderly widow of her father's benefactor. Christine is eventually given a position in the chorus at the Paris Opera House (Palais Garnier). She begins hearing a beautiful, unearthly voice which sings to her and speaks to her. She believes this must be the Angel of Music and asks him if he is. The Voice agrees and offers to teach her "a little bit of heaven's music". The Voice, however, belongs to Erik, a physically deformed and mentally disturbed charismatic genius who was one of the architects who took part in the construction of the opera. He has been extorting money from the Opera's management for many years.Christine triumphs at the gala on the night of the old managers' retirement. Her old childhood friend Raoul hears her and remembers his love for her. A time after the gala, the Paris Opera performs Faust, with the prima donna Carlotta playing the lead. In response to a refused surrender of Box Five to the Opera Ghost, Carlotta loses her voice and the grand chandelier plummets into the audience.

After the chandelier accident, Erik kidnaps Christine to his home in the cellars and reveals his true identity. He plans to keep her there only a few days, hoping she will come to love him, and Christine begins to find herself attracted to her abductor. But she causes Erik to change his plans when she unmasks him and, to the horror of both, beholds his face, which according to the book, resembles the face of a rotting corpse. Erik goes into a frenzy, stating she probably thinks his face is another mask, and whilst digging her fingers in to show it was really his face he shouts, "I am Don Juan Triumphant!" before crawling away, crying. Fearing that she will leave him, he decides to keep her with him forever, but when Christine requests release after two weeks, he agrees on condition that she wear his ring and be faithful to him. Up on the roof of the opera house, Christine tells Raoul of Erik taking her to the cellars. Raoul promises to take Christine away where Erik can never find her and to take her even if she resists. Raoul tells Christine he shall act on his promise the following day, to which Christine agrees, but she pities Erik and will not go until she has sung for him one last time. Christine then realizes the ring has slipped off her finger and fallen into the streets somewhere, and begins to panic. The two leave. But neither is aware that Erik has been listening to their conversation or that it has driven him to jealous frenzy. During the week and that night, Erik has been terrorizing anyone who stood in his way or in that of Christine's career, including the managers.

The following night, Erik kidnaps Christine during a production of Faust (by drugging the gas men and switching the lights off, he spirits Christine off the stage before anyone turned the lights on). Back in the cellars, Erik tries to force Christine into marriage. If she refuses he threatens to destroy the entire opera house using explosives he has planted in the cellars, killing them and everyone in the floors above. Christine continues to refuse, until she realizes that Raoul and an old acquaintance of Erik's known only as "The Persian", in an attempt to rescue her, have been trapped in Erik's hot torture chamber. To save them and the people above, Christine agrees to marry Erik. At first, Erik tries to drown Raoul and the Persian in the water used to douse the explosives, stating that Christine doesn't need another. But Christine begs and offers to be his "living bride", promising him not to kill herself after becoming his bride, as she had both contemplated and attempted earlier in the novel. Erik rescues the Persian and the young Raoul from his torture chamber thereafter. When Erik is alone with Christine, he lifts his mask a little to kiss her on the forehead, and Christine allows him to do this. Erik, who admits that he has never before in his life received or been allowed to give a kiss – not even from his own mother – is overcome with emotion. Christine gives him a kiss back. He lets Christine go and tells her "Go and marry the boy whenever you wish," explaining, "I know you love him". She leaves on the condition that when he dies she will come back and bury him. Being an old acquaintance, The Persian is told of all these secrets by Erik himself, and upon his express request, the Persian advertises Erik's death in the newspaper about three weeks later. The cause of death is revealed to be a broken heart, and as promised, Christine returns to bury Erik and give his ring back to him.

“Performance on the Green”

"Military Appreciation Gala"

At Maxwell Air Force Base

Friday October 18^th at 6:30pm

“Monster Mash”

Halloween Party and Performance

In the Courtyard

Friday October 25^th at 6:30pm

Montgomery’s "Christmas Spectacular”

At The Davis Theatre

Saturday December 7th at 2pm & 7:30pm

Sunday December 8th at 2pm

Christmas Spectacular will feature festive dance numbers performed by the incredible dancers of the Montgomery Ballet as well as showcase talented local vocalists who will sing classic Christmas tunes. Come kick off your Holiday Season and get in the holiday spirit with the Montgomery Ballet!  

“The Nutcracker”

Choreography by Darren McIntyre

At the Davis Theatre

LEAP School performance

Thursday December 12^th at 10am

Friday December 13^th at 10am

Public Performances

Friday December 13^th at 7:30pm

Saturday December 14^th at 2pm & 7:30pm

Sunday December 15^th at 2pm & 6pm

“Sugar Plum Fairy Party”

Saturday December 14^th after the 2pm performance

Sunday December 15^th after the 2pm performance

The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on Sunday, 18 December 1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera, Iolanta. Although the original production was not a success, the twenty-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. However, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in the U.S. Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions, in particular the pieces featured in the suite.

SYNOPSIS

Act 1

It is Christmas time at the Taunnebaums home. The snow falls lightly on the ground. Meanwhile inside, the family busily prepares for an evening of festivities. The house is decked window to wall with beautiful lights and decorations. A splendid Christmas tree is centered in the living room under which presents are spread for the guests and their children. Light marzipan, rich chocolates, and delicate sugarplums are ready to serve with coffee and tea. The guests come bustling in, dressed head to toe in their finest holiday attire and greet each of the Taunnebaums: Mother, Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, Marie, Clara, and Fritz. Great Uncle Drosselmeyer and his grandson Karl enter and entertain the guests with magic tricks and puppet dolls. Mother and Father Taunnebaum announce dinner and drinks for the guests, leaving Clara, Fritz and Marie with Drosselmeyer and Karl. Drosselmeyer gives Clara her special Nutcracker doll and she happily dances with her new present. Fritz, jealous of his sister's new toy tries to snatch the Nutcracker, but breaks it in two. Clara is heartbroken by her broken toy, but with a wave of his arm, Drosselmeyer magically repairs the doll. Clara rejoices and consoles her nutcracker and keeps it close in sight for the rest of the night. After a wonderful and festive evening of holiday celebration, all the guests bid farewell to the Taunnebaums as the living room dims to darkness of nighttime. Eager to see her Nutcracker doll, Clara sneaks back down to the tree. As her older sister Marie calls her back to bed, the living room, shrouded in darkness, starts to change. Smoke comes billowing out the fireplace and the tree begins to grow and giant mice come scrambling from the walls. Clara closes her eyes and hopes she will wake from this nightmare. Upon opening her eyes, she sees her Nutcracker doll is now life size, leading an army of life size toy soldiers to defeat the mice and their Rat King. However the vicious Rat King stuns the Nutcracker doll. Fritz awoken by the commotion helps defend his sisters and strikes the Rat King with his sword. As the mice retreat into the shadows, Drosselmeyer appears and with a wave of magic, transforms the wounded Nutcracker doll into a handsome prince, in the likeness of his own grandson Karl. Drosselmeyer then introduces Clara, Fritz, Marie and Karl to the beautiful Snow Queen. In a flurry of sparkling snowflakes, the Snow Queen whisks the children off soaring to the magical land of sweets and fairytales.

Act 2

Clara, Marie, Fritz and Karl pass by a flock of angels in the clouds and arrive in the Land of Sweets and Fairytales where the very confections and treats served at the party that night dance about the kingdom. Greeted by The Dew Drop Fairy, Queen of The Kingdom of the sweets and fairytales, Clara, Marie, Fritz and Karl retell her and the kingdom the story of the Battle between the soldiers and mice. Grateful for their bravery, each member of the land of the sweets and fairytales dances in their honor: a Spanish Matador and his princesses, Little Bo Peep and her sheep, an Arabian Prince and Princess, a Chinese and Russian Dance, Mother Ginger and her Gingerbread children and a sweeping waltz of the flowers and a Dew Drop Fairy conclude the set of celebratory dances. Lastly, Karl asks Marie to dance a Grand Pas de Deux as his Sugar Plum Fairy. After their beautiful dance, Drosselmeyer waves his magic and brings the children back to their beds, leaving them to wake the next morning with memories of a spectacular dream of the Snow Queen, Drew Drop Fairy in the land of sweets and fairytales . . . or was it real?

...LET THE MAGIC BEGIN...