Aladdin

Dancers rehearse at the Civic Ballet Center for the production of "Aladdin." 

The Dance Collective will present an original ballet production of “Aladdin” Saturday night at 6 in Wright Auditorium.

This family-friendly event will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A portion of every ticket will be donated with The Community Foundation of NC East matching the total donation amount for the night.

Taylor Lucas, East Carolina University alumna and dance instructor for The Dance Collective, said that this ballet was newly created for this performance.

“We started from scratch. Made everything; costumes, storyline pretty much based off the real story of Aladdin, props, everything, and just put it together to make a ballet,” Lucas said.

Even though the storyline won’t be exactly like the classic Disney version, company manager, Cherita Lytle, said that it will have many similar and recognizable characters, just with a plot that more closely resembles that of The Arabian Nights story.

She also said that there are some themes of empowerment portrayed in the show, particularly through the actions of the character, Jasmine.

“There’s a part where Jafar is trying to kidnap Jasmine to get rid of her so that he and the sultana can go through with their plan, but she fights back,” Lytle said.

Lytle went on to express how much she has enjoyed watching the students’ hard work and hours of practice pay off.

“The coolest thing is just seeing it come from nothing to where it’s at. And being able to work with the kids and see them blossom. I think the biggest thing is to foster their love for dance and their love for being on the stage, and just seeing that come to life,” Lytle said.

Members of the Dance Collective, ages 10 to 17, started work on this show in June according to Kyley Paules, ECU Sophomore psychology major and senior company member of the Eastern NC Dance Foundation.

Paules, who’s main part in this show is the genie, said she was excited to be able to participate in this show because of the professional environment she has gotten a chance to work in and can’t wait to be a part of her first performance with The Dance Collective.

“It’s just been so different from any other performance I’ve done anywhere else. Is just such a hardworking environment and it’s just so fun to be around so many people that share the same love of dance that I have. And all the costumes are and all coming together, it’s just going to be an amazing show and I’m really looking forward to performing,” Paules said.

Showtimes are at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $20 general admission and $50 for a VIP ticket which gives priority seating and entrance into a VIP only cocktail reception both before the show and during intermission. Tickets can be purchased from the central ticket office in the Main Campus Student Center or at ECUArts.com.

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amnaseo

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