(Photo: Frederic Howland, Fine Art Photo, provided by Rosine Bena/SNB)
My next-door neighbor, Mary Maul, is a terrific MD and acupuncturist and an avid ballet fan. She is very excited about SNB’s new edgy steampunk ballet that will premiere July 23.
“So what is it like to create a completely new story ballet from scratch?” she asked me.
Amir Yorke and Darwin Black rehearse for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Sierra Nevada Ballet. (Photo: Domingo Rubio, provided by Rosine Bena/SNB)
My answer: Imagine riding a unicycle on the freeway in San Francisco while juggling 12 fragile china plates and reciting Hamlet’s soliloquy … blindfolded. Then multiply that by 10.
The creative process starts with a vision. In this case, it is a new ballet version of the famous Shakespeare comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Next comes a written project description and estimated budget including the complete cast, sets, costumes, technical needs, proposed venues and estimated costs.
Once approved by the board (which helps raise the funds), the creative process begins.
Director Ananda Bena-Weber spent six months listening to the music of Felix Mendelssohn as well as searching for more choices. Bena-Weber did some research into our community and discovered a large steampunk/Burning Man culture, which led her to design a steampunk fantasy ballet using both classical and hypnotic modern music styles.
An experienced actress, Bena-Weber was very familiar with the Shakespeare comedy but it took her continuous rereading of the play to design a scene-by-scene storyboard version of the ballet. Since there are no spoken words in ballet, careful attention must be given to describing the dramatic action that will take place in each scene. “Midsummer” is made up of more than 25 short scenes and Bena-Weber had to find the proper music to go with each scene. Musician Dallas Smith worked with Bena-Weber to edit the music to make it appropriate for the action.
The set selection must create the right atmosphere, leave most of the stage space for dancing, be easy to move and be within the ballet budget. After much research, we decided on renting two main backdrops for the two indoor venues and smaller moving sets that could be manipulated easily by dancers and incorporated into the choreography for the indoor venues and outdoor venue at Sand Harbor. For creating the feeling of a dream, Bena-Weber picked Reno Little Theater’s Chad Sweet to make the moving sets and SNB lighting designer Gary Gubberman to design the lighting.
SNB held a large nationwide video audition for leading dancer selection and also hired some extra professional dancers to augment the regular company. Student dancers were chosen for group and children’s roles through an audition held at SNB. “Midsummer” has a cast of 22 professional dancers and approximately 30 student dancers.
Bena-Weber was determined to create a dream atmosphere, with each of the eight fairies painted a different color. This required elaborate laborious experimentation with different types of body paint and face makeup. Tres House of Hair was called upon to create the extravagant colored fairy hairstyles.
Cindy Joy was hired as steampunk costume consultant, and SNB costumers Alisanne Maffei, Jenny Johnson and Laurie Bertero worked tirelessly for months to properly costume the cast of 52 performers.
The 11 out-of-state dancers required travel arrangements, housing and transportation within the community for approximately six weeks — no easy task for SNB company managing director Cathy Mercer.
Amir Yorke and Kristy Butler. (Photo: Frederic Howland, Fine Art Photo, provided by Rosine Bena/SNB)
The choreography for the student dancers and large group was created first. The lead dancers arrived three weeks prior to performance and have been working daily from five to eight hours per day with Bena-Weber as well as Alexander Biber and Domingo Rubio, who are assisting with the choreography. Each soloist has assisted by contributing creative ideas of their own. It is this invested team effort that really makes the story come to life for the audience.
The printed program is being put together this week. All the lighting and sound cues are being written and the final touches are going into the choreography and costume designs.
SNB is really picking up steam in this last week of rehearsal before the exciting premiere of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream – The Ballet” on July 23.
My neighbor, Mary, says that she wants to come to see the production at all three different venues. I am really glad that I could answer her question.
SNB performs “A Midsummer Night’s Dream -The Ballet” on Monday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sand Harbor venue on the lake as part of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival; on Sunday, Aug. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno; and on Saturday, Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carson City Community Center. For ticket information, visit www.sierranevadaballet.org or call SNB at 775-360-8663.
Alexander Cain Biber (Principal Dancer/ Ballet Master/ Choreographer in Residence/Teacher) grew up in a performing arts family and has loved theater and performing from an early age. He began his ballet training, at the age of 14, with Rosine Bena at Western Nevada Performing Arts Center – studying ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theater. In 2003, Alexander became an apprentice with Sierra Nevada Ballet and was promoted to the first company in 2006, to soloist in 2008, and to Principal in 2012.
Jennifer Lightfoot-Johnson (Grant Writer and Development Consultant) comes to SNB with 16 years of experience, both professionally and as a volunteer, in grant writing and working in the nonprofit sector.
Jennifer Boyle August (Guest Teacher/Choreographer) discovered her love of dance in Reno, Nev. During her time at Reno High School, Jennifer took a Modern class at TMCC, with instruction in Graham, Luigi, and Horton dance technique. While Jennifer was educated in other areas of dance, she felt these styles spoke to her more than anything else. After graduating from Reno High School, she moved to Boston to study dance with Joan Palladino at Dean College where she received her Associate’s Degree in Dance. She was then hand-selected by Judith Jamison to study at Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive program in New York City.
Sara Weir (Demi Soloist) was born in Provo, Utah, and started ballet at age three. She trained in dance with Trisha Wilstead at Rocky Mountain Dance and then trained with Brittany Squires and Heather Gray at Jaquiline’s School of Ballet. She performed professionally with Showcase and Theater Ballet at Brigham Young University, Utah Regional Ballet, and Sacramento Ballet.
Carlee Bertero (Soloist/ Teacher) was born in northern Nevada and began studying dance at an early age at Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts in Reno. Carlee was invited to join the Sierra Nevada Ballet Apprentice program in 2012; was raised to the first company in 2013; to featured corps member in 2016, to Demi-Soloist in 2017, and to Soloist in 2021. She has performed in many SNB story ballets such as Peanutcracker-The Story In A Nutshell, Giselle, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty-A Fairy’s Tale, A Midsummer Nights Dream- A Steam Punk Ballet, and Twelfth Night-A Ballet Noir. She has performed as a featured dancer with SNB annually in Dancing By The River as part of Reno’s Artown Festival and in SNB’s annual Brew Brats and Ballet in Reno and Carson City.
Domingo Rubio (Second Permanent Guest Artist/Guest Teacher) is SNB’s second Permanent Guest Artist as of May 2005. He has danced professionally for some 30 years. Domingo has danced with the Joffrey Ballet and Ballet Hispanico and was featured in the Robert Altman film, The Company. Rubio danced the role of Maxfield Parrish in SNB’s, A Painter’s Love Story and is a featured artist in SNB’s Dancing By the River and annual ballet classics.
Sam Weber (First Permanent Guest Artist/ Guest Teacher) is SNB’s first Permanent Guest Artist and is a founding member of the Company. He was one of the first permanent guest artists of The Reno Ballet under the direction of Rosine Bena. Weber danced with the Joffery Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and The Jazz Tap Ensemble. Besides being a fine ballet dancer, Weber is considered one of the greatest tap dancers in the world. He is known as “the fastest feet in tap.”
Gina Nelson (SNB Company Coordinator for Carson City and SNB Board Member) is originally from Napa Valley, Calif., and a long-time supporter of the arts and arts education. Gina worked as a crisis prevention specialist in a day treatment elementary school and was a counselor/teacher in a non-public school for at-risk boys.
Steven M. Porter (SNB Board President/SNB CEO) is a long-time devotee of the arts. Originally from the East Coast, Steve was raised with love and devotion to all the arts.
Cathy Mercer (SNB Company Coordinator for Reno/Managing Director/Board Member) grew up in Carson City and is a former dancer with a long-time devotion to the art form.
Ananda Bena-Weber (Associate Director, Dance Artist/ Ballerina/Principal/Teacher) is a principal dancer and NY award-winning artist and the Associate Director of the Sierra Nevada Ballet and a founding member. She has danced professionally as a soloist with the Reno Ballet when it was formed in 1994/95 and 1996. She danced with Perspectives Dance Theatre and Fascinating Rhythm Productions. She has appeared as a featured soloist with Sam Weber performing in Morton Gould’s “Concerto for Tap Dancer and Orchestra” throughout the SF Bay Area. She has appeared in principal roles in several original dance works such as Take Me To The River and Blue Rondo, and classics such as Les Sylphides, Romeo and Juliet, and Paquita.
Rosine Bena (Founder and Artistic Director/Master Teacher)
Sophia Riella (Trainee) was born in Truckee, Calif. She started ballet at the age of two with Sherrie Petersen, Sierra Ballet School and continued there for six years while also studying Irish and Scottish Dance with Lindsey Marccaci in Lake Tahoe and at Truckee Dance Factory doing competition dance. She has also studied classical music, composing, and piano with Elaine Courtney and has studied voice with Stephanie McMoy.
Erin Garman (First Year Company) began dancing at the age of 12 at Scene Stealers Theatre Arts where she trained in jazz, tap, lyrical, musical theatre, and ballet. She later began training with Fascinating Rhythm School of Performing Arts where she continued training in many styles and at Sierra Nevada Ballet Academy where she first met Rosine Bena, and started getting more serious about ballet, also dancing with Spiral Ballet.
Maya Macias (Trainee) was born in Houston, Texas into a military family. While her family was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, at age two and a half years old, Maya began studying dance at the Children’s Ballet Theater because she wanted to go to “ballerina school. “ Maya continued her ballet training at Space Coast Ballet and when she was six years old, she began performing with Space Coast Ballet in the Nutcracker.
Olivia Mann (SNB Summer Demi Soloist) began studying at the age of four at Dallas Metropolitan Ballet, and the Dallas Ballet Center and later trained at Booker T. Washington for the Performing and Visual Arts.
Heather Rodriguez (Trainee) started dancing at nine years old in Corpus Christi, Texas. She continued studying Ballet, Contemporary, and Jazz throughout her childhood with Corpus Christi Concert Ballet.