Q and A with Risa Kaplowitz, Artistic Director and choreographer

Q. Why did you feel inspired to create a new winter ballet?

A. My inspiration came from my daughter, Adrienne, who reminded me of The Snow Queen book on her bookshelf, which had been mine as a little girl. My mom had enrolled me in a book club and every month I would be so excited to see the book that would arrive. I've kept them all these years—a great lesson on how important it is to share great stories at a young age. You never know what they will inspire!

I had, frankly, been dreading another year of Nutcracker. DanceVision's production, which had been choreographed by Susan Jaffe was one of the region's best, but I felt that our dancers and the community needed an alternative to the seemingly endless number Nutcrackers being performed. It seems, in our area at least, that the holiday theater options have always revolved around seeing The Nutcracker or The Christmas Carol.

One of DanceVision's and my personal missions revolves around bringing great literature to life in a way that only ballet theater can do. The Snow Queen is a wonderful tale that is not widely known. When I was writing the synopsis, I realized that it often took me three sentences to relate what only a few gestures or dance movements could convey. Dance truly is the universal language. It is also DanceVision's mission is to educate young dancers and give them a professional performance experience.  Challenging them with new and unexpected choreography is vital to the training process.

The story is magical and compelling.  It has all the components of a great tale:  adventure, humor, joy, and heart.  The cast of characters is so diverse and fun; it includes robbers, a sorceress, doves, a raven, ice maidens, snow bees, a prince and princess, and even a devil. Its archetypes are universally appealing to all ages.

Q.  What is the choreography process like?

A. The music plays a huge role in this. Once I know the pieces that I will use, which requires hundreds of hours of listening to music to develop the score, I play it a zillion times until it becomes a part of me. I try to think about the steps and quality of movements that will relay the character. I have a good inner visual ability, so I can "see" much of it in my head before getting into the studio. Sometimes it works, but choreography is often a puzzle. The Snow Queen ballet is very much an ensemble work....there are often many people in each scene and that meant not only choreographing steps but also a huge amount of staging, which I did have trouble doing in detail until I got into the studio with the dancers.

Risa Kaplowitz setting a waltz step on Josiah Foster, who plays Prince Frederick.

Q.  Without giving away too much, what can audiences expect from The Snow Queen?

A. I hope they are moved on several levels. Foremost, I hope they will be enchanted by this compelling story.  With over 140 new costumes that we've made for this production and beautiful projection scenery which transports the audience to magical places, I am confident that this will happen. I also hope they are moved by the commitment and incredible talent of the young dancers. Often, a company like ours will import professionals. We do not need to do that because the dancers are impeccably trained. We have yet to perform where audience members—even balletomanes— are not amazed that the dancers are young and not yet professional.