Alexander Academy Presents The Little Mermaid Ballet

Over 200 dancers ages three to adult will perform in Alexander Academy Performing Company’s ballet, The Little Mermaid. Running from June 1 to 3 at Seabury Hall’s ‘A’ali’ikūhonua Creative Arts Center, the ballet inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale features numerous styles of dance such as contemporary, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, acrobatics, and breakdancing.

The upcountry dance studio’s annual spring productions are an opportunity for the Maui community to see world-renowned ballets live and onstage, reinvented to demonstrate the full range of the Academy’s all-ages cast and to entertain its family-inclusive audience. Maui’s performing arts enthusiasts can expect to experience both the heart-warming adorableness of toddlers onstage as well as the mastery of the school’s upper-level dancers executing complex choreography and engulfing the audience in this age-old story of love overcoming prejudice.

“Each year I feel we continue to raise the bar in terms of our students’ beautiful dancing, our faculty’s transformative choreography, and our families’ intricate behind-the-scenes work to make our annual production a memorable event for our dancers and our audience members,” said Danelle Watson, executive director of the Company. “Our teachers are dedicated, families are supportive, students are committed — this is a great formula for another great show!”

Four performances of The Little Mermaid will be held throughout the weekend to showcase the production’s several casts. Alexander Academy’s tradition of double-casting its lead roles gives its advanced students the well-deserved opportunity to be featured onstage. “We are extremely proud of our upper-level dancers and how they have grown into these roles that demand strong character acting ability as well as technical skill to interpret well,” said Watson.

Jessica Bartlett and Sara Salaparuta will each perform the role of the Little Mermaid; the Sea Witch will be portrayed by Amelie Wertheim and Lilah Li; and the Princess will be played by Hina Claerbout and Madeleine Cochran Welch.

Audience members are encouraged to attend multiple shows of The Little Mermaid to witness the Company’s full scope of dancers, as well as to absorb Artistic Director Amelia Couture’s creative staging that will build both land and sea within the walls of the ‘A’ali’ikūhonua Creative Arts Center. Previous Alexander Academy productions such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2016) have proven Couture’s ability to portray other-worldly settings through imaginative choreography, special lighting, and emotive musical choices; this year’s The Little Mermaid will perhaps be one of the most literal in terms of enveloping the audience into the performance.

Show times are Friday, June 1 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, June 2 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Sunday, June 3 at 2:00 p.m. Bench seating tickets are $18 for adults, $10 for keiki ages 2 through 12. VIP seats are available at $28 for adults and $17 for keiki. Discounts are available for multiple-show purchases. Tickets are on sale online or via the box office at (800) 838-3006. For more information, visit www.alexanderacademy.info.