Downtown Dance Conservatory presents 10th Annual Original Production with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Gadsden, AL, April 20, 2014:  As Downtown Dance Conservatory embarks on its 10^th year of dance education to the Greater Gadsden community, it once again will take the journey down the rabbit hole with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  The DDC performed Alice in its beginning stages 8 years ago and quickly became a parent and student all -time favorite. The faculty chose to re-make the production on a larger scale with the growth of the Conservatory and as a celebration to the milestone for the organization.

Written by artistic director Linze Rickles McRae and based on Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, the story begins with Alice discovering a mysterious riddle in an old book while reading in the library.  Alice falls asleep only to find herself in the strangely familiar Wonderland Library. The evil Jabberwocky has returned under the Red Queen’s spell to terrorize all the inhabitants and destroy Wonderland.  Alice, with the help of the White Queen and her Pearls, must solve the riddle.    “I’ve always loved the quirky nonsensical approach that  Lewis Carroll’s work interprets when done through dance. When combined with such a structured art form as traditional classical ballet, it takes on an interesting and entertaining quality that turns the dancing on its head a bit. It’s an escape from the real world, where nothing is impossible,” says McRae. Current instructor, Laura Cornwell, danced the role of Alice in the 1^st production, and is now assisting on the staging of pieces along with other faculty members, Krystin Baird and IMAGIDANCE instructor, Cammie McFarling.  

With over 400 students performing in the production and over 2000 tickets expected to be sold, the celebration becomes quite an elaborate affair for dance in the Gadsden community.  Dancers performing range in age from 3-30 with soloists roles performed by the Downtown Dance Artists. The Dance Artists just returned in March from a successful European tour to quickly learn their roles for Alice. The production includes 5 hand painted backdrops, original sets and props, a cast of  curious characters, and even a 32 foot claw-catching Jabberwocky.   Alice takes the stage this spring for two performances on May 24^th at  6 PM and May 25^th at 2:30 PM at the Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center.  Tickets for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland go on sale to the public May 1^st at 12 PM. They are available online through www.wallacehall.org, at the front desk of the Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, or by phone at 256-543-2787 xt. 0.  They are $14 for all seats.