Ballet reveals dark side of Wonderland

“Wonderland would have to be a world of wonders,” wrote choreographer Jill Eathorne Bahr in the program notes for Charleston Ballet Theatre’s “Alice in Wonderland” performed this weekend at the Maine Center for the Arts. On paper, Bahr characterized these “wonders” as little more than childhood dreams of fairies, elf-like creatures, and rather unusual humans. But on stage, Bahr’s vision of Wonderland was quite another dream, indeed.

Yes, there were the recognizable characters from Lewis Carroll’s much-loved children’s book. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum frolicked goofily and bouncily in each other’s arms. Skillful dancers Shannon Robbins and Emily Pope slid, twirled, and scurried in their humorous and enjoyable presentation of these identical rivals.

The White Rabbit, played with physical strength and dexterity by Michael Wise, wound in and out of Alice’s dream, as did the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare.

But there was no particular sense of Wonderland being a great or marvelous playground of sugary curiosities and delightful experiences as Bahr’s notes suggested. Although Alice wore a glassy grin throughout her often nightmarish adventure, and although the masked characters threw friendly waves toward the children in the audience, this “Alice in Wonderland” had a dark and scary side to it. And Bahr did a fine job of remaining faithful to those graver elements while designing a ballet primarily for children.

Chamber and instrumental music by French composer Francis Poulenc gave the presentation sophistication and depth. Performed beautifully by pianist/guest conductor Robin Zemp and nine members of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the music was jazzy, eerie, foreboding and animated. It was well-suited Bahr’s modern-ballet style, which frequently relied more on clipt, disjointed movement and posing than on traditional ballet elements. Oboist Geoffrey Holland, clarinetists Jim Higgins and Mary Minctons, bassoonist Lynn Flagg, and cellist Lisa Nielson gave notable performances.

Predominantly dark sets and the frequent use of spotlights added a terrific spookiness to the show. Cleverly designed costumes used primary colors, masks, makeup, and special effects to create the sometimes-surreal characters of Carroll’s book. For the opium-toking Caterpillar, Margo McCune and Robin Ries shared a six-foot tall costume with four entrancing, flourescent-blue hands.

Many of the dancers showed capable and polished technique. Perry Mauzy, as the Queen of Hearts, had a rare aptitude for both dancing and acting, and was a favorite as she scrunched her face and shouted “Off with her head!” Michael Johnson (the King) and Kurt Puzig (the Knave) moved impressively. As Alice, Kimberly Stewart (in ballet slippers) and Erika Moe (on pointe) were less dynamic than the other dancers, but navigated with ease and beamed with energy.