(Above: Photo for Eugene Ballet by Ari Denison)
By Randi Bjornstad
If you want to be among the first people ever to see a brand new ballet, you can have your chance on May 20-21 when Eugene Ballet holds the world premiere of its latest project, The Little Mermaid, on its home stage at the Hult Center in downtown Eugene.
It’s the work of the company’s co-founder, artistic director, and choreographer, Toni Pimble, and the production will feature a number of special and flashy visual accompaniments to the music and dancing.
Those special effects include 74 lavish costumes and headpieces, a flock of sea creatures “swimming” around with the help of puppeteers, and a backdrop of shimmering waves created from hand-painted silk by Steven Oshatz, with assistance from Eärendil Biskup.
Oshatz also designed the special sea creatures, described in the announcement of the ballet as “a blue ringed octopus, a leafy sea dragon, and a blue glaucus” that began as digital files, printed on silk, then assembled by artist Caroline Barnes.
Biskup also performed an additional unusual task — which she described as “an extensive process of trial and error” — to create a set of three-dimensional coral reefs that appear to be moving as they are bathed in ultraviolet light.
Pimble’s new work is based, of course, on the classic 1837 fairytale written by Hans Christian Andersen, about a beautiful mermaid who falls in love with a handsome prince whom she has saved from drowning. She wants to become a human to be with him, a choice that could have dire consequences for her very life as a mermaid.
The ballet is danced to the music of Claude Debussy, including his well-known La Mer as well as other pieces, played live by Orchestra Next, directed by Brian McWhorter, who describes the score as “really feeling like it’s underwater.”
“It’s gorgeous music,” he said. “It’s fun to play and I hope it’ll be just as fun to listen to.”
Eugene Ballet presents world premier of The Little Mermaid
When: 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 21
Where: Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, One Eugene Center (7th and Willamette streets), Eugene
Tickets: $25 to $60; $15 for youth and college students with current ID
Information: https://eugeneballet.org/performances/little-mermaid/
