A Wonderful Collaboration of Performing Arts

Published September 13, 2024

A Wonderful Collaboration of Performing Arts

Filer image element — **Photo:** *Alice in Wonderland* **Waltz**

Next weekend, A.V.A. Ballet Theatre and the Reno Phil will be presenting Alice in Wonderland at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Alice in Wonderland is the captivating story of a young girl and her adventures in Wonderland.

A.V.A. Ballet Theatre’s artistic director, Alexander Van Alstyne, has re-staged and re-choreographed Alice in Wonderland to the beautiful Joseph Horvitz score. Mr. Horvitz was a renowned composer and conductor who passed away in 2022 at the age of 96. Prior to his passing, the last time A.V.A. Ballet Theatre performed Alice in Wonderland it was filmed. The video was sent to Mr. Horvitz’s home in London, England. He sent a handwritten note to Van Alstyne saying that this interpretation of Alice in Wonderland was one of the best he had ever seen. Van Alstyne told me he cherishes the letter.

The starring role of Alice is being performed by local A.V.A. Ballet Theatre dancer Jayla Vanderpool. Currently a sophomore at Spanish Springs High School, Vanderpool has been dancing since she was five years old under the direction of A.V.A. Ballet Theatre co-director Miriam Allen. She has danced with A.V.A. Ballet for years, and has performed leading roles such as the Spring Fairy in Cinderella, the Jester Doll in Coppélia, and in the Calvary and Waltz of the Flowers in The Nutcracker.

Starring as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland will be Rylee Ann Rogers, who is from Orem, Utah. She joined Ballet West II in 2020 and was promoted to the main company in 2022. Her ballet training began in Utah County at the age of three with the Barlow Arts Conservatory and The Dance Club. As a preteen, Rylee Ann spent her summers in New York City training with The School of American Ballet on full merit scholarship. At 14, she was invited to join SAB’s year-round program. She graduated with honors in 2020 from The School of American Ballet and the Professional Performing Arts High School. Rylee Ann thrived in the competitive dance world for several years where she was awarded top honors and scholarships from the most renowned dance and ballet organizations in the world. Most notably, she was a two-time recipient of the Grand Prix Award at the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix ballet competition. Rylee Ann has performed on some of the world’s most celebrated stages, including Radio City Music Hall, where she danced the role of Clara in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and the David Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center in various roles with the New York City Ballet and SAB.

The role of Knave of Hearts is being performed by David Huffmire. Huffmire was born in Carson City and raised in Reno. He was introduced to ballet through his sister, Lauren. As a child, he would spend many hours watching her at dance classes. At the age of six, he auditioned for A.V.A. Ballet Theatre’s The Nutcracker and was cast as a soldier. After that experience, he realized he wanted to be a dancer and began taking jazz, tap, musical theater, and ballet classes. At the age of 11, he began taking classes at the Conservatory of Movement with Van Alstyne as his instructor. “I knew right away he had a special talent,” Van Alstyne said. “He has the gift of natural ability and the discipline to work hard.”

By his teen years, Huffmire was getting serious about his ballet training. He attended “summer intensives” at both Ballet West and the San Francisco Ballet where he went through rigorous ballet training. Throughout this period, he danced in dozens of ballets with A.V.A. Ballet Theatre. Some of those performances include Colin in The Secret Garden, the Prince in The Nutcracker and as a bluebird in Sleeping Beauty. After graduating from Galena High School, he was offered a trainee position with Ballet West, which he happily accepted. Soon after, he was promoted to a member of the second company of Ballet West.

At 20 years of age, Huffmire joined Ballet West’s first company and worked his way through the ranks as an apprentice, a new artist, and has been a member of the corps de ballet for the last two years as a soloist. Now 27, Huffmire trains five to six hours a day – not including rehearsal time for Ballet West performances.

The Knave in Alice in Wonderland is accused of stealing tarts and is put on trial with the King of Hearts acting as the judge. The Mad Hatter is to testify against the Knave but keeps getting distracted. Alice defends the Knave after it becomes clear that the evidence against him is false. In Van Alstyne’s rendition of the ballet, the Queen of Hearts falls in love with the Knave and they dance a pas de deux (a dance for two, for the ballet-challenged like me).

The White Rabbit will be performed by Pieter Gunning. Pieter began dancing at age fourteen, attending the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. The Royal Conservatoire’s annual collaboration with the world-renowned Nederlands Dans Theater gave Gunning some of his most memorable experiences.

After three years of study in The Netherlands, Gunning continued his dance education in Germany. He was accepted into the upper levels of the School of the Hamburg Ballet under the artistic direction of John Neumeier. He appeared in the Hamburg Ballet’s productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Sonnets, Anna Karenina, and On the Town. While studying in Hamburg, Gunning was given the opportunity to choreograph and present his creations on stage. From that, he was selected to represent the School of the Hamburg Ballet in the Young Creation Award 2021 at Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland.

That same year, Gunning was offered a contract with Orlando Ballet II in Florida. While in the second company he danced in every production of the Orlando Ballet. Being on stage regularly gave him the chance to feel comfortable performing an array of different characters and become a more versatile dancer. After completing two years in Orlando, he is now a trainee at Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Joining Vanderpool, Rogers, Gunning and Huffmire on stage for Alice in Wonderland will be the large cast of dancers from A.V.A. Ballet Theatre. These talented dancers will fill the stage with color and grace. I’ve seen some of the rehearsals and the dancing playing cards and lobsters are sure to put a smile on your face.

The Reno Phil will be performing the score to this beautiful ballet with music director Laura Jackson conducting. The Horovitz music alone is worth the ticket price. I’ve said this many times over the years: once you’ve seen and heard a ballet performance with a live orchestra, there is really no comparison to one with a recording. There is something special when you see and hear two performing arts organizations working together to entertain an audience.

I invite you to join me at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts next week. Watch and listen as all of these talented artists bring Alice in Wonderland to life.

Steve Trounday is a board member at A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, the resident ballet company of the Pioneer Center. A.V.A. Ballet Theatre will be performing Alice in Wonderland September 21st and 22nd with the Reno Phil.