Havre dancers give own take on a classic

A local dance studio is putting on a homemade recital of a classic children's tale, with productions set for Saturday and Sunday at Havre High School.

Kellee May, board member of the nonprofit Studio of Dance and Arts, said dance students and choreographers with the studio have been rehearsing "A Hometown Cinderella Story" for months, with members of the studio also building the sets and getting the costumes ready.

May said the production is the brainchild of studio dance instructor Dani Alex.

"She has had it in her head since last year," May said.

More than 50 of the studio's dancers perform in the recital, which tells the story of Cinderella, taken from her position of prestige by her stepmother and two stepsisters, but is helped by a fairy godmother and her animal friends to join with Prince Charming.

May said instructors Sarah Faber, who works with the 6- to 7-year-old ballet dancers, and tumbling instructor Amber Alexander also have worked on the choreography and practice for the recital.

The students started working on learning and rehearsing the dancing and the choreography since about October, May said.

Work on the sets, primarily done by members of the recital committee, started in earnest about a month ago, she said.

The recital also is the culmination of other work the dancers have done, she added.

The dancers have been to a couple of dance competitions and had other performances in the community, including at the Holiday Extravaganza with the Montana State University-Northern Community Orchestra at Christmas along with other dancers.

May said the style is reminiscent of classic ballets such as Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite," with the story told entirely with dancing and no singing or speaking during the performance, which is between two-and-a-half and three hours long.

The performances, which have an admittance price of $10 for ages 6 and older, start at 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Havre High School Theatre.