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View Winners → Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre Remounts Acclaimed ‘The Little Match Girl’
Arcadia Weekly Nov 11, 2015
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Written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen in 1845, ‘The Little Match Girl’ is a holiday story of sorrow, beauty, and hope. – Photo Courtesy Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre
Professional Los Angeles-Area Ballet Company Performs at El Portal Theatre Nov. 21, 22
A classic holiday story gets a thoughtful and heartfelt spin from Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre when it remounts its critically acclaimed The Little Match Girl at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m.
At Christmastime in Victorian England, some are preparing for a joyful holiday while others are scrounging for work. A little girl, motherless since she was a toddler, braves the cold and tries to sell matches to support herself and her father. Freezing, she lights a match for warmth and a magical world is illuminated where there is color, happiness, and love. Can her imagination keep her alive while the real world is closing in?
In 2009, Artistic Director Natasha Middleton and narrator/writer Richard Gilkerson wrote this story ballet, complete with narration and old English music, to recreate Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved tale “The Little Match Girl.” Additional influence came from the musical and story Scraps. This will be Middleton’s third time producing the show. She said, “The Little Match Girl is one of my favorite period pieces, from the costumes to the music to the character ballet mixed with Celtic clogging…and of course, the storyline that holds a candle to my own heart.”
The cast of The Little Match Girl is: Elen Harutunyan as The Little Match Girl, Artur Alexsanyan as Jeb Macklin, Damara Titmus as Josie the Pub Dancer, Zachary Leighton as The Pie Man, Brandon Forrest as Arthur the Servant Boy, Emily Braff as Eliza Fairbrother, Chloe Tilton as Charlotte Fairbrother, Coco Grayson as Arabella Bradley, Carol Ferris as Winifred, C.C. Taul as Maude, Heather Blades as Mrs. Denning the Cook, Philippe Leibzig as Mr. Hawkins the Butler, and Natalie Grina, Musetta Rubin, and Marine De Vachon as The Arcangels.
Tickets are $39-49 and available at www.elportaltheatre.com or (818) 508-4200.
The El Portal Theatre is located at 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood CA 91601 in the NoHo Arts District. Ample public parking is available around the venue as is public transportation. Beverages, beer, wine, and snacks will be available in the lobby.
Pacific Ballet Dance Theatre, under the direction of Natasha Middleton, is celebrating its 14th season. Over the past decade, the company has become one of the major dance companies in Los Angeles. The dancers come from such companies as the Dresden Ballet, Armenian National Ballet, Nevada Ballet, and Denver Ballet. For more about this Los Angeles-based treasure, visit pacificballetdancetheatre.com.
