Studio to stage Disney classic

ONE of the city’s long-running dance companies is set to showcase more than one hundred students as part of their major annual production with an adaptation of a well-loved Disney film.

Next month will see performers from Ballarat Dance Works take to the stage to deliver a full-scale stage version of the 1989 animated movie The Little Mermaid.

Ballarat Dance Works director Pamela Waghorn said the production will showcase the school’s broad range of performers.

“It’ll be a whole production incorporating our little ones in the three-year-old to four-year-old class up until adults with some performers in their 50s,” she said.

“We have around 150 to 170 performers and all of them should be performing. It crosses over all genres of ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap and funk. It’s all incorporated into the show.”

As well as a smaller-scale midyear showcase, Ballarat Dance Works holds one major stage production each year, with past shows including Frozen, The Wizard of Oz, and Alice in Wonderland.

The upcoming performance will mark the school’s first adaptation of The Little Mermaid since 2011.

With rehearsals having started in June following their previous showcase, Ms Waghorn said their annual major production is the highlight of the studio’s yearly calendar.

“We pride ourselves on producing a big end of year production,” she said. “This is a lot more involved as well with our lighting, costumes, props, and scenery.

“The kids always get all excited about it because they have roles to play. Just to see the enjoyment they display on their faces, it’s lovely to see it all come together.”

Ballarat Dance Works’ The Little Mermaid will be on show at 2pm on Sunday 22 October at the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts.

Tickets go on sale Monday and can be booked at bit.ly/468mp3E.