'Peter Pan' bringing Neverland to Ogden

Ballet West closes its season with the high flying Peter Pan, brought back by popular demand.

Ballet West has performed Peter Pan before, but this is a new version with an original score by Carmon DeLeone.

Jonas Kage has been Ballet West's artistic director since 1997. Kage said he didn't grow up on Peter Pan because he grew up in Sweden, but he recognizes the magic in the show and the appeal to everyone, young and old. Part of the magic comes from the characters who get to fly across the stage.

To create the illusion of flight, the dancers are fitted with special harnesses and are lifted with cables. At least one person is assigned to every dancer to assist in the flight.

"The flying is actually very technical and with up to four people in the air at a time, it is hard to keep the dancers from crashing into each other," he said. "It will be quite a feat to make it happen, but it's exciting when everything works out."

Beyond getting the timing down to avoid collision, there is very little choreography in the air.

"There's only so much you can do hanging in a harness," Kage said.

Elye E. Olson plays Peter Pan in the Saturday matinee at Weber State University and several other times in Salt Lake. In other performances, Olson dances as a pirate.

Olson said that flying, though an interesting and unique experience, is not quite what he expected it to be. In the air, he isn't in control and the harness is a bit confining.

"It's not what I imagined," he said. "It's not the kind of flight you picture in your dreams."

He said the feeling is more akin to climbing high up a rope and just swinging there.

"You're suspended and there's nothing around you, but you are still hanging," he said. "You're not really floating."

Even though flight is a major part of the ballet, it required only a fraction of the 700 rehearsal hours dedicated to the dances.

The scene where Peter teaches Wendy, Jonathan and Michael to fly, a few flights to and around Neverland and a couple of hops over Captain Hook add up to very little time spent in the air, yet flying is still the focal point of the ballet.

Besides learning the dances and practicing flight, Olson had to learn to make his character lovable so the audience would connect with him.

"If they can't connect with Peter, they can't connect with Neverland," he said.

Kathleen Herndon, WSU English professor, teaches children's and young adult literature. In past years, she has taught Peter Pan as part of the curriculum.

"It is a story that most people know, but they know it from the Disney version," she said.

The book has greater development. Herndon said everyone fantasizes about always being a child, but along with the endless play and lack of responsibility, come disadvantages. Children cannot experience the joys of parenthood.

Herndon said the story is magical in part because the children always outsmart the villian.

"For all his power, he [Hook] cannot beat the innocence of the children," she said.

Evening performances play in Salt Lake City at 7:30 p.m. tonight and end with a matinee and evening performance at the WSU Val A. Browning Center which begin at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available by calling 1-888-355-ARTS, or at the Capital Theater office, 50 W. 200 S.

You can reach reporter Kendra Allred by calling 626-7105.