Young dancers put spin on fairy tales

Jim miller/viewFrom left in the foreground, dancers Tanya King and Celeste Escobedo bust a move during a rehearsal of the musical "A Hip-Hop Fairy Tale." The show will be presented Aug. 22 at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive. Advertisement

By JEFF MOSIER

SPECIAL TO VIEW

The Winchester Star Catchers are putting on its first dance theater production with the telling of "A Hip-Hop Fairy Tale."

The original story involves two siblings, Princess Katie and Prince Sean, who disagree over who is the best dancer. The Queen grows tired of their bickering and sends them both on a journey to find dance members to compete with them in a final dance battle to decide, once and for all, who the best dancer is.

Tiffannie Bond and Samantha Nicholes are the dance instructors and directors of the show. Bond, who wrote the script, said the story borrows elements from several fairy tales, including "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland."

"It's supposed to be fun and goofy," Bond said. "And, of course, there's a moral."

In previous years, Bond's classes have culminated with its own version of the popular TV show "So You Think You Can Dance," but this year the students will be putting on their first dance theater production.

"I think they like the change," Bond said about her students. "They are really embracing it."

Katie Chiaramonte, 15, will be playing Princess Katie, and is excited for the chance to finally perform after months of rehearsal.

"It's going to be a great show," Chiaramonte said. "We're putting so much time and effort into it. It's going to be amazing."

In fact, the students' efforts will be seen in not only their dancing, but in their costumes, as well. Most of the kids will be making their own costumes from household materials, the idea being to keep costs to a minimum. And with characters like Ella Ella the Enchanted Umbrella and The Totem Pole, which consists of four students dressed as an eagle, a butterfly, a coyote and a fox, seeing what they come up with should be fun in itself.

Chiaramonte's counterpart in the play, Prince Sean, will be played by Sean Cashman, 12, who likes the script, but said that the dancing is his favorite part.

"It makes everything disappear when you're dancing," Cashman said. "It makes you feel good."

The Winchester Star Catchers consists of more than 30 performers, ages 8 to 17, who have been rehearsing for this performance since the beginning of June. But it's not all work and no play.

As Princess Katie said, "Rehearsals are a blast. Tiffannie always makes sure we have fun."

The show will be performed at 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Winchester Cultural Center at 3130 S. McLeod Drive. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors.

For more information about "A Hip-Hop Fairy Tale" or the Winchester Star Catchers, call the Winchester Cultural Center at 455-7340 or visit www. accessclarkcounty.com/parks.