It’s been three years since Ballet Aligned has produced a new work and we’re having so much fun bringing Velveteen Rabbit to life!
This was one of my absolute favorite stories when I was little – I even had a bunny I slept with, inspired by the tale. So when considering a new show to be performed in the spring, it seemed like a perfect fit!
Once again, Joel Ackerman was commissioned to write the libretto. Joel’s sense of bringing out the most beautiful aspects of the stories we perform ensures our ballets are more than just a pretty sight but filled with a richer meaning that touches the soul. (The libretto for this ballet was actually completed 2 years ago, but Ballet Aligned’s move into the Opera Building in 2024 put a pause on a new production.)
With the critical support our Night Before Christmas show received in Dec 2025, I felt our organization, students, and teachers were ready for the challenge of building something new again!
Once the sense of how to tell the story is complete, you need music for the ballet to be able to express it. For that, I turned to my daughter, Evelyn Casperson, with a long list of what I wanted each moment to do for the audience. Evelyn is a gifted composer and music arranger, and it was she who assembled the score, with the right tempos and tones, to tell our tale. She also cut the music together to flow from one scene to another.
In order to rehearse each piece, however, it was important to tell the teachers and dancers not only how their roles fit into the story, but even the nitty gritty details about the props they’d have to work with, where they would enter and exit, how many counts they had to tell their part of the story, and what the costumes would look like. Lisa Preece and others were so supportive in our prop creation. Each time I hit Lisa with what I thought was a tall ask–“We need a box to fit around a dancer” or “we need pieces of cake”–the response was always, “No problem.”
Kyle Stein, who designs and builds sets for Utah Festival Opera and many other productions in and out of state, met the challenge of creating a new set with the same enthusiasm: “We can do that.”
And I loved my visits with our costume designer, Debi King, who didn’t bat an eye when I said I needed 6-legged ants, or for the bunny to change from a stuffed toy into a real hare in less than 10 seconds.
Nearly all of these conversations needed to take place before a single step was conceived of, let alone taught to our dancers!
But now they have learned their roles and are working to perfect them! I’m so proud of our progress and so grateful for our parents who stay on top of the information, help us ensure we have an audience to enjoy the show, and volunteer as needed to bring the show to life!
I love our rehearsals together. I love helping each dancer to be a part of sharing something beautiful with our audience. I’m excited to bring the Velveteen Rabbit to life in more ways than one, and I hope it feels your heart with gratitude and deep reflection, as it has mine, already!
(Photo credit: Young Moments)
