by April Helms
Special Products Editor
What was going to be a simple, one-day collaboration between the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet and the Akron Art Museum wound up flying beyond anything they had imagined, said representatives from both entities.
Currently, the Akron Art Museum is displaying art inspired by J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," entitled "Ticking Crocs and Fairy Dust: Youthful Visions and the Art of Peter Pan," on view through April 13. The pre-professional ballet company will be performing a dance based on that well-known tale March 8 and 9.
The ballet company had initially thought to pair with the museum for workshops and activities on the days of the dances, said Laura Kulwicki with the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet. But soon, the collaboration encompassed activities and partnerships with This City Reads and the Akron-Summit County main library.
The Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet participated in This City Reads! Month, including a presentation of part of the show at the Akron-Summit County main library on Feb. 9. The ballet company also performed scenes from its upcoming presentation of "Peter Pan" at the Art Museum on Feb. 13, where attendees enjoyed a short performance by the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet and participate in reading "Peter Pan." Audience members also became pirates and were taught a simple dance routine by members of the ballet's outreach program, Reach Out and Dance. Miller South in Akron also performed an excerpt of "Peter Pan," which is the school's spring production.
Costumed Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet dancers also participated in The Akron Art Museum's free Peter Pan Family Drop-In Day on Feb. 16, which included a silent film version of the tale, hands-on activities that explored set design, costume design, and makeup artistry with local professional artists Inda Blatch-Geib and Benjamin Hardin.
"I think the dancers enjoy performing before the children," Kulwicki said after the Feb. 13 event at the Akron Art Museum. "They were so receptive, and the dancers love that."
Missy Higgins, the director of education at the Akron Art Museum, said the beauty of the collaboration between the library, the museum and the ballet was that the partnership incorporates the visual arts, the literary arts and the performing arts.
"We are just so excited all these organizations could come together over one classic children's story," Higgins said. "The Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet has been wonderful to work with."
The Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet rounds out these collaborative efforts with its three performances of "Peter Pan" at the historic Akron Civic Theatre on March 8 and 9. Prior to the 2:30 p.m. performance on March 9, The Akron Art Museum will host a special Peter Pan costume brunch. Families are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite Peter Pan characters. Adult tickets are $12 per person, children 3 to 12 are $6, and children 3 and under are free. Reservations will be taken at the Art Museum for 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m.
Ticket prices are $12, $18, and $25, with Girl and Boy Scout discounts and other group discounts available. To purchase tickets to the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet's performance of Peter Pan, call 330-253-2488. For additional details, visit the Cuyahoga Valley Youth Ballet's Web site at www.cvyb.org or call the information line at 330-996-1100.
Akron Art Museum
The museum's exhibition "Ticking Crocs and Fairy Dust" was specially commissioned temporary installation project by Akron artist and designer Blatch-Geib, with the assistance of fellow designer and apprentice Hardin.
On display in the museum's Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery, Ticking Crocs and Fairy Dust incorporates theatrical elements and original sketches by local children based on "Peter Pan," Higgins said.
"We put a call out for local children between 4 and 12 to send us their illustrations for 'Peter Pan,'" Higgins said. "We received about 300 entries. Inda and I worked together and chose 30 to be framed. We chose another 48 and incorporated the art throughout the exhibits."
Drawings by local children hang on the outside wall of the gallery, representing a Victorian parlor. Patrons enter the theatrical portion of the exhibition through a set of velvet drapes. Two-dimensional characters from the book protrude from panels on the walls and Captain Hook's ship juts out of the floor. The boat is surrounded by a fabric pool of water that includes cast glass starfish and bubbles, resin octopuses and turtles and a mermaid sculpture. Scenes from the book are represented on the walls of the gallery.
The museum is at One South High in Akron. For more details on programming at The Akron Art Museum, contact 330-376-9186, ext. 229 or e-mail mhiggins@akronartmuseum.org.
Adult general admission is $7, student and seniors 65 and older are $5, and children 12 and under are free. Museum members are free. On the first Tuesday of every month, individual admissions to the collection are free. Special exhibitions may require paid admission. No tours are available on these days. Hours are Tuesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays at 11 a.m. through 9 p.m.; and the museum is closed Monday. For details, visit www.AkronArtMuseum.org online.
E-mail: ahelms@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3153