Plano Metropolitan Ballet, the pre-professional ballet company of Plano studio Gotta Dance, will celebrate its thirty-fifth anniversary with its performance of “Aladdin: An Original Fairy Tale Ballet.” The curtain goes up at 7 p.m Jan. 7 at the Courtyard Theater and will continue with single performances on Fridays and two on Saturdays through Jan. 22. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased at planometballet.org.
The preference also marks Metropolitan Ballet’s return to a full audience after a year of COVID-restricted performances. During that time, they only perform in front of family.
“Hopefully people will find us so we can get back on track,” Director Cindi Lawrence-Hanson said. “It’s a big project, but that’s what makes it so thrilling and fun.”
The cast of nearly 40 dancers has been rehearsing since early September. Preparing for the 90-minute performance required the combined efforts of four choreographers working with different groups. This years’ performers include dancers as young as 11 as well as four graduating seniors. Lawrence-Hanson says they can’t wait to show those seniors off, some of whom started munch younger and have come up through the ranks over the years.
She adds that the performance is meant for all ages. Whether they are adults or five-year-old, she’s betting that they will enjoy it.
“There’s a lot of humor in it. It’s not a stuffy ballet,” she says. “It’s an amazing thing to see a story told just by the dances on stage. It’s so fun. They bring the story to life.”
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