An updated and expanded version of Southern California Ballet’s “Alice in Wonderland” is coming to the Poway Center for the Performing Arts.
Seventy dancers ages 6 to 19 will be presenting the two-hour ballet at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 5 and 1 p.m. Sunday, April 6.
“We first made this in 2020, but didn’t get to perform it until 2022,” said Toby Batley, SCB’s co-artistic director. “It is all original — the costumes, set design and choreography set to the music of Tchaikovsky, mostly ‘Swan Lake.’”
“It is fun and accessible, not like an old-fashioned ballet that some might find potentially boring,” he said. “This is more modern … not pure classical.”
Batley said the original ballet’s storyline incorporates elements from Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and Disney’s movie version.
“It’s an amalgamation of the bits that we like,” he said. “It is inspired by Disney, but we could not include everything from the book. It is about the journey Alice takes through Wonderland and the animals.”
This is the second time the Carmel Mountain Ranch-based ballet studio has presented the show. Batley said the set has been improved, there are some new costumes and a new scene choreographed that gives Alice a solo.
While jazz shoes are worn for some portions for the modern element, Batley said pure classical ballet is also featured, such as in the flower scene where the dancers are on pointe.
Two dancers in the flower scene are third-year company dancers Siena Wei and Emma Litoff.
Wei, 17, is a senior at Del Norte High School and 4S Ranch resident. She is a flower soloist and card in the Saturday show, and the White Rabbit in the Sunday show.
Wei said this is her first time in a lead role and she is looking forward to performing as the White Rabbit.
“It’s definitely a little nervewracking, but also exciting,” Wei said. “The role is very energetic and a lot of fun.”
She said the White Rabbit is present throughout Alice’s journey and serves as a to Alice during many of the dances.
As the White Rabbit she wears ballet flats, but as a flower and card Wei said she gets to dance on pointe, which she has been doing for at least six years.
“I like how it is definitely challenging and also a lot of fun,” Wei said of dancing on pointe.
Litoff, 17, is a senior at Rancho Bernardo High School and Carmel Mountain Ranch resident. She is the Queen of Hearts and Alice’s sister Edith in the Saturday show, and a flower soloist and card in the Sunday show.
The Queen of Hearts is her first lead role.
“The Queen is a fun role because she is very royal, poised and proper, but then gets really angry and that is funny,” Litoff said. “She is above everyone else as the ruler, but everyone who knows her makes fun of her because she is too self-centered, has an ego and is in her own little world with her little minions that she orders around.”
Litoff said a lot of rehearsal time has been devoted to discussing and developing their characters.
“I have to be super focused when I get mad,” she said, explaining that she channels that emotion by imagining how she would react to someone she was mad at in the real world.
“I use that emotion for my character,” Litoff said.
Those who watch her mannerisms as Edith will notice some reappear when she is the Queen. That is intentional, she said.
“Edith is the sweet and innocent older sister who is trying to teach Alice her values and stuff, but Alice does not pay attention so she gets upset,” Litoff said. “You will see that mimicked in the Queen of Hearts. It is like she is the same character, almost. Alice is too busy and in her own world to respect them.”
Both dancers appeared in “Alice” in 2022. At that time Litoff was a dewdrop and in the caucus race, while Wei was a duck and dewdrop.
“My favorite aspect and part of the show is watching the complicated scenes of Alice’s journey up the rabbit hole,” Wei said. “There is ordered chaos that brings the story to life.”
Having her SCB dance career end with “Alice” is especially meaningful to Litoff because her first SCB recital 10 years ago had an “Alice” theme, though it was not this show.
“Having it be my first and last gives it a special place in my heart,” she said. “This show is also fun and different from classical ballets. While the others also have acting, this one is more fun, comedic and serious, which is really interesting.”
Wei said she started ballet at age 3 in an afterschool program, which led to her studying ballet, tap and gymnastics elsewhere before ing SCB in 2014 so she could focus on ballet.
“I love ballet because of the joy and release from everyday stress,” Wei said. “I like expressing emotion without words, it has brought me my closest friends, pushed me outside of my comfort zone and built my confidence.”
Litoff started ballet at age 3 by taking classes through the YMCA before transferring to a dance studio in 4S Ranch. She ed SCB 10 years ago and said all her dance studies have focused on ballet.
“What I like about it is that there is a really good work ethic and I really enjoy the mental state,” Litoff said. “You have to be focused and escape everything else. It is almost like nothing else matters and you have to work hard.”
As company dancers, both girls said they take classes at least 15 hours a week, a big commitment that requires them to manage their time well between dance, school, extracurriculars and part-time jobs.
Being a company dancer means a lot to Litoff, who has been dancing on pointe for five years.
“I really enjoy the leadership role because I looked up to those in the company,” she said. “It is cool to have accomplished a dream from my younger years and I hope younger kids look up to me too.”
Both said they would like to continue dancing in some capacity in the future, but they plan to pursue other career paths. Wei said she wants to major in engineering at a yet-to-be-chosen university, while Litoff said she plans to major in digital marketing at Arizona State University.
In addition to the two public shows, Batley said Southern California Ballet will present two school shows on April 4 through its partnership with Poway OnStage. SCB has presented a school version of “The Nutcracker” before, but this is the first time it is doing so for its spring production.
“We feel it is part of our mission to further ballet in the community and with the next generation who might not necessarily know what ballet is,” Batley said. “It has a reputation for being closed-off, traditionalist and elitist, so some feel they can’t access it. This is a way for as many (youths) as possible to see what ballet really is and hopefully they will enjoy it.”
Tickets for the two public shows range from $30 to $60. For the link to purchase tickets, visit southerncaliforniaballet.org.
