Kids will love Huntsville Ballet’s “Carnival of the Animals”

Elephants that arabesque? Kangaroos that cabriolé? Kids will delight in these cavorting creatures and more at Huntsville Ballet’s Carnival of the Animals! This show opens their much-anticipated Unplugged series and will showcase both classical and contemporary choreography.

Huntsville Ballet Performs a Classic

Carnival of the Animals was composed in 1886 by Camille Saint-Saёns to musically express some of the silly habits his friends shared with animals. The piece consists of 14 movements, each of which uses the sounds of the orchestra to imitate the sounds of an animal, from roosters to elephants to kangaroos.

This classic musical suite was so funny and popular, Looney Tunes featured it in a live-action TV special with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in 1976! Watch it with your kids before Huntsville Ballet performs it this October – it’s a great way to prepare younger kids for their first ballet performance. There’s also a wonderfully illustrated book by John Lithgow you can read together before the show.

“Carnival of the Animals promises to delight children and adults alike,” said Phillip Otto, Artistic Director for Huntsville Ballet. “Each year, we try to capture the imagination of our audience by introducing them to a variety of ballets and compositions. For this performance, we have enlisted the help of local favorites, Ron Roberts and Wilson Luquire to narrate the humorous verses inspired by this popular piece,” Otto said. Phillip Otto, Rachel Butler, and Cathy Curry collaborated to create stylized choreography for the different animals brought to life.

Talented Dancers & Amazing Costumes

Monica Yother, marketing director at Huntsville Ballet, knows firsthand another reason why little ones will enjoy this particular performance. “Kids will love the creative animal costumes and the way the dancers incorporate each animal’s character into dance!”

In addition to Carnival of the Animals, Huntsville Ballet will also perform two premiering works.

• Moral Virtue: A new work by Artistic Director, Phillip Otto, this piece is inspired by a classical dance form demanding grace and precision and employing formalized steps and gestures set in intricate, flowing patterns to create expression through movement.
• Images Unconfined: This new work by Stephanie Braly-Beutjer set to music by Karl Jenkins was inspired by the many dancers she’s taught over the past 25 years in Images Dance Ensemble at Grissom High School. Lord Byron wrote, “On with the Dance, Let Joy be Unconfined!” This piece represents moving joyously and with abandon – unrestrained, uninhibited yet powerful movement through time and space.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your family’s seats before tickets sell out!

Huntsville Ballet “Carnival of the Animals” Show Details

Dates: Friday, Oct. 22 at 7PM; Saturday Oct. 23 at 2PM and 7PM; Sunday Oct. 24 at 3PM
Location: The Rock Dream Theatre (map)
Cost: All tickets are $35 | Buy Tickets Online
Phone: 256-539-0961
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