Puer Aeternus translates from Latin into eternal boy, a mythological description of an eternally young child-God. All children, except one, grow up. In J.M. Barrie’s timeless classic, Peter Pan’s eternal youth is preserved and in both the play and novel the author wrote, Peter teaches the Darling children to fly, thanks to sparking their imagination with an added sprinkling of fairy dust. Peter’s presence in Neverland is profound for how it ultimately changes the life of the island and the people who live there.
Trey McIntyre’s full-length ballet adaptation of Peter Pan relies on the original Barrie novel as the source material, being sensitive to eliciting the emotional undercurrents that any of us encounter in the transition from childlike imagination to the practical realities of adulthood. This week, Ballet West will give the Utah premiere of McIntyre’s Peter Pan, complete with flight choreography, scenes of magical transformation and a fight scene on the pirate ship that emulates real stakes of danger. The production features music by Sir Edward Elgar, performed by the Ballet West Orchestra, led by Jared Oaks. The ballet’s world premiere was presented at Houston Ballet in 2002.
In an interview with The Utah Review, McIntyre, a polymath who also is well known for his photography of the human body, a feature-length documentary, and joined the Los Angeles-based BODYTRAFFIC, a contemporary dance company, as creative partner, talked about his personal connection to the Peter Pan story. “The story’s main thrust is a metaphor about what it means to be an artist. to stay connected to what it means to be an artist and to understand the unlimited possibilities in life and be aware of how and why we place restrictions on ourselves.”
“Peter Pan remains an enduring story because its themes speak to humanity,” Adam Sklute, Ballet West’s artistic director, noted. “The story underscores the conflict between the innocence of childhood and the social responsibility of adulthood. Barrie seems to have understood the psychology of children in ways that were ahead of the times, and he based many aspects of the story on people and situations from his own life.”
The ballet was initially commissioned by Oregon Ballet Theatre, but while the project did not materialize, McIntyre persevered and Houston Ballet, where he was appointed at the age of 20 as Choreographic Apprentice in 1989, a position created especially for him, gave the work its premiere. “I was in heaven,” he said about his days at Houston.
Among his most influential mentors is Ben Stevenson, who was artistic director of Houston Ballet for 27 years. Stevenson is a master storyteller, as many Ballet West audience members know from his staging of the Dracula tale. To enhance the spectacle vibe of the ballet, McIntyre drew from his experiences of working with Michael Curry, who is known for The Lion King on Broadway, and whose credits include the Olympics opening ceremonies, Met Opera and Cirque du Soleil.
As for the choreography he developed for Peter Pan that takes the dancer to the air, he said it came together quickly, thanks to the “sheer luck of timing.” He had spent eight months developing flight choreography for a piece where he had flown. The initial training is flyline with bungee gymnastics, which has become a popular workout because it builds up core strength and full body movement without putting a heavy impact on the joints. He said the flight choreography came together in just one day. Over the years, detailed lighting techniques have been refined to heighten the impression that the dancer is flying without visible wires.
This will be the greatest amount of flight choreography used in a Ballet West Production. McIntyre had two weeks, “not a ton of time,” to help the dancers gain their confidence. First, they had to forget whatever they thought they knew about gravity and to expand upon their skills of muscle memory and sensory placement, which enhances their existing inner sense in ballet to know exactly where their limbs are, such as sustaining a precise fifth position or maintaining alignment with their eyes closed. In understanding the physics of a pendulum, the dancers also learn to master the precise swing motion because even a few inches in discrepancies can spoil the ideal effect to be achieved.
Likewise, he has perfected the sleight-of-hand impacts of the ballet’s staged magical elements. The dancers also learn to lean more into the nuanced emotional gestures of their characters, which echo those in Barrie’s novel. Every movement is intended to be purposeful in conveying the narrative. The production features fanciful costumes by renowned Broadway designer Jeanne Button, imaginative sets by Tom Boyd, and ethereal lighting by Christina Giannelli, whose designs create magic by cleverly hiding flying wires and adding shimmer to every scene.
The score, arranged by Niel DePonte, incorporates excerpts from 22 pieces by Elgar, who was a contemporary of Barrie. This includes Wand of Youth, Suites 1 & 2 for the opening scenes of the first act and In the South Overture when Peter vanquishes Captain Hook in the third act. DePonte deliberately avoided Elgar’s warhorses such as the Enigma Variations and the first Pomp and Circumstance March. In a blog for the Houston Ballet, he explained. “I wanted an opportunity to introduce to American audiences the ‘other’ Elgar– the one whose violin solo from the Crown of India Suite (heard during Peter and Wendy’s 2nd Act pas de deux) is breathtakingly, achingly, beautiful.”
Two casts will appear in rotation during the run, which begins Feb. 13 and continues through Feb. 21, at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Salt Lake City: Peter Pan (William Lynch and David Huffmire), Wendy (Jenna Rae Herrera and Lexi McCloud), Michael (James Jobson-Larkin and Victor Galeana), John (Jacob Hancock), Mother Darling (Emily Adams and Katlyn Addison), Father Darling (Hadriel Diniz and Jordan Veit), Captain Hook (Tyler Gum and Adrian Fry), Tinkerbell (Rylee Ann Rogers and Maren Florence).
For tickets and more information, see the Ballet West website.