You would never confuse a stage with a court or field, but one look at the dress rehearsal of the Dance Gallery of South Dakota’s upcoming “Sleeping Beauty” performance reveals a show that is as athletic as it is esthetic. More than 100 cast members have been working on the show since September.
“We've got evil fairies in tutus, we've got Sleeping Beauty, who has a curse cast on her and it takes a prince to kiss her,” Jackie Pederson-Kriens with Dance Gallery of South Dakota said.
Like most fairy tales this story has a happy ending. But for dancers like Madeline Robertson, it's also the finale of a career.
“It just feels good. It lets out emotion. You can really do whatever you want with it and call it art,” Robertson said.
As she twirls across the stage wearing a purple tutu as the Lilac Fairy, the Sioux Falls high school senior is capping off a career in a lead role.
“She's the one that makes everything better. And she takes all the bad things away and makes life beautiful again,” Pederson-Kriens said.
It's a major role and Robertson has worked hard for it, but it’s also her end.
“I spent at least two hours a day working out and just working on my dance. It's a really competitive world, but you just have to be the most determined and most motivated to be the best at your craft,” Robertson said.
She is taking her talent to an even bigger stage, studying performance on the East Coast. The school is yet to be decided and Robertson has more auditions within the next few weeks. It’s a big change, but she’s more excited than she is scared.
“It'll be lots of hard work, but I'm up for it,” Robertson said.
But first she needs to get though three weekend shows. After hours of sewing, painting and pirouettes the curtain opens Friday.
“I'm very proud of these kids and what they've done. They work so hard,” Pederson Kriens said.
Dance Gallery of South Dakota is holding three Sleeping Beauty performances this weekend at the Orpheum theatre in downtown Sioux Falls. Click here for more information on the performances.
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