The Ugly Duckling's Dancing Cabaret

Cas Public

The poetic and brilliant vision of Cas Public is well known to children and educators across the continent. Acclaimed choreographer Helene Blackburn's latest work combines The Ugly Duckling with Swan Lake in this sunny mix of song, music dance, theatre and video. Drawing inspiration from German Cabarets of the 1920s, The Ugly Duckling's Dancing Cabaret explores the netherworlds between reality, dreams and illusions in short vignettes.

A work for 6 dancers, and a pianist/master of ceremonies, this cabaret is a collaboration with Slovak visual artist Fero Liptak, and features exceptional imagery and video.

"Children between the ages of four and eight live in a world where the real and the imagined constantly rub shoulders" says Helene Blackburn. "They play pretend games. And at this age they begin to let go of their illusions, give up on santa claus and the tooth fairy, in order to better confront reality, without totally turning their back on what is magical. I wanted to play with artifice, to question the power of illusions, of reality and its representation, by questioning the place children and adults leave to the magical and to imagination in their lives."

Ages: 4 - 8
Grades: preK - 4