The last time Madison Epps danced in “Peter Pan” with Ballet Excel, she played a Lost Boy. When she takes the stage in this year’s reprisal, the 17 year old will portray the title character, her first lead role with the company. She called it her “dream role.”
“I love being Peter Pan, because he just has so much joy, and he’s really strong. He’s kind of like a leader of all the Lost Boys,” Epps said. “And obviously I take class with the Lost Boys, the kids who play them, and I feel like that leadership goes further than the role.”
Epps and the rest of Ballet Excel will take the stage at Akron Civic Theatre on March 15 and March 16 for two performances of “Peter Pan.”
With its fast-paced choreography of jumps, leaps and sword fighting, “Peter Pan” is a challenging piece for Ballet Excel’s dancers, some of whom take five or more dance classes a week.
“It’s hard, because the ballets that were back in the ‘70s and ‘80s and even some ‘90s weren’t as challenging for my dancers,” said Ballet Excel Artistic Director Mia Klinger. “So I have to reprise the ones that are conducive to the training of the dancers now.”
Because they are playing male roles, Epps and Adalyn Zorich, who plays Captain Hook, aren’t on pointe for the performance, meaning they aren’t wearing the ballet shoes that female dancers typically wear.
“So when I do roles that are on pointe, I feel like I’m always like, ‘Oh, my feet hurt!’” Epps said. “But even when I’m not on point for Peter Pan, I’m always sweating, and I’m very tired. So it’s very physically demanding, but I enjoyed it.”
The physicality of the role (and the lack of pointe shoes) was a plus for 16-year-old Zorich.
“I like doing guy roles because we don’t have to be on pointe, because that hurts,” she said. “And the roles are a lot funner, I think, because it’s a lot more jumps and stuff.”
At a recent dress rehearsal at Nan Klinger Excellence In Dance, which is based in Cuyahoga Falls, dancers as young as 9 and as old as 18 took their places in a large dance studio. Even without the full scenery and the grandeur of the Civic stage, the show was compelling. The kids — many dressed as pirates and Lost Boys — are a talented and committed bunch.
From her stool, Klinger watched it all, offering notes — “too far downstage,” “wait for him” — in a calm, measured tone when needed.
Klinger’s mother Nan founded Ballet Excel in 1975. Klinger took over officially in 2003 after her mother died. Today, it is the fourth-oldest youth ballet in the country, Klinger said. She also serves as the artistic director of Nan Klinger Excellence In Dance, the school her mother founded in 1953. While all Ballet Excel members take lessons at Nan Klinger Excellence In Dance, the school and the company are separate entities.
The goal of Ballet Excel is to give young dancers opportunities to perform. Besides the annual performance at the Civic, Ballet Excel stages multiple performances each year, from school visits to events at the Akron Art Museum and in downtown Cuyahoga Falls.
Klinger said her mother described dancing but not performing as “like always practicing football but never playing a game.”
“You can’t really be well versed in classical ballet if you’re never getting the opportunity to perform,” she added.
For 17-year-old Wendy Moreno, dance offers a different way to express herself.
“I just like how I can express myself without talking, because I don’t like talking too much,” said Moreno, who plays Wendy Darling. “So that was one of the things that really caught my eye when I first started dance. I didn’t have to talk. I would just use movement to express my feelings, and I really liked that.”
Ellie Ferry, who plays Tinker Bell, said the character’s mischievousness was fun to explore in the role.
“I like how she’s kind of spontaneous, and she has her own little sparks and character,” Ferry said. “It’s just fun to play around with the part and see the different kind of ways I can play it out and act it out.”
In June, Ballet Excel will celebrate its 50th season. For Klinger, who started teaching in the late ’80s, her students are what keep her going.
“It’s a good group of kids, and that’s really the key to a great company, is making sure that you have real positive-minded kids that cheer each other on. It’s a competition, but it’s not a competition to them because they’re so proud of each others’ accomplishments.”
As the name of her mother’s school implies, Klinger wants Ballet Excel’s legacy to be about teaching excellence to children. And for her, dance is the way to do that.
“No matter what they do in their life, they always have that lesson to carry on throughout their adulthood,” she said. “That’s really the key to life.”