Dance Prism Premieres New Production of The Little Mermaid

Dance Prism presents is original interpretation of The Little Mermaid, Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved tale of the beautiful sea maiden who renounces her aquatic life for the love of a human prince, at the Center for Performing Arts in Littleton on October 20 at 2:30 pm and at The Collins Center in Andover on October 27, also at 2:30 pm, with other performances to be named. Following each performance, audience members are invited to meet the Little Mermaid, the Prince, and other characters at a complimentary sea-themed reception with surprises for children and sweet treats for all.

A classic love story as well as a favorite fairy tale, the ballet portrays the ever problematic intersection of two exclusive realms, in this instance earth and water, and the effort of romance to transcend the divide between them. The production features Amy Higgins as the Little Mermaid, Matthew Tucker as the prince for whose love she yearns, and Jonathan Towle as the malicious and magical Sea Warlock. They are surrounded on the one side by the courtiers and peasantry of the Danish landscape in which the story was written, and on the other by fanciful creatures of the under sea world, jellyfish, seahorses, mermaids of course (20 of them!), and the malevolent sea witches that haunt the Warlock’s cave.

Choreographer Miranda Bailey imagines the Little Mermaid as not simply a spritely animated figure but as a courageous and venturesome young woman who cares so passionately for a distant Prince that she forfeits not only her carefree under sea life with her father and sisters but the near immortality of mermaid life. That viewpoint, says Dance Prism Artistic Director Mary Demaso, has resulted in pas de deux for the Mermaid and the Prince that are among the most beautiful in the company’s repertoire.

Tickets for The Little Mermaid, as well as for Dance Prism’s upcoming performances of The Nutcracker are available through danceprism.com or by calling 978-371-1038. For more information, email danceprisminformation@gmail.com.

About Dance Prism

Dance Prism, founded in 1982 by Scott Ranagan and Mary Demaso, is a classically focused ensemble that includes in its repertoire both such narrative ballets as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Cinderella, and original works including Variations on Make Way for Ducklings, inspired by Robert McCloskey’s beloved tale, and Dance Prism’s most popular family oriented ballet, A Tea Party with Alice in Wonderland, scheduled to be revived in the spring of 2020. Among its productions have been such major works as Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, and Romeo and Juliet, as well as lighter ballets especially appropriate for family groups such as Peter Pan and Puss in Boots. Dance Prism is composed of approximately 25 professional dancers and apprentices, supplemented for larger productions such as The Nutcracker by serious ballet students who audition annually for the company. Dance Prism’s casts include dancers based throughout the northeast region and eastern seaboard. The company also provides performances, lecture demonstrations, and workshops for a number of private and public schools and retirement communities throughout the region. Dance Prism is a not-for-profit performance organization only.