Return to Oz

The Company of Dance Arts, a premier pre-professional ballet company, presents The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank today and Sunday at 3pm both days.

The Company of Dance Arts was founded by Jennifer James Church in 1985, as part of The Academy of Dance Arts on Chestnut Street. The mission of the organization is to provide young dancers with performance opportunities that meet professional standards of artistic development, performance values and production qualities.  The Company’s Nutcracker has become a perennial seasonal favorite in Red Bank. Oz is also a returning production from CODA’s repertoire, having been presented in 2000, 2003 and 2007.

Oz was choreographed by Yvonne Lamb Scudiery, Director of Education for the Count Basie Theatre. Scudiery’s work transmutes the timeless classic into a full-length ballet. Scudiery remarked that the joy creating the work is only surpassed by the company’s dedication to it. “The talented and devoted dancers understand the importance of team work and the strong doses of discipline needed for excellence.” 

The cast, made up of all local dancers are among over 100 dancers selected from open auditions held in January. The process, described by CODA founder, Church, as “long and involved,” includes 6-8 artistic staff members. Dancers are divided into age/ability categories. They are taught sections of the actual choreography all together, then are divided into small groups to perform what they have just learned. The evaluating staff members look for a dancer’s ability to quickly “pick up on” the choreography.

“We look for musicality, a sense of performance, accuracy, characterization and spacial awareness,” Church said. “The dancer's size and existing costumes is another factor.” Church said arriving at the proper casting for the show is a bit like placing a “jigsaw puzzle together.”

In terms of the rehearsal process for the production, each age level has different requirements, Church said. The pre-proffessional dancers must be able to execute advanced choreography, often with movement that has been designed for professional dancers. After the basic choreography requirements were met for Oz, Scudiery moved in to enhance the performance with nuances and characterizations.

Church said Oz was picked from a repertoire of 25 years of CODA productions.  Deciding which production fits best for each season is based on the level of dancers within the company. “We take into account how many advanced dancers we have,” Church added.  “Using that criteria, we choose the one that fits for the year.  This year Oz was the perfect fit.”

Tickets for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are available online at: www.countbasietheatre.org or at the Basie Box Office.