Vail Valley Academy of Dance performs ‘Wizard of Oz’ this weekend

Get ready to follow the Yellow Brick Road through the Land of Oz as the Vail Valley Academy of Dance performs “Wizard of Oz” at the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek this weekend.

“This version of ‘Wizard of Oz’ shows friendships found in unusual places and where dreams can take you, always remembering that there’s no place like home,” said Ashley Calligan, owner and artistic director of Vail Valley Academy of Dance. “You will see Dorothy on her farm, a technical whirlwind of a cyclone, Munchkin Land, the Scarecrow, Tinman, Lion, Wicked Witch, Wizard of Oz, and stops along the way through the Poppy Fields and Emerald City.” 

Calligan said the planning to bring audiences over the rainbow happens about a year in advance. Since the Vail Valley Academy of Dance didn’t do a full-length ballet last year due to the Vilar Center undergoing renovations, the group felt it was time to do a big production like this.

“We plan so far ahead of time because half of the year we are preparing for ‘Nutcracker’ in December. We start the choreography at their ballet classes in January. The dancers learn the entire ballet in their weekly classes, and we only put it all together the week of the performances,” Calligan said. “This takes a lot of dedication from the dancers and teachers to get this accomplished in this amount of time.”  

The dancers range in age from eight years old to seniors in high school and there are about 100 dancers in the “Wizard of Oz” performances. For the seniors this last production is a sentimental journey.

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“It makes me think about how my first ballet was the ‘Wizard of Oz’ and how I was on the same stage years ago,” said Lily Danzoll. “It’s bittersweet to think about this being my last performance here, but it feels like my heart is full,”

For senior Willow Uzdavinis, she’s happy to physically be able to perform after breaking her foot halfway through the season.

“It’s definitely a sad feeling but right now I’m just grateful I get to end it on a good note performing in the ‘Wizard of Oz,'” Uzdavinis said.

In addition to the “Wizard of Oz” ballet, “Over the Rainbow” is the dance company’s recital theme this year with performances showcasing jazz, contemporary, tap, musical theatre and hip-hop classes by dancers ages 3-18. Each show has anywhere between 100 to 150 dancers in them.

“We do three performances to make sure all the families can fit into the Vilar Center and to make sure the performances are not too long. Each performance is between one hour and one and a half hours. Some of our older dancers are in all five performances and the youngest dancers are in one performance,” Calligan said.

“The ‘Over the Rainbow’ performances also showcase our two elite companies: Altitude Dance Company, which is our competition dance team and the Vail Youth Ballet Company sponsored by Vail Friends of Dance,” Calligan said. “We have a piece on the Saturday, 1:30 p.m. performance choreographed by Sarah Tallman. She is the ballet master and assistant to the director at Wonderbound in Denver. The piece she choreographed is based on ‘Mr. Rogers Neighborhood’ with music of J.S. Bach.” 

The professional and technical staff at the Vilar Center help these dancers shine and add to this top-notch event. All ages are welcome to the performances and the youngsters in the audience may be inspired to get up on stage with Vail Valley Academy of Dance. From ages eight to 18, this experience creates quite a tight-knit group.

“I love the community. It’s like having a second family. We all support each other. We all get to watch each other grow as people and as dancers,” said Uzdavinis. 

“It was so great to be a part of Vail Valley Academy of Dance. I have never been somewhere where my problems melt immediately. I don’t think I can find that again,” Danzoll said.