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Yesterday, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet premiered its newest ballet – Wonderland, to the world.  Choreographed by Shawn Hounsel, with new musical pieces composed by John Estacio and Brian Current.  Of exceptional note were the costumes by long time RWB Director of Wardrobe Anne Armit and, taking us into a new era of set design, were the amazing graphics of Guillaume Lord.  All in all, the experience was refreshing, at times humourous and a feast for the eyes.

Shawn Hounsel, formerly a dancer with the RWB, did an admirable job of blending contemporary and classical styles, well suited to a younger troupe.  And while there were points in which there was so much frenzied activity on the stage it was difficult to know what to watch, the whole reached ballet lovers of all tastes.

It was also a pleasure to see the creative licence taken with the costumes.  This story has always engendered whimsy and the unexpected.  Anne was very clever and managed to capture that whimsy while at the same time building on the humour that Shawn so obviously planned.

There was some speculation about how this ballet would come off with the demands for sets of such an elaborate story.  There are so many locations that Alice travels through and so many unusual circumstances – growing, shrinking, pools of tears, gardens, falling down the rabbit hole, that it would seem impossible to manage.  Suffice it to say that technology has now found a place in a very traditional world.  The entire set consisted of a few panels, in varying sizes, that could easily be moved around the floor and an ongoing series of projected images, both on the back wall and the panels.  Guillame created an amazing fantasy world with computer graphics that accomodated all the demands of the story and left the stage nearly completely free for dancing.  Only in the “mad tea party” scene was there a need for props. 

The work of these three artists made the work of an already exceptional ballet company, even more exceptional.  It was a special thrill to see Tara Birtwhistle perform in what could only be described as an “acting” role as the fearsome and totally funny Queen of Hearts.