Ballet San Jose School Tells the Tale of Silly Simon
March 25th, 2011
The Ballet San Jose School will present Silly Simon, a one-hour ballet for young audiences based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale Klod Hans, this May.
Audry Steinbach as the princess and Tag Frost as Silly Simon (Photo by John Gerbetz)
The ballet, first performed by the Royal Danish Ballet in 1989, tells the tale of a princess who insists on marrying the man in her kingdom who can speak most wittily. Three brothers—two clever chaps and Silly Simon—ride off to try their luck. Along the way, Silly Simon collects presents for the princess that set his brothers laughing: a dead crow . . . an old wooden shoe . . . a pocket full of mud. But who has the last laugh?
Choreography is by school director Lise la Cour, with music by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre and
scenery and costumes by Bjórn Wiinblad. Ballet San Jose is under the artistic direction of Dennis Nahat.
Performances will be held May 28 and 29 at 1:30pm at California Theater, 345 South First Street, San Jose, California. Tickets are $21 to $60 for adults and $16 to $55 for children. They can be purchased at the ballet box office, 408.288.2800, or at www.balletSJ.org.
Posted in DSL Dance Wire | 
Tags: ballet performance, Ballet San Jose, Ballet San Jose School, Lise la Cour
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SIMON SAYS, “DANCE!”
(Excerpts from a theater preview by Loureen Giodano for Bay Area Parent Magazine, November 2003.)
Close your eyes. Now think of ballet. Did I hear a yawn? Admit it. At the word ballet you probably don’t imagine laughing at some lout riding a Billy goat. Perhaps you don’t imagine laughing at all—or bringing your kids. Ballet San Jose wants to change that with [SILLY SIMON.]
The big draw for this show is not just the story and the music, but the cast. SIMON will be performed by Professional and Open level students of Ballet San Jose School. “It’s children for children,” says Lise la Cour, director of the ballet school and choreographer of SIMON. “The kids in the audience really respond to the youngsters on stage. They clap and laugh and imagine themselves as the characters. They’ll see the Princess or Silly Simon and think, ‘I want to do that’. Children are really our hope of keeping culture alive in the future.”
A 15-minute classical ballet will precede “Silly Simon”.
“Invitation to the Dance” was choreographed for the students of the professional division of the BSJ school to the music of Carl Maria von Weber. Famous for its use in Fokine’s duet for Nijinsky and Karsavina “Le Spectre de la Rose,” this lush waltz has been reinterpreted by choreographer Dalia Rawson (Ballet Mistress of BSJ School) to showcase the technical achievements and artistry of students from all levels of the BSJ School’s Professional Division. Ms. Rawson created this work to celebrate the journey of a BSJ pupil, who evolves from an aspiring student learning the basics of classical ballet technique while dreaming of becoming a ballerina, to a graduating dancer ready to leave the school and continue her development as an artist. The ballet has been choreographed specifically for the students who will be performing the work, and it showcases the individual strengths of many of the BSJ School’s talented young artists.
Total length of program (including one 15-minute intermission is 90 minutes
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