Sarah Cohen, dance director at the Astoria Conservatory, has choreographed another show.

Her charges are gearing up to perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“This is definitely a very hectic ballet,” she said. “But I love telling stories — for me, that’s the reward.”

On the rehearsal floor of the converted Astoria church, 30 costumed dancers buzz. “Shush! I can’t hear myself yell,” Cohen teases.

Sprites wearing lime green hats circle fairies resplendent in luminous teal. “This is the part where you get to know where everyone is going,” she says, cueing Mendelssohn’s music. “Sprites, take a step to your right.” Two of the six step left. “No, your ‘other’ right!” Cohen quips, “Look at each other, pull faces … fairies … run! Go!”

Help

The ballet will be performed at the Liberty Theatre in Astoria. Performances are at 6:30 p.m. April 23 and April 24, and doors open at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, thanks to sponsorship from the Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific, although donations will be accepted toward dance scholarships.

“That helps pay for classes in music or dance,” Cohen said. “We give them the gift of dance.”

Cohen commended helpers. Luke Ydstie and Kati Claborn created the fairy forest and Anna Liberto helped with costumes and created the donkey head which features in the comic confusion involving Queen Titania and Nick Bottom.

Vanessa Gaspar Lucas appears as Titania, Malachi Cummings is the mischievous Puck and Josie Giles portrays Bottom. Alex Nelson is Peaseblossom and Kayla Merino Lucas is Cobweb, Titania’s lead fairies.

For Nelson, an experienced ballerina, the joy has been in learning. “It is very interesting,” the 12-year-old said. “There are a lot of new moves; we get to partner and do lots of group action.”

‘Signals’

The story begins with Hermia and Lysander fleeing into an enchanted forest near Athens to get married, followed by Demetrius, who is in love with Hermia. Accompanying them is Helena, who loves Demetrius.
Puck deploys a magical flower containing a potion which causes a sleeper to fall in love with the first person they see when they awake. This shuffles the visiting lovers’ allegiances, inspiring much of the comedy.

Roarke Struve plays Lysander and Konrad Struve is Demetrius, while Hosanna Cummings plays Helen and Annie Cummings is Hermia.

For 15-year-old Roarke Struve, it is new territory. “This is the first time that all my choreography has been a partnership,” he said. “We have to ‘speak’ to them and give small signals in body language.”

Fairies are danced by Hazel Ydstie, Clover Bryson, Emmylou Bovenizer, Azucena Gaspar Lucas, Genie Lee Martinez and Johanna Heineman.

Sprites are Ruby Jane Owen, Lucia Elasmar, Silvia Stanley, Eva Ezren and Nova Rae Donnellan and Rosario Gaspar Lucas, who also plays Changeling, a creature that Titania and Puck are arguing over at the beginning.

Actors in the play-within-a-play are Lucy Catalano, Luca Carney, Bernadette Liberto, Zoja Fick, Ruby Jane Owen, Clementine Steegmans, Malcolm Mosman, Joanna Rae Allen, Juna Kissane and Adaline Carrera.

Toadstools are Solomon Jeans, Ava Almassi, Zinnia Kohlhas, Noa Frankowicz and Emily Lee Martinez.

‘Opportunity’

It is the troupe’s largest full show at the Liberty; to match the longer-than-wide dimensions of the Astoria stage Cohen turned their rehearsal space sideways, meaning dancers could not use the wall mirrors.

She notes Shakespeare’s comedy is “a celebration of love and the magic of dreams.” She invites the community to see her young dancers’ talents. “I like to be able to give the kids an opportunity to create something from beginning to end,” she said. “Having a full show produces an incredibly well-rounded dancer.”

Cohen has streamlined the action and moved King Oberon offstage. “If you read the play, it is very busy, it’s hard to imagine, but the ballet helps clarify a lot of things,” she said. “It’s hectic and mayhem, but it is rough and gets molded into something that’s palatable.”

The date of the first performance, April 23, is believed to have been William Shakespeare’s birth date in 1564, and also the day he died in 1616.

 

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Ballet production by the Astoria Conservatory.

6:30 p.m. April 23 and April 24, Liberty Theatre, 1203 Commercial St., Astoria.

Admission is free but donations will be accepted.