STAGE DANCE

The Academy of Classical Ballet–California is proud to present Thumbelina, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a thumb-sized girl and her many adventures. In the story, a tiny girl named Thumbelina emerges from a beautiful bouquet of flowers amongst the butterflies. The generous and caring Woodland fairy makes it her responsibility to watch over the vulnerable Thumbelina. One evening, while dancing in the glade with her winged friends, she is carried off by a chorus of frogs who want the miniature maiden as their playmate. The mischievous frogs tease poor Thumbelina and leave her on a lily pad in the middle of the stream – keeping her captive. With the help of friendly fish, Thumbelina escapes and drifts along until coming across a cluster of ladybugs.

As the seasons change, Thumbelina finds that she is far from home and does her best to protect herself from the elements, but when winter comes, she is in desperate straits. The vulnerable and lost Thumbelina is given shelter by an old mole who takes advantage of her situation - wanting her as his wife. She finds this prospect deeply upsetting, worsened by being far from home and in an awful situation. Thumbelina somehow finds the will to escape, fleeing to a far off land with an indebted swallow, whom she selflessly nursed back to health during the harsh winter. In a sunny field of flowers, Thumbelina is reunited with the butterflies and receives a pair of wings from the gracious Woodland Fairy to accompany her on their travels from flower to flower, happy and finally free.

The Academy staff encourages you to attend this debut performance and to enjoy this special production, which features talented, hard-working and amazing dancers.