Ballet West's Peter Pan

Last night I went to see Ballet West's production of Peter Pan, a ballet I had never seen before, and I was incredibly impressed by the thrilling athletic performances.  As with Jekyll and Hyde, I really enjoyed how movement is used to tell the story (especially since the story differs significantly from the one that audiences may be more familiar with) and I found the choreography to be very innovative and fun to watch.  The Darling children, including Peter (David Huffmire), Wendy (Lexi McCloud), Michael (Victor Galeana), and John (Jacob Hancock), are under the care of terrifying nursemaids who eventually lose Peter so Tinkerbell (Maren Florence) and other Fairies regularly visit their nursery to protect them.  After Mr. and Mrs. Darling  (Jordan Veit and Katlyn Addison, respectively) say goodnight to the children before attending a party, Wendy has a nightmare in which she is chased by shadows.  When she awakens, she sees that a wild boy named Peter has chased them away.  He teaches the Darling children to fly and invites them to join him in Neverland where they are welcomed by the exuberant Lost Boys who ask Wendy to be their mother.  They have a great adventure rescuing Mermaids (Alexis Bull, Tea Hinchley, and Anisa Sinteral) from Captain Hook (Adrian Fry), who has a mangled hand in the shape of a claw, and his band of Pirates but, when Wendy longs for home, the Lost Boys want to go there with her which angers Peter so he abandons them.  This gives Captain Hook the chance to take everyone prisoner on his ship, and to try to gain their sympathy by having his son James (Vinicius Lima) act out how his hand was mangled by a teacher who beat him, until Peter sneaks on board and challenges him to a duel.  The Mermaids help Peter throw Hook overboard where he is swallowed up by a crocodile.  The Darling children are then reunited with their parents but when Peter returns and asks Wendy to visit Neverland again she refuses and begins a family of her own.  I loved the sequence when Wendy dances with the shadows, both real and those portrayed by dancers, because it is such a cool effect and I loved all of the powerful acrobatic leaps and spins as Peter interacts with the Darling children in the nursery.  The aerial choreography when Peter and the children fly is absolutely magical because it seems like a natural extension of the steps they perform on the ground.  The Lost Boys and the Pirates execute wild and boisterous steps in unison while the villainous Captain Hook is very stylized with flamboyant jumps and spins.  My favorite moments came in Act II when Huffmire and McCloud dance a beautiful and emotional Pas de Deux in which Wendy feels the push and pull between the excitement of Neverland and the contentment of home and in Act III when Huffmire is flying in the air while mirroring McCloud's movements on the ground because it shows their impending separation.  The sets are really imaginative, especially the way that nature is incorporated into the nursery to emphasize the influence of the fairies who protect the children and the way that Hook's ship resembles the skeleton of a whale with its skull serving as the prow, and the puppets are a lot of fun.  The score by Edward Elgar is very lively and adventurous during the battles but I also loved the plaintive violin during the Pas de Deux.  This is an enchanting production but there are only two more performances so act quickly to get a ticket (go here) before you lose your chance to visit Neverland!