The last time dancers Adam Boreland and Matthew Cunningham shared the stage at the Dr. Phillips Center was back in February as the spoiled, and hilarious, Stepsisters in Orlando Ballet’s “Cinderella.”
Not long after “Cinderella” wrapped the U.S. started to feel the effects of COVID-19 and everything shut down, including the Orlando Ballet.
Performances, classes and events were cancelled and training had to happen in quarantine.
“We were home kicking our furniture for the past five months,” Boreland says. “I think it has been tough for Orlando Ballet because we have this new beautiful facility and we got to come in and dance for the first few months of 2020 and then we got into COVID.”
Orlando Ballet provided virtual classes and opportunities for its dancers, so Boreland and Cunningham made the best of their dance-from-home situation.
“I was taking class in the kitchen, in an open space, which was a bit weird and different but also somewhat comforting because I’m alone in my home, so keeping up on my studies but also sometimes you just have to sleep in and enjoy your quarantine snacks,” Cunningham says, laughing.
Boreland used his time at home to offer some ballet instruction online.
“I started going live on Facebook and teaching,” he says. Boreland’s Facebook page has nearly 20,000 followers.
Now back in the studio, Boreland, Cunningham and the entire company are preparing for their return to the stage with “The Sleeping Beauty,” which began in-person rehearsals Sept. 1.
“It’s great to be back in the studio, this company is so magical,” Boreland says. “Even though we can still create magic from far apart when we’re together, we’re stronger.”
With the company returning, the safety of the dancers is priority number one, Cunningham says.
“We have a big studio so we can socially distance, we all wear masks during rehearsals and for class,” he says. “We sanitize everything.”
Because of the company’s adherence to the safety precautions, the Orlando Ballet announced earlier in the year that it would be moving forward with its 2020-21 ballet season, starting with “The Sleeping Beauty” Oct. 22-25 at the Dr. Phillips Center’s Walt Disney Theater.
With music by legendary Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (the same composer of “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker”), “The Sleeping Beauty” tells the classic tale of a beautiful princess cursed to sleep by an evil fairy. She can only be awakened by true love’s kiss.
While being performed in the Walt Disney Theater, this performance of “The Sleeping Beauty” will be a bit different than the animated film most people are familiar with.
“Much of the story is fairly similar to the Disney version,” Boreland says. “But there are definitely some differences you’ll notice.”
In the ballet, the King and Queen are celebrating the birth of their daughter, Princess Aurora, with a christening ceremony.
“Just as in the film, the different fairies bring Aurora different gifts,” Cunningham says, “but there are more fairies so there are more gifts.”
As the fairies dole out the gifts to the princess, the wicked fairy Carabosse bursts in and, jealous that she was not invited, places a curse on the baby princess.
“Carabosse, whose name was changed to Maleficent in the Disney version, curses Aurora and says she shall grow up and on her 16th birthday, she’ll prick her finger and she’ll die,” Cunningham says. “The Lilac Fairy, who is the fairy of wisdom, isn’t able to lift the curse from Carabosse but changes it so she will fall asleep for a hundred years and after that she will have a man come over, kiss her and she’ll awake.”
Boreland and Cunningham will be sharing the role of Carabosse. During the performances, the one not playing the villainous lead can still be seen on stage as the fairy Sapphire.
“It’s nice because one character is big and flamboyant and the other is drawn back, more timid and classical,” Boreland says.
“As Sapphire we have a pas de trois, the dance of three, with two other fairies — Silver and Diamond — during a wedding that is attended by all these different fairy tale characters.”
Just as in last season’s “Cinderella,” Boreland and Cunningham are performing in a high-profile villainous role, something both of them have enjoyed.
“It’s just fun to play bad sometimes,” Boreland says. “We both have so much energy and, in the ballet world, a lot of times you have to hold that back but certain roles, like this one, we’re able to be a little bit more ourselves than usual. It’s really, really fun.”
While he enjoys a good villain, Cunningham actually sees Carabosse as more of a misunderstood fairy.
“In a way she is this evil fairy, but looking at it from her view, she wasn’t invited to the christening of this baby and everyone else is and she lets her jealousy get the best of her,” he says.
“The Sleeping Beauty” will be the first performance to take the stage at the Dr. Phillips Center since its initial shutdown earlier this year, and while Florida’s governor has moved businesses into stage three of the state’s re-opening plan, you can expect all safety measures to still be in place for the show.
“We want everyone to feel safe and welcome and the best way to do that is to make sure all the precautions are there,” says Sara Brady, head of Orlando Ballet’s public relations.
Along with masks and social distancing guidelines being put in place, the performances will be 90 minutes without an intermission to help prevent crowds gathering in the lobby and outside of the theater.
Orlando Ballet’s “The Sleeping Beauty” will be held at the Dr. Phillips Center Oct. 22-25. Tickets start as low as $24 and are available at DrPhillipsCenter.org. For up-to-date health and safety protocols, visit OrlandoBallet.org.
