Dancers will soar in ‘Divertissements’ and ‘Hook Pan’

Double bill to include traditional and reinvented classics, original mixes of dance styles

Vashon Center for Dance will present a double bill, “Divertissements” and “Hook & Pan,” at 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1, and 1 p.m. Saturday, June 1, and Sunday, June 2, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

“Divertissements” will include a collection of traditional and reinvented variations from productions, including “Swan Lake” and “Paquita.”

The word “divertissement,” explained Vashon Center for Dance director Vadne White, usually refers to a short dance within a ballet that demonstrates a dancer’s technical ability without advancing the plot or character development. It is a dance for the sake of dance, she said, and this production will feature a collage of such choreography for ballet, jazz and modern.

Two graduating dancers, Duncan Barlow and Talia Roybal, will perform excerpts from “La Esmeralda.”

Roybal leaves for The New School in New York City in the fall, and Barlow will continue dancing “everywhere he can,” said White, who added she will miss the two dancers very much next year. Barlow will spend his summer at the Oregon Ballet Theatre, she said.

In VCD’s production, Barlow will also perform an adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s “Pas de Deux” with Sophie Hancock. Other featured dancers in the show are Gus Holmes, Gwen Burwell, Ariana Vickers, Penelope Boyes and Catherine Ellison.

Part two of the bill, “Hook & Pan,” will feature dancers ages 2 to 18. With an original mix of ballet, hip-hop, tap, jazz, modern and even disco dance styles, the production reinvents the story of “Peter Pan,” with twists reflecting the spirit and geography of Vashon Island.

VCD teachers Tiffany Adams, Crissy Baker, Meghan Murphy and White choreographed all the dances, which are set to music composed by Carmon DeLeon, the music director of the Cincinnati Ballet.

Advance tickets, $12 to $16, are on sale now at vashoncenterforthearts.org. All tickets at the door cost $16.