Spokane Youth Ballet lands at Fox

It features 55 young ballet students and it’s based on a Grimm’s fairy tale, but “The Dancing Princesses” goes beyond kid stuff.

The Spokane Youth Ballet’s show on Saturday has some professional-level ambitions:

• It features four ballet professionals in the main roles: guest artist Michelle Sigl from Ballet Tucson as the Eldest Princess and guest artist Stuart Lauer as the Captain of the Palace Guard, along with Phaedra Jarrett, the troupe’s co-artistic director, as the Queen, and Terrence Grizzell, founder of the former Spokane Ballet, as the King.

• It’s a full-length, two-act ballet.

• It features …

It features 55 young ballet students and it’s based on a Grimm’s fairy tale, but “The Dancing Princesses” goes beyond kid stuff.

The Spokane Youth Ballet’s show on Saturday has some professional-level ambitions:

• It features four ballet professionals in the main roles: guest artist Michelle Sigl from Ballet Tucson as the Eldest Princess and guest artist Stuart Lauer as the Captain of the Palace Guard, along with Phaedra Jarrett, the troupe’s co-artistic director, as the Queen, and Terrence Grizzell, founder of the former Spokane Ballet, as the King.

• It’s a full-length, two-act ballet.

• It features three elegant sets – the Magical Garden, the Princess’s bedroom and the Palace – along with elaborate costumes and lighting design.

• It will all take place at Spokane’s own art-deco “palace,” the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox.

“We decided to take to the Fox, which is one of the most glorious theaters I’ve ever been in,” said Kristen Potts, Spokane Youth Ballet’s co-artistic director.

Last year, they performed this original production of “The Dancing Princesses” at the Central Valley Performing Arts Center.

The move to the Fox will allow the company to boost the show’s production values eve more. Potts said it “represents a huge leap forward in the company’s development.”

The ballet is based on the fairy tale “The 12 Dancing Princesses,” although in this version, the number of dancing princesses will be six.

The youngest is danced by Lindsay Chermak, who Potts describes as a “wunderkind” at age 11. The other princesses are danced by Ellin Schafer, Sarah Fotheringham, Ashley Jeromchek, Paige McIntire and guest artist Sigl.

Potts described the ballet as a romance and comedy, with plenty of entertainment value for all ages.

Spokane Youth Ballet had already sold more than 500 tickets by midweek, and hopes to fill up the entire floor level of the Fox.