"It's based on Shakespeare's plays where in the stage direction it will say ‘meanwhile, in another part of the forest...'" said Laura Berman, associate artistic director for the Ballet.

Artistic Director and Choreographer Gordon Peirce Schmidt imagined what would happen if the various characters in the woods somehow encountered each other.

"There's a 30 second Romeo and Juliet who get mixed up and lost in the woods," Berman says, "and Juliet dresses up as a man and falls in love with another man ... it's hilarious."

Many of Shakespeare's most familiar works are included, and those audience members with a sharp eye will be able to spot characters from Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, As You Like

It, and King Lear; Hamlet even comes out with a skull.

Also making an appearance in Another Part of the Forest is William himself.

"There is a Shakespeare character," Berman said. "He's a poet and is writing; the characters are coming in and out of his mind. It's really quite fun, and it makes you think about how those plays were written."

She is quick to reassure potential audience members who may have skimped on their Shakespeare readings that "you don't need to know all the details of the plays to enjoy it ... they're classic storylines with mix-ups and humor; everyone will recognize those things because they're part of our culture. The character is there and it makes sense to your because of the story."

The first half of the show is also a Schmidt original. The Tempest is classic Shakespeare, which means it includes a love story, attempted regicide and at least one silly jester. Mozart is played live onstage by cello, violin and harpsichord and the set makes excellent use of silk drapes.

"The drapery itself ... is the stage setting; they create the tempest in silk as well as the costumes of the characters," Berman said.

For Another Part of the Forest, there are "stilt walkers who are absolutely gorgeous."

Standing 12 to 14 feet tall, these performers represent the trees in the woods.

"The characters move in and out of them and they move. They create the scene."

Besides imaginative sets, beautiful costumes and rich story material, there is another key factor at work.

"Gordon Peirce Schmidt is really masterful in the way he puts these ballets together," Berman said. "He comes up with the music, figures out what will work to make the story told, decides how to create the scene and tell the story and fit it all together with movement ... you really come away from it having had a very enriching experience."

Witness the billowing, swaying and whirling of endless folds of vibrant fabric, set in motion with calculated steps of a dance rich in multi-cultural history. Every flourish of perfectly arching limbs and bounding bodies draws from a deep wellspring of artful, indigenous movement, passed along for generations and reinvented for a theatrical dance production unlike any other. Parisian ballet meets Mexican folklore, in a specialized production that has grown from one woman's passion into a high demand show.

The current incarnation of Ballet Folklórico de México, founded by Amalia Hernández in 1952, has been travelling and performing together for the past decade. The dance company has presented resplendent shows worldwide, promoting the rich culture of Mexico, while maintaining a professional dance academy, the School of the Ballet Folklórico, in Mexico City. Although the once modest-sized company was initially controversial for flouting conventional dance norms, Hernández persevered, eventually achieving cross-cultural renown.

The impactful and dynamic dances performed for audiences around the globe are "very strong and versatile [with] contrast among different dances," which provides a striking texture of movement, describes Salvador Lopez, executive director of Ballet Folklórico de México and grandson of Amalia Hernández.

"[Hernández] was able to introduce what happens in our culture and put it on stage, [making] it stylish and elegant," Lopez said. "When you take the dance from the place where it happens and you put it on stage, you have to change [it] in terms of time and space. The challenge is to introduce the essence of a dance that lasts a very long time and make it into three minutes of dance."

The creation of the company began when the highly trained Hernández traveled throughout Mexico and "brought people from [different places] to take what they do and subtract the essence of that dance or ceremony into short song and dynamic dance essence," said Lopez.

Fusing indigenous dance with modern ballet conventions, Hernández shaped an impressive dance sensation, with the troupe garnering more than 200 awards and recognition from cultural figures, including a weekly television spot and visits with presidents, like John F. Kennedy.

The 2010 tour of Ballet Folklórico de México holds special emphasis as it coincides with the bicentennial celebration of Mexico's revolution and independence.

Experience firsthand the unique meld of dance that crosses cultures and disciplines, not only pairing historic, indigenous dance styles with ballet, but also blending a wide range of local dance forms together to create a colorful showcase of skilled movement.

Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival
Wellspring Theater in the Epic Center
359 S. Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo
Feb. 26 & 27 at 7:30 and 9 p.m.
$10 performance, $18 day pass, $35 Festival pass
midwestradfest.org, (269) 342-4354

If you've followed dance in West Michigan for any period of time, you know better than to assume that ballet is a boring exhibition of dancers in tutus and leotards.

You can thank Grand Rapids artistic director Gordon Peirce Schmidt for that.

Flickers is another Schmidt original ballet, one that challenges conceptions of ballet and, in keeping with the mission of the Grand Rapids Ballet, it "goes beyond." As Jack the Ripper recently demonstrated, ballet is not dull or pretentious; in fact, it can be laugh-out-loud funny.

"It's fun to go to the ballet and laugh," says Associate Artistic Director Laura Berman.

What makes this production different is that it is centered on Charlie Chaplin, the beloved star of dozens of films in the early to mid 1900s. Grand Rapids Ballet veteran Attila Mosolygo was chosen to recreate Chaplin on stage, as he is known to be "a master of movement," much like Chaplin, Berman said.

The reproduction of the slapstick and pathos-infused humor as a ballet remains every bit a disciplined art.

"[The company] is so well trained, and the theatrical and comic timing is just dead on," said Berman.

Though the pantomimes are meant to appear accidental as Charlie wanders into the sets of backstage Hollywood, every movement is planned and carefully practiced, even the scene on roller skates. The dancers, for example, were coached on how to fall properly.

"Their intent in their movement and style of how they execute a step...[is] part of who they are as professional dancers," Berman says. "It's a challenge that they love."

Flickers is a composite of various vignettes starring Chaplin from his many silent films. The soundtrack is in the style of early Duke Ellington and is not live.

"It is recorded with the intention to give it that sense of that era; some of the recordings have to have a scratchy feeling to invoke a particular sense of a movie set," said Berman.

The sound effects, though, are live with percussionists onstage providing classic reactions, such as the sliding whistle.

Performance goers "are going to get a lot for their ticket price," Berman assures.

Audience interaction will also add to the fun.

"There is so much depth and meat; it really shows you what the art form of dance can do when executed well."

Flickers
Peter Martin Wege Theatre, Grand Rapids
Jan. 29-30, Feb. 5-6 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.
$20-$30
grballet.com, (616) 454-4771