St. Augustine Ballet’s Peter Pan will wow audience members of all ages — with local dancers, professional guest artists who were trained in Cuba, and the Ancient City’s infamous pirate magician William Mayhem playing the role of Captain Hook!
This classic story will be performed at 2:30 and 7 p.m. May 16 in Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St., downtown St. Augustine. Tickets are $25, available at www.saintaugustineballet.com or by calling 855-222-2849. Audience members are being encouraged to join in on the fun and dress up as pirates when they attend the ballet.
This ballet is filled with swashbuckling pirates, beautiful fairies and mermaids, a ticking crocodile, and of course, Peter Pan and Wendy. The lively score includes a variety of music, from the classical works of Bach and Beethoven to Native American drums and Irish jigs. The cast includes 40 student dancers and local celebrities.
Pirates, courtesy of the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, will roam the lobby of Lewis Auditorium, and the audience is encouraged to come dressed in pirate garb to avoid being kidnapped and taken off to Neverland. Be sure to watch out for the crocodile, courtesy of The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
The role of Wendy will be danced by Kali Lee, the 14-year-old daughter of Matt and Shani Lee. Kali is a St. Johns Virtual School student. She is a familiar face to audiences of Saint Augustine Ballet and was last seen dancing the part of Dew Drop in the 2014 production of The Nutcracker.
“I’m really excited to be part of this new show. I’m also looking forward to learning how to fly on stage,” Kali said.
“I love the beauty and gracefulness of ballet and being able to fly will be amazing!”
In January Kali participated in the Youth America Grand Prix, an annual student ballet competition open to dance students 8 to 19 years old. Kali has been studying ballet under Luis Abella at Abella’s School of Dance for almost five years.
Guest artists are the Cuban trained, world-class dancers Margit Peguero Rodriguez and Daet Rodriguez. They return to St. Augustine after performing in the 2014 Nutcracker. Both studied ballet at the prestigious National Ballet School of Cuba in Havana and later danced with Cuba’s Ballet de Camaguey, and the Teatro Centro de Arte-Leon Febres Cordero in Ecuador. Their dance careers have taken them all over the world and now onto the stage of Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College.
Celebrity pirate re-enactor Captain William Mayhem will be making a special appearance as Captain Hook. Also known as the Pirate Magician of Saint Augustine, Captain Mayhem is an experienced Las Vegas entertainer and current Pirate Magician in residence at the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum.
Tapping their way into the production as pirates will be “Noise Complaint,” Florida’s premiere professional tap ensemble, led by their lead dancer and choreographer, Jenne Vermes.
Tracy Nunnally, the owner and president of Hall Associates Flying Effects, will be in charge of creating the flying sequences for the show, as the characters fly to Neverland. Hall Associates Flying Effects has supplied exceptional flying effects for the entertainment industry since 1991.
The St. Augustine Ballet was founded in 2010 as a nonprofit arts organization. Saint Augustine Ballet strives to involve community members of all ages in meaningful dance experiences, whether as a participating dancer or audience member. For more information, go to www.saintaugustineballet.com.
