Francesco Ventriglia Brings Alberta Ballet to Dubai for Restaging of Alexey Shor's A Thousand Tales
- 4 hours ago
Gulf Network
This coming April 2025, Dubai is set to welcome back the acclaimed contemporary ballet, A Thousand Tales, a celebrated work written and choreographed by Francesco Ventriglia to music by Alexey Shor which first captivated audiences with its enchanting narrative, melodic score, and exquisite dances when it made its world debut in the UAE back in 2023.
Based on a libretto written by Ventriglia, A Thousand Tales presents an original narrative inspired by various childhood literary classics, including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Aladdin, Puss in Boots, The Three Musketeers, and many more, with seminal characters from these childhood tales appearing throughout the performance.
Having received universal acclaim upon its premiere, the ballet will now be returning to the stage of Dubai Opera on the 4th and 5th of April in a restaged version that has been put together by Ventriglia himself, who has, however, reassured audiences that he will not be making too many changes from the show that won over so many hearts.
“I will respect the original production as much as I can”, he insisted, “because to be honest, it was very good! The public loved it, and it was a great success, so I don't want to change much. Of course, when you have different artists on stage, each artist will want to bring their own expression to the work, naturally, so we will be making some adjustments to the technique, and improving some of the choreography, but no major changes!”
The director also spoke of his enthusiasm to be presenting a ballet in Dubai once again, noting that “It is a very unique city, and I'm especially looking forward to it because the last time, it was the first time, and I didn't know what was what really. So this time, I want to actually enjoy the city as well and look around”
“I’m also really proud because I will be coming with the Alberta Ballet from Canada this time”, he added, “with whom I’m Artistic Director, so it’s a very proud moment to be on tour with the company, and to represent Canadian artists. And I have to say, the dancers are so excited to go to Dubai. They're so happy. It is the first time that the company will be performing in Dubai, so it's going to be very new.”
In fact, the dancers of the Alberta Ballet company shall be headlining this latest edition of A Thousand Years, delighting all those in attendance with a series of breathtaking choreographical sequences that will be bringing this magical world to life, alongside Roberta Guidi di Bagno’s stunning costumes and set designs, coupled with tailor-made stage lighting from the hands of Valerio Tiberi, and of course, the music of Alexey Shor, which lies at the very heart of this world, as Ventriglia remarked.
“I have to say everything for A Thousand Tales started from the music”, he said. It was really the first step because even the libretto was written around that. So I took everything from Alexey Shor, and I remember I was listening to music for hours and hours with my headphones and then this idea emerged! And then it was so easy to choreograph on Alexey Shor’s music because his compositions are very organic and just perfect for ballet, so the structure really came out so naturally, and in fact, the structure of the entire ballet came out very naturally. So it was a real pleasure to be honest, and the music by Alexey Shor is just fantastic. It is very cantabile, and it is so essential for a choreographer to have the right music score, it's absolutely crucial and fundamental”.
“If you don't have the right music, nothing happens”, he went on to explain, “you can't really create the right choreography. And I can tell you, for me personally, as a choreographer, when I don't have a connection with the music, it's impossible to create. I don't have the steps. I can't produce steps. It's like having a beautiful Porsche without fuel. If you don't have the fuel in, the car doesn't go, and for me, the music is my fuel! It's what generates my ideas. It's what generates the reason why I move on stage.”
This production of A Thousand Tales will once again be organised by SAMIT Event Group, one of the UAE’s premier events companies, with whom Ventriglia has worked before, and the director expressed his gratitude at being given the opportunity to work with them once more, stating that “I’m very proud when I'm lucky to be able to see some successful work come to fruition, as in the case with A Thousand Tales, and the fact that SAMIT Event Group in Dubai wants this show again means a lot to me. I'm always very grateful”.
A Thousand Tales will be showing in Dubai on the 4th and 5th of April 2025. Tickets can be purchased at the official website of Dubai Opera here.
