Lavish home-grown ballet launched at MCC | The Death of Snow White

The burgeoning Naupaca Dance Factory, based in Gozo, have launched their upcoming ballet, The Death of Snow White, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre this morning.

The high-concept ballet, which follows on the heels of the company's re-invention of the Alice in Wonderland story - with Alice's Adventures Underground being staged in Gozo last year - will premiere at the Aurora Opera House, Gozo on December 1, before travelling over the pond to the Mediterranean Conference Centre for two shows on December 7 and 9.

As with previous Naupaca shows, the ballet will centre on the re-invention of a familiar children's tale - in this case, the tale of Snow White will be grafted onto a Japanese aesthetic to explore ideas related to time, and ritual.

According to Naupaca, 'The Death of Snow White reaffirms the Brothers Grimm's story as a tale of wonder, yet reconsiders the functional unity of the fairy tale, in order to reveal the darker vision of the human condition repressed within it.

'The Death of Snow White rereads the function and nature of dance itself, as it does not present the medium as a celebratory expression of bodily movement, but as a means through which the enthropic nature of the dead and the dying body could be explored, as it presents physical beings that are unable to escape and move beyond the liminal phases of existence'.

The show is directed and choreographed by Joeline Tabone, with production management by Deborah Agius, production design and costumes by Luke Azzopardi, script by Maria Theuma, with an original music score by Lukas Grech.

The cast includes Marise Grech (Snow White), Deborah Agius (The Queen), Stepan Pechar (The Prince), Yana Dimech (The Mirror) and Denise Buttigieg (Tempastas).

Tickets are at €10 for the Gozo show, €15 for the Malta shows. Bookings: 21 246389/25 595750 or online.