State Street Ballet Makes a Big Splash

Ariel arises anew in State Street Ballet’s world premiere original adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen story that became a beloved animated Disney movie 150 years later. The production – bursting with colorful characters and sets, including a number of puppets and a cast of 45 – comes from co-choreographers Cecily MacDougall and Megan Phillips, who began working on the piece before the pandemic struck in 2020. In the five-year interim both have risen to the top at SSB, splitting founder Rodney Gustafson’s duties as Executive and Artistic Director, respectively. 

It’s the first original production from SSB since the changeover, the first to feature a completely original commissioned score (by Charles Fernandez), one that will be played live by the Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra in another first outside of The Nutcracker. Selecting Mermaid – the tale of a sea-maiden who longs to live on land with the prince she once rescued from drowning, and who trades her voice for the chance to realize her dream – meant breaking boundaries. This was a no-brainer for its creators. 

“It’s enchanting and heartwarming – a story that a lot of people love, including our dancers and artists,” Phillips said. “It’s a perfect introduction to ballet for children, and fun for adults, and we’ve been excited to put our own twist on it.” 

Part of their vibrant reimagining serves to put emphasis on how we treat those whose abilities differ from our own, with Ariel learning to navigate using her new legs and losing her voice, MacDougall said. 

“Ariel is different from her sisters in the ocean because she wants to live on land, and she’s unique from the humans because she has never lived as a human before,” MacDougall said. “Then she doesn’t have a voice once she’s on land. We wanted to tell that story on stage about how people respond to her and to people with different abilities and different experiences.” 

There are two new characters to enhance that angle, in a lighthouse keeper and his daughter; she is deaf and uses sign language to communicate. 

“They take Ariel in, and there’s a lot of education on how to communicate and how to live as a human, which is a really sweet part of the story,” MacDougall said. 

Choreographing a story that takes place both under the sea and on dry land was a thrilling challenge for the creators, who crafted not only different environments but also movement styles for the dancers to set them apart. 

“The sections underwater have the dancers in socks, flopping all over the place the way that you would in water because you’re weightless,” said MacDougall, who handled all of the sea-bound sequences. “The scenes on land (created by Phillips), the dancers are in pointe shoes and everything’s very upright and it’s proper. It translates so well through movement, and we get to show off the versatility of State Street’s company dancers.”

There are some set pieces that are used in both the underwater and land scenes, including one that looks like stone arches for periods on terra firma, but have seaweed at the bottom of them, which becomes visible when the sets rise, indicating that for the moment, we’re underwater. 

“They’re a bit of an anchor for us that can either be taking us up to land or taking us underwater,” MacDougall said. “All of the mermaids and the fish dance under these arches, so you can see them looking up at the human world and the lighthouse.” 

She said that the puppets, mostly representing sea creatures and created by UCSB Theater and Solstice Parade veteran Christina McCarthy, add another exciting element. 

“She designed them so that they can dance and are capable of movement, which has been exciting as the choreographer. 

It all comes together in a brand new ballet that offers something for everyone in the audience, whether young or mature or people who prefer contemporary dance or classical ballet, MacDougall said. 

“There’s humor, a love story, and the overarching theme of being a stranger in a strange land and learning to live and accept people who are different,” she said. “Art allows us to experience walking in someone else’s shoes without having to take your own shoes off, something that hopefully broadens your mindset and inspires empathy. We really expect The Little Mermaid to be one of more popular pieces, something that tours and that we bring back every few years locally.” 

Phillip said Mermaid represents the big picture of where the two creators want to steer the company over the next few years. 

“Ballet can be this beautiful escape, but it also can be tied to relevant subjects that are on our minds,” she said. “Mermaid is both – it’s beautiful and colorful, but there are things going on that are about everyday life and things we can relate to.” 

State Street Ballet premiere The Little Mermaid at the Lobero at 7:30 pm on March 1^st and 2 pm on March 2^nd. A special “sensory-friendly” performance at 2 pm on March 1 is aimed at making the theater a more welcoming space with the house lights up during the performance, and allowing the audience to move around and express themselves as they wish. 

Tickets and more information at www.statestreetballet.com or (805) 845-1432