By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Eric Otto, the artistic director of the Toledo Ballet, grew up in the neighborhood of Sleepy Hollow.As a resident of Westchester County New York, he was very familiar with Washington Irving’s classic tale of the hapless school master, his love interest the lovely and wealthy Katrina Van Tassel, his rival Brom Bones, and the town’s alpha bro, and the spooky creatures who inhabit the outskirts of town, notably the “Headless Horseman.”
“I was always fascinated by it,” Otto said in a recent telephone interview.
About five years ago, Otto revisited the tale, listening to it on audiobooks, and watching the Tim Burton movie loosely based on the tale.
“This would make a really fun ballet to do to get people into the whole Halloween time of year,” he said.
Now in his third year in Toledo, Otto has the chance to do this “spooky fun ballet production.”
“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” will be staged by the Toledo Ballet Friday Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and Saturday Oct 26 2 p.m. at the Valentine Theater, 410 Adams St., Toledo. Click for tickets.
Since arriving in Toledo, he’s wanted to do a fall production. For Halloween the choices are horror such as Dracula. But that’s more adult. He wanted something for families.
He rewrote the plot for the ballet emphasizing the romantic triangle of Ichabod Crane, Katrina, and Brom Bones.
Otto has Ichabod drawn to the village after hearing about the legend of the Headless Horseman, a Hessian trooper who had his head blown off by a cannonball during the America Revolution.
There’s also a coven of witches in the woods.
“It’s still very much a spooky Sleepy Hollow show,” he said.
Otto was able to commission a score from a friend Jonathan Heck, a composer based in Germany.
This was the first time Otto has had the chance to develop a show with a composer from scratch. They were in close contact as they explored the musical ideas for the show.
Heck’s music is “very, theatrical, movie-esque, contemporary classical music,” Otto said.
The composer, who is also performs as a violinist, has extensive experience working with dance troupes in Europe, including doing choreography.
Heck’s score will be performed by the Toledo Symphony conducted by Michelle Di Russo, who was recently appointed associate conductor Fort Worth Symphony where she will work with Robert Spano.
This is a rare opportunity for dancers to perform with a live music rather than a recording. “It’s unique to come to a place that has a professional symphony,” Otto said.
While Toledo Ballet’s mission is as a teaching academy, Otto believes that the performances should be professional quality.
To that end he has recruited six dancers to perform with the students in “Sleepy Hollow.”
Alexander Guzma from Cleveland Ballet will portray Ichabod Crane while his colleague from Cleveland Johan Mancebo will play Brom Bones. Allegra Holland will play
Katrina Van Tassel and Ruslan Sprague will be the Headless Horseman. Both are from the Albany Berkshire Ballet from Massachusetts. Two more dancers from that company, Danielle Troyano and Marie Buser, will be featured artists.
Otto said when he saw the enthusiasm and commitment of the ballet’s dance students, he knew they could handle the challenge of staging a world premiere while also beginning preparations for the company’s signature performance of the classic “Nutcracker” in December.
“I’m proud of my work and proud of the dancers and students,” Otto said. “I’m really excited to present this fun ballet to our community and supporters and continue to cultivate more supporters, so we can have more ballet performances.”
