Fairytale Fusion - June 20, 2004

Fairytale Fusion was our first show in which Shari, the Artistic Director, wrote an original fairytale for UpBring to turn into a dance-play. This was also the first show in which Shari's husband Matthew created virtual backdrop sets. Fairytale Fusion wove a magical story in between the dance pieces using pre-recorded voice over and shadow puppetry. The show was narrated from behind a screen by the Genie, now old, sharing the story of her life with her young granddaughter.

Her story is this: in the Underwater World, 2 groups, the Pirates and the Mermaids, lived in peace and harmony. The prince of the Pirates and the Princess of the Mermaids fell deep in love, married, and had a child, Urbana. Yet soon the Pirates and the Mermaids began to fight for power. The young couple, afraid for Urbana's life, summoned a Genie to take their young baby away to the Surface World. Urbana and the Genie meet new friends on the streets of Coney Island and dance the days away. As soon as the Prince and the Princess became King and Queen, they put an end to the fighting, and sent for a brave Pirate to find the Genie and Urbana and bring them back to the Underwater World. When finally they return, the two groups, now friends again, welcome the Genie and Urbana with a big celebration filled with dance and joy. At the end, the old Genie and the granddaughter step out from behind the screen and join the rest of the cast in the dance-filled celebration.

Shari gained much of her inspiration for Fairytale Fusion from studying Hula dancing in Maui, Hawaii. There were several Hula pieces in the show. The dancers loved learning this beautiful art form! Favorite dance pieces from this show include: "Little Star", "The Battle Dance", "Kawika", "Angry Young Man", and "Ulalena".