Fairfield Dances: Alice in Wonderland

I recently watched a very creative dance rendition of Alice in Wonderland, complete with all the usual suspects including Alice, the Tweedles, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat, but also a mean Irish black bird, a bluebird of happiness, and freak-a-zoid cupcakes. The show was Fairfield Art of Dance’s end of year student showcase. It was a creative collaboration between Tiffany Sanner, owner of Fairfield Art of Dance, and Hilary Jordan, dance instructor, performer, and Maharishi University of Management alumna.

This end of year show simply cannot be compared to the dance recitals of yester-year.  It highlighted the dancers’ talent and time investment in classes while beautifully and cohesively telling the story of Alice in Wonderland with costumes, sets, props, lighting, and awesome music. There were 58 performers in this event as well as at least a dozen of behind the scenes helpers. Performers ranged in age from 4 to 40+ years old.

Fairfield Art of Dance teachers in costume; Elizabeth Kelly, Tiffany Sanner, and Hilary Jordan

Says Hilary, “Teaching dance allows me to do what I love – dance! Teaching dance feels like teaching people how to have fun. Once people start taking classes they begin to see progress in their dance and performance abilities and that is very rewarding for the student as well as the teacher. I like teaching people how to perform, because it feels like I’m helping them express their emotions in a big way and that feels important for their personal growth as well as for the experience of the audience.”

Alice in Wonderland

A couple of familiar faces joined the cast: Maharishi University of Management Media and Communications student Jared Brown played the eclectic-hip-hop-dancing Mad Hatter, created show programs, sets, and props. He was joined on stage by Maharishi University of Management’s Director of Marketing, Paul Stokstad, who entertained the audience with improv dance and played a knight in the Red Queen’s army.

Fairfield Art of Dance is located at 101 N. Main Street in Fairfield, Iowa. They offer a wide range of dance classes including Zumba, ballet, modern, hip-hop, and belly-dancing.

Anna Bruen is a MUM alumnus who graduated with a degree in Sustainable Living. Anna is the resident blogger here at MUM. To learn more about Anna take a look at her introduction post.

Tagged as: Alumni, Dance, Students