COMING SOON: Little Women Ballet

Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is one of the defining coming-of-age novels in the American canon, and as such is a popular subject for adaptation. At least seven films and four stage plays, more TV adaptations than one can count, and even anime.

Oddly enough it seems that until choreographer Emma Andres got into the mix it seems that no one has adapted the story into a ballet, let alone an immersive ballet. Mind you we haven’t done an exhaustive search, but we’ve looked!

Andres and company are bringing the second part of their three-part Little Women Ballet cycle to LA’s Heritage Square Museum this month:

Join Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy inside the Victorian houses of Los Angeles as they tell their story of sisterhood, love, loss, and family. Meet all the characters up close, go on an immersive walking tour of the Heritage Square Museum, enjoy autumn-themed desserts and refreshments, and join the cast in Victorian dancing at the end of each performance.

The show runs over three nights — Sep. 27–29 — at LA’s Heritage Square Museum, a popular spot for dance-based immersive works, and we checked in with Andres via the power of email.

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NO PROSCENIUM: Tell us a little bit about your experience! What’s it about? What makes it immersive?

Emma Andres: Unlike any other immersive in Los Angeles, we are the only one that offers a ballet performance within the experience. You see 15-minute vignettes of the Little Women story presented in ballet form. While most ballet is presented on a proscenium stage, this version of our ballet is set in the Historical Victorian houses of Heritage Square Museum, giving you the unique privilege of seeing the dancers in a much more intimate and personal setting. Although not in Concord, Massachusetts, Heritage Square offers Little Women Ballet an authentic era in which to showcase our ballet. Audience members will be able to experience not only our ballet but the rich history of these houses and the people who once lived in them.

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In addition, at Little Women Ballet: The Immersive Experience, you will participate in various unique activities, including acting out one of Louisa May Alcott or Jo March’s plays and Victorian dancing with the cast. We will also have delicious Autumn snacks and beverages!

NP: What was the inspiration for your upcoming experience?

EA: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we found ourselves inspired to captivate audiences with a unique blend of classic literature and the art of dance. Little Women, a beloved literary masterpiece, serves as a significant influence. The circumstances created by the pandemic provided us with the perfect opportunity to delve into the conceptualization and creation of this innovative visual storytelling.

The goal was to create more realistic and powerful women’s roles in ballet. Literature served as a great starting point for developing storylines with purpose and entertainment value. The aim was to combine storytelling, ballet, and dance as nonverbal communication, integrating narration and narrators with the dance sections to create an immersive experience that involved direction and acting from all participants.

NP: What do you think fans of immersive will find most interesting about this latest experience?

EA: Each immersive chapter that we created is very different from the others. They can be seen individually, but when you see Spring, Autumn, and Winter in sequence, you get a complete look at the entire Little Women book through the different seasons. Each scene has different choreography and themes that develop the storyline from the book.

NP: Once you started designing and testing what did you discover about this experience that was unexpected?

EA: One thing we learned was how effective and adaptable ballet could be as an immersive experience, and how Heritage Square Museum became the perfect place to host the event. The beautiful buildings and surroundings help our audience experience the Victorian world we create.

The challenges of adapting the scenes and choreography to different spaces and flooring have pushed the dancers to hone their performance and technical skills, and developing the ability to connect with an audience that is up close and personal has been one of their favorite parts.

NP: What can fans who are coming to this, or thinking about coming to this, do to get into the mood of the experience?

EA: We encourage audience members to get in the Fall spirit by dressing in Autumn-themed colors, watch some of our videos on Instagram, join our email list to receive updates on the production, and read the book or watch one of the many Little Women movies!

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