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Coppelia infuses comedy with dazzling classical dance, eyepopping color and a fanciful story.
On April 25th and 26th The Toledo Ballet closes its 2025/2026 season with Coppelia, the delightful tale of a mad inventor, the life-like doll he creates and the young couple whose wedding plans are derailed by that same crazy inventor and his doll. Coppelia is a whimsical, comedic ballet written in 1870 and inspired by the author of The Tales of Hoffman. Dr Coppelius, a creator of mechanical toys, has made a doll, Coppelia, so beautiful and life-like that when handsome youth Franz sees it displayed in a window he falls in love, believing the doll is human. Franz has a girlfriend named Swanhilda, who breaks into the toy shop with her girlfriend to find out who Coppelia is. She gets caught by the mad doctor, but not before she borrows the dolls clothes and pretends to be Coppelia to escape. The doctor is heartbroken at the ruse and decides to drug Franz and transfer his life energy to the doll in hopes that Coppelia really will come to life. Will Swanhilda rescue Franz?
The cast
Coppelia infuses comedy with dazzling classical dance, eyepopping color, and a magical story. Director Eric Otto is excited to put Toledo Ballet’s unique touches into the production. “We’re gearing up for Coppelia on April 24, 25, and 26, at The Valentine Theater, collaborating again with The Toledo Symphony. We’re bringing in a guest artist to play Doctor Coppelius, Ruslan Sprague, along with our professional dancers Liza Van Heerden as Swanhilda, and David Claypoole as Franz. We have all new costumes and sets. It’s a light, fun, ballet that suits the spring season.”
A new take on a classic ballet
Otto is enthusiastic about getting to put his own spin on this popular ballet. “I’m pulling bits and pieces of choreography from several choreographers and putting my own stamp on it. I’ve been influenced by so many great choreographers in my time as a dancer,” says Otto. Since ballets use movement as dialogue for the story, what Otto is really talking about is making some script choices and deciding where to put emphasis in a story told through dance, gesture, embellishment of movement and, of course, music. These are the tools used to tell a story in ballet, just as paint — its color, brush stroke and emphasis — is used by the artist to communicate to the viewer. Otto mentions ABT, New York City Ballet, Bolshoi and Petipa as influences. Each of these companies have their own “versions” of Coppelia, just as Otto is creating his own for Toledo Ballet.
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From rehearsal to showtime
As of early April, Otto was in the thick of rehearsals, three days a week, with principal dancers Fridays and Saturdays for the children and the school. Otto had some fun in rehearsals standing in for the role of Dr Coppelius in the weeks before the guest performer arrived. The scene where Swanhilda and her friends break into the toymaker’s studio are so much fun. Imagine oversize toy boxes and life-size dolls — pure spectacle. Another standout scene comes in Act II. The Festival of the Bells contains several divertissements, short dance sequences, each representing things like dawn, prayer, work, etc. Otto has carefully choreographed each one and they’ll feature groups of dancers from the school. “I really tried to create these pieces for our dancers, to emphasize their strengths. The new staging is going to be a visually stunning experience. I’ve been working with Paul Alday of the Toledo Repertoire Theater on these very innovative, beautiful sets. As well as having the Toledo Symphony with guest conductor Erin Freeman to accompany us. This is such a perfect ballet for fans and for everyone new to the ballet. It’s an accessible story with love, humor and a little magic”
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