With spring dawning on a thawing Voorhees, Ballet NJ has announced its spring production will be ‘Swan Lake.”
Unlike the comfort of warm air that floats into the area this year, there is nothing standard about this coming “Swan Lake” performance. For the first time, a real-life mother and son duo from Voorhees will star as the Prince and Prince’s mother.
Though he is now a soloist dancer for the Washington Ballet, the soon-to-be Prince of Swan Lake, Corey Landolt, and his mother, Dr. Sharon Buttress, were Voorhees residents for more than 16 years.
“It’s definitely funny that she’s my mom, and she’s playing my mom in the ballet,” Landolt said.
The two have worked together in the past, many years ago.
“We have not worked together since I was in the ‘Nutcracker” when I was a little kid,” Landolt said.
Landolt mentioned not being able to travel back to the area to perform as a professional, or with his mother in any way, due to scheduling conflicts. This spring’s Ballet NJ performance will be different.
“In the past, Corey has never been free to perform with us. This year, for the first time, the Washington Ballet is not dancing or rehearsing concurrent with our production, so I thought it would be a unique opportunity to have him come back and dance with us,” director David Gallagher said.
Landolt is a graduate of the Ballet NJ Academy. Though other mothers and daughters have performed in past shows together, this time will be the first a mother and son will be in a performance together at such an advanced skill level.
“I thought it would be a fun thing to have them perform together … I do not know of another production where this has happened,” Gallagher said.
Buttress is still a resident of South Jersey, the active Ballet NJ board chairperson and the head of CamCare in Camden. With more than 20 years of experience in adult roles for Buttress, and more than 20 year of dancing experience for the 27-year-old Landolt, “Swan Lake” is set to be a world-class production, right at home.
Dancers from Ballet X, the Pennsylvania Ballet and other major establishments will also guest star with the “Swan Lake” cast.
All showings will take place at the Voorhees Middle School. When asked about why the theater would be used for such involved performances, Gallagher shared many reasons.
“That theater is the only one locally that has the technical elements to handle a complex production such as ‘Swan Lake,’” Gallagher said. “This venue has what is called a ‘fly gallery.’ The fly gallery is a space above the stage that allows you to bring down to the stage complex sets and drops quickly, so that the dramatic flow of a ballet is not interrupted.”
Besides having technically unmatched elements when compared to other area theaters, Gallagher also mentioned that Ballet NJ has used it as the preferred theater for more than 25 years, even though the organization’s practice facilities are in West Berlin.
“Also, the man that runs the theater, Scott Middleton, is like a genius … and he and I work together to make our performances the best you can see anywhere at our level,” Gallagher said.
A majority of the professional dancers, such as Landolt, will only dance with Buttress and the rest of the company a handful of times before the productions. Still, Ballet NJ dancers have already begun a strict practice routine.
“The dancers rehearse over a 12-week period. The dancers in the Swan Corps de Ballet rehearse about four times a week. Some of the youngest dancers rehearse once a week. The professionals dancing the lead roles come out to our facility … about four times over the course of the production, and they then rehearse on their own,” Gallagher said.
“Swan Lake” is part of a rotating series of spring productions for Ballet NJ, but that makes it all the more fun to liven and revive every new time it is performed.
To dazzle audiences this year, Gallagher and other crewmembers have used donations to comprise some of the most intricate sets and costumes to date.
“The costumes are designed by A. Christina Giannini, an internationally known costume designer from Manhattan,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher also mentioned that two local artists, Rosemary Gorman and Jurga Kwiatkowski, helped with costume design elements.
“The costumes are truly incredible, and you will not believe how beautiful they are when the curtain goes up,” Gallagher said.
The set designer was Michael Stockton, a seasoned professional who works out of Quinlan’s Scenic Design Studios in Marcus Hook, Pa.
In addition to the main designers, 150 people will be involved in the productions over the course of the four performances. Gallagher mentioned that the caliber of production elements for this spring’s “Swan Lake” excited the young Ballet NJ dancers more than ever.
“The dancers are so excited about this production. The music, the costumes and the choreography are so much fun for all of the dancers … they just love it. We all cannot wait for the performances to come, although the process of preparing for the performance is also really exciting,” Gallagher said.
With the special arrival of Landolt and other professionals, and the detailed sets and costumes, Ballet NJ students are working hard on maintaining focus each day leading up to the April 26 debut.
“There are no unique ways to prepare for the production,” Gallagher said. “Just hard, consistent and intense training.”
To learn more about “Swan Lake” or Ballet NJ and its nonprofit theater company, visit www.balletnj.org.
If you go:
Ballet NJ will present “Swan Lake” at the Voorhees Middle School Theater, 1000 Holly Oak Drive East
Show dates are April 26, 27 and May 3, 4, with all shows beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $22 for adults and children to sit in the front half of the theater, and $16 to $18 for adults and children to sit in the second half of the theater
Tickets can be purchased by calling 768–9503, or by submitting a ticketing form at www.balletnj.org/performances/purchase-tickets/.
Tickets with preferred seating and group rates are also available by phone.
