National Ballet of Canada Will Bring Wheeldon’s "Alice" to NYC

The National Ballet of Canada has announced it’s coming to New York City this September, where they’ll perform Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at the David H. Koch Theater. NYC audiences haven’t seen the Toronto-based company since 2005. The stop is part of an initiative started by NBC Artistic Director Karen Kain to tour more frequently to world dance centers. Last season, the company traveled to Los Angeles (where it will return this summer), Washington DC, and Saratoga Springs.

Since its premiere at the Royal Ballet in 2011, Alice has proved enormously popular with audiences. For one, the ballet features a lush score by Joby Talbot and over-the-top sets and costumes by Bob Crowley. Eye candy abounds, from ingenious uses of animation and projection (at one point, the backdrop transforms into a psychedelic, swirling rabbit hole) to a dismembering Cheshire Cat. Plus, Wheeldon’s Alice doesn’t lack for humor—the head-chopping obsessed Queen of Hearts terrifies her suitors in a hilarious homage to the Rose Adagio. September 9-14 at the David H. Koch Theater.