Audiences of all ages are invited to experience Neverland as they’ve never seen it before in Tyler Junior College’s production of the high-flying fairy tale, “Peter Pan.”
Performances are 7 p.m. Friday, April 19; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20; and 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21, in Wise Auditorium, located in the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center on the TJC central campus.
Admission varies from $15 to $40, and tickets are on sale at TJC.edu/PeterPan.
“We are excited to bring the magic of ‘Peter Pan’ told through dance to our East Texas audience,” said Shurrell Wiebe, production artistic director. “Exciting sword fights, glowing mermaids, magical fairies and special flying effects will captivate everyone. You will not want to miss the TJC Pre-Professional program dancers performing this timeless tale of the boy who refused grow up.”
The soloist role of Peter Pan is danced by academy student Caleigh Duquette of Tyler. At the young age of 14, Duquette has been selected to join the Walnut Hill School for the Arts Professional Division, an extremely selective conservatory outside of Boston. A student at the TJC Academy of Dance since the age of 6, Caleigh joined the Pre-Professional program and found her true passion in dance.
"It has been a pleasure to watch Caleigh blossom into an incredible dancer and a wonderful role model for our students,” said Carolyn Hanna, director of the TJC Academy of Dance and chair of the TJC Department of Dance. “Caleigh has shown tremendous improvement by her sheer perseverance and tenacity. Being selected to join an elite ballet conservatory like Walnut Hill is no surprise to her teachers, but we are so incredibly proud of her and can't wait to see how the next few years will unfold.”
Hanna continued, “This will be one of Caleigh's last performances with the TJC Academy of Dance, so we hope our community will come out and support this beautiful dancer.”
Performances are 7 p.m. Friday, April 19; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 20; and 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21, in Wise Auditorium, located in the Rogers Palmer Performing Arts Center on the TJC central campus.
The “Peter Pan” cast includes more than 70 TJC Academy of Dance students and performance majors from the TJC Department of Dance, including: Morgan Aldinger, Caroline Bailey, Elena Baldwin, Kathryn Beard, Ainsleigh Bolt, Kennedy Bragg, Camila Bravo, Cambrie Brooks, Cailyn Bryce-Cotes, Caroline Caccitolo, Qwynnen Davis, Wynnslo Davis, Farrah Dobbs, Addie Draffen, Caleigh Duquette, Zoey Dyer, Vivienne Elliott, Caylie Fernandez, Sarah Fisher, Julia Forrest, Stella Franks, Olivia Gale, Lillian Gardiner, Julia Gloria, Jules Gregory, Kyndall Harrell, Tesla Hartweg, Rylan Hernandez, Sarah Kathryn Howell, Annabel Langford, Caroline Lesniewski, Kaylee Lesniewski, Kate Margraves, Mary-Meadows Marshall, Vivienne Marshall, Nalani Mata, Ann Marie Mayfield, Cierra Mays, Julia McClure, Tatum McDonald, Tenley Mckinzie, Deborah Mercado-Cotto, Delia Nava, Evie Noteware, Gentry Owens, Molly Patterson, Kaitlin Pearce, Allie Phillips, Ainsley Pierce, Georgia Price, Ainsley Rhodus, Hannah Robinette, Sidney Roden, Audrey Scarborough, Emma Scott, Anjalia Sledge, Tenley Smiley, Catherine Smith, Iris Solly, Phoebe Solly, Leah Soto, Jhermani Spears, Sierra Stoner, Charlotte Stuebing, Joslyn Swinney, Brooklyn Thomas, Rose Tucker, Andrea Velez, Ava Wamboldt, Naomi Warriner, Brynn Wilder, Sidney Wolverton and Lily York.