Elena Carter: “…a magical time for AMB…”
Welcome to the latest in our new series of videos! To help celebrate our next decade of dance, we’ve asked American Midwest Ballet dancers to share some of their favorite memories from the company’s first ten seasons.
You may have noticed in this series that many dancers’ favorite memories involve Erin Alarcón’s The Wizard of Oz. This spectacular work – named Outstanding Local Dance Production of 2019 at the Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards – was the first full-length ballet Erin had ever choreographed. Its detail, inventiveness and sheer variety dazzled our dancers – including Elena Carter, who found herself performing four very different roles: a tornado, a red-clad poppy, a member of the elegant Emerald Court, and an evil monkey soldier!
Elena loved it all. “Not only was Erin’s choreography beautiful to dance, but the costumes were gorgeous, the scenery was stunning and the music was thrilling,” she said.
“Backstage life was equally exciting,” Elena recalls. “My roommate Wyatt got his puppy when we toured to Sioux City, and [fellow dancers] Bret and Sasha got married with a surprise wedding! Some of the dancers and I got to be unintentional bridesmaids when we wore Bret’s signature leotard that day.”
“The Wizard of Oz was a magical time for AMB!”