THE ENCHANTED TOY SHOP (La Boutique Fantasque) Ch: John Clifford

The first big original children’s ballet I did for The Portland Ballet, (a school and training and company) in Portland Oregon (not to be confused with the one in Maine) was my own take on the old Ballets Russes ballet by Leonid Massine. I used the same score as the original LA BOUTIQUE FANTASQUE, but added more Rossini music and made quite a different story. It does start off in a Toy Shop like the original, but then I added a new story about the shopkeeper and his downtrodden wife, that brings it to a whole new level. I also added several new characters like “Pinocchio“ and the “Blue Fairy“...and even two acrobatic “French Poodles.“ The music is gorgeous (and played live) and the production is quite for a school. The founders/directors, Nancy Davis Lane, and her husband Jim Lane, were principal dancers in my original LOS ANGELES BALLET in the 1970’s and early 80’s, and were primarily trained at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet, so the