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ABOUT THE STORY OF THE NIGHTINGALE
The Nightingale is a story originally written by Hans Christian Anderson about an emperor in ancient China who is visited by a nightingale that sings beautiful songs to him. Later in the story, the Emperor receives a present of a mechanical nightingale, which causes him to lose interest in the real nightingale. Subsequently, the real nightingale leaves the emperor. When the mechanical nightingale breaks down, the Emperor's health starts to fail. He is on the verge of death when the real nightingale returns and restores the Emperor to full health.
ABOUT THE BALLET
The Nightingale is a ballet in two acts with a run time of approximately 90 minutes. It is appropriate for dancers of all ages, from very young dancers to professionals. The universal subject matter of the story makes it suitable for all audiences and works particularly well with outreach activities to children of all ages and backgrounds.
RELEVANCE TO TODAY'S ISSUES
As we all recover from the tremendous suffering inflicted by the pandemic, we have a need to connect with each other on a personal basis. This is true not only for our nation, but also for our international community, made up of a wide range of peoples. A performance of "The Nightingale" will go a long way towards showing good will towards members of all global communities by celebrating the uniqueness of other cultures through the lens of a story set in China. In the end, just like the nightingale and the emperor, we need to understand each other better in order to be restored to full physical and emotional health.
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