Films
Photo 1 by Marissa Gearhart, Photo 2 curtesy of SFD, Photo 3 by by George Young
Live Stream our performance of Hansel & Gretel on Saturday, August 3, 2024!
Photo 1 by Marissa Gearhart, Photo 2 curtesy of SFD.
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Ron Cunningham's Peter and The Wolf
In 2021, after a year of stalled programming due to COVID-19, Sensory Friendly Dance presented Ron Cunningham's Peter and the Wolf. Enjoy this classic children's tale choreographed by Sacramento Ballet Artistic Director Emeritus and internationally recognized choreographer Ron Cunningham, an all star cast of professional ballet dancers, and narration by Donna Apidone, known for her 20+ years as the Morning Edition host on NPR affiliates.
Ron Cunningham's Peter RabbitSensory Friendly Dance's 2022 production featured the revival of Ron Cunningham's Peter Rabbit, a delightful retelling of Beatrix Potters famously mischievous Peter Rabbit and his adventures through Mr. McGregor's garden.
Tanabata: The Story of Orihime & HikoboshiIn July 2023, Sensory Friendly Dance premiered a brand new ballet by Sacramento dancer and choreographer Kaori Higashiyama based on the Japanese fairytale The Story of Orihime & Hikoboshi. This story tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers who must find their way back to each other across the Milky Way River on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. Beautifully filmed by Sacramento film makers Natalie Manning and Ryan Wooten, enjoy this world premiere dance film in HD from the comfort of your home.
Make the most of your film viewing! Check out these materials below:
Performance Program Tanabata Song Sheet Meet the Musicians & Music Notes Meet the Artists Make Your Own Tanabata Wishing Tree Make Your Own Tanabata Origami |
Tanabata Performance Program:
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Learn More About the Star Festival, Tanabata:
For centuries, communities in Japan have celebrated Tanabata, an annual Star Festival celebrating the story of star crossed lovers, Orihime and Hikoboshi. In the story, Orihime is represented as the star Vega, and Hikoboshi is represented as the star Altair. The two stars are separated by the Milky Way "river," but on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, the two stars can meet again in the sky.
The word "Tanabata" translated in English means, "evening of the seventh," and is commonly known as the "Star Festival" that takes place on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. Interestingly, this story has origins in China, before being embraced in Japan, and in different communities across China and Japan, the Star Festival is either celebrated on July 7th or August 7th depending on what calendar and version of the story is used.
The Tanabata song is sung every year in Japan as part the Star Festival!
Now, you can learn the Tanabata song and sing-along with us in our film.
The word "Tanabata" translated in English means, "evening of the seventh," and is commonly known as the "Star Festival" that takes place on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. Interestingly, this story has origins in China, before being embraced in Japan, and in different communities across China and Japan, the Star Festival is either celebrated on July 7th or August 7th depending on what calendar and version of the story is used.
The Tanabata song is sung every year in Japan as part the Star Festival!
Now, you can learn the Tanabata song and sing-along with us in our film.
Learn the Tanabata Song:
Download a Printable Song Sheet:
Sing-a-long With Us:Now that you have the Tanabata song sheet, you can sing-a-long with us as you enjoy the film of our performance! At the end of the film, enjoy a recording of the Tanabata song by our talented musicians. To access the film, make a donation of $10 or more to our Summer Campaign and we will email you a link to view the film. The film will be available for viewing until August 7, 2023.
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We would like to thank Deanna Clark, music copyist, for preparing the Tanabata song and song sheet for our program and website. We would also like to thank music arranger and pianist Karen Hunt, flutist Andrew Hunt, and soprano Faith Schwinger for their recording of the Tanabata song. Special thanks to Don Schwennesen and Deane Dance Center for the use of their piano and assistance in recording the music for our performance.
More Music Notes:The music for Kaori Higashiyama's Tanabata ballet was arranged and composed by pianist Karen Hunt. Together, Kaori and Karen chose the tune of “Simple Gifts” as a recurring musical theme representing Orihime & Hikoboshi. This tune comes from a Shaker hymn written in 1848. Music for Scene 7 is an arrangement of themes borrowed from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
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Meet the Artists
Learn more about the talent group of artists that brought this performance and film to life!
Make Your Own Tanabata Wishing Tree:
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During Tanabata, the Japanese Star Festival, people wish for clear skies so that they can see the bright stars Vega and Altair in the summer night sky. Legend goes that if the skies are not clear on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, then Orihime and Hikoboshi cannot reunite and must wait another year to meet again. Some even say that when it rains, it is Orihime's tears!
Each year for Tanabata, people gather with family and friends to write down their good wishes for the earth and themselves on pieces of paper called, Tanzaku. The wishes are then hung on a bamboo "Wishing Trees" before being burned or floated down the river at the end of the night. During our live performance at B Street Theatre on June 24, 2023, we made a Wishing Tree with our audience! Now, you can participate too! 1. Find a piece of paper and a pencil or pen. 2. Write down a wish for yourself, or the earth. 3. Hole-punch the paper at one end, and tie a thread through the hole in a circle. 3. Using the thread, hang your wish from a bamboo branch. No bamboo handy? No problem! You can hang your wish on a plant or a tree. If no bamboo, plant, or tree is available, another idea is to draw a picture of a Wishing Tree and write your wish on the picture. What will you create with your wish? |
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Learn Origami!
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