On Sunday, April 19, Columbia University Ballet Ensemble (CUBE) presented their spring show, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” in a stunning performance.

On Sunday night, the lights went down at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, and dancers of Columbia University Ballet Ensemble came out for their second show in their spring performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The production value of this piece was enchanting: with beautiful costumes, graceful dancing, and animated expressions, the dancers put on quite a dreamy performance. 

A ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, the show starts in a forest outside of Athens. Featuring a variety of forest creatures such as ladybugs, moths, and butterflies, the dancers gracefully flapped their wings and painted a beautiful forest scene, a dynamic background to the initial fight between King Oberon (Charles Chaitman, CC ‘29) and Queen Titania (Avianna Hughes, SEAS ‘29). 

Feuding with his wife, Oberon then instructs a sprite, Puck (Elle Marsico, CC ‘29), to find an enchanted flower that causes people to fall in love with the first thing that they see. Marsico had a show-stopping performance, intriguing the audience with not just her dancing abilities, but lively expressions that drew the viewer in every time she was on stage. 

The rest of Act I continued with the entrance of Hermia (Martha Sauer, CC ‘29), Lysander (Kae Cogswell (GS Postbac), Helena (Stephanie Suh, CC ‘29), and Demetrius (Fernando María Sánchez García, CC ‘29). Included in this were the various fairies, who interrupted the turmoil with charming and even funny moments. Notably, Peaseblossom (Simone Snow, BC ‘28) slapped Puck for being too mischievous, eliciting a laugh from the audience. One could also not forget Bottom, also played by García, who, despite the donkey head and “paws,” danced with grace and delivered a crowd pleasing performance. Overall, the expressions, theatricality, and dynamicity of Act I stood out, making it not only exciting, but engaging to watch. 

After a brief intermission, Act II began with Hippolyta (Taylor Phillips, BC ‘29), and Theseus (Diego Soto-Lopez, SEAS ‘28) celebrating their wedding. Phillips gave an especially strong performance in this segment. The act ended with Bottom being mocked by the butterflies, which caused the audience to gasp and laugh. The show ended once again with the fairies, who, as their characters would have it, flitted around stage in feather-light costumes. 

Overall, this was one of my favorite CUBE performances to date, with not only strong dancing performances, but emotion presented by all dancers.

Photo by Sally Go