'Secret Garden' blooms anew at the Capitol

When Raymond Van Mason was choreographing "The Secret Garden" for the Imagine Ballet Theatre nearly 1 1/2 years ago, he envisioned it being performed on the Capitol Theatre stage.

This week, Van Mason's dream comes true. The production will be performed Friday and Saturday, and Van Mason, Imagine's artistic director, is looking forward to it. "When we premiered it at Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden, the tears I had were not necessarily from the role I was dancing (Uncle Archibald), but from the emotions I got when I realized that the ballet was finally happening."

For more than 13 years, Van Mason had wanted to choreograph an adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's book. "Initially I wanted it to premiere at the Capitol Theatre, but it didn't. I'm extremely happy we were able to premiere it at Peery's. And now, it's going to the next level."

Van Mason said he is excited to see his company — composed of dancers between the ages of 9 and 19 — work on a different stage. "It's all part of being in a dance company. Part of the mission of IBT is to give young dancers a feel for what it's like to be in a professional dance company. And dancing on different stages is a part of that. No two stages are the same, and as a dancer you may dance on maybe four different stages in a given week."

The main difference between the Egyptian Theater and Capitol Theatre stages is size; the Capitol Theatre is larger. "There is maybe one foot difference in the width. But we will have a lot more depth to work with. We will have more space to spread out, and I'm interested to see how the dancers accommodated the changes."

Another difference this time around is that the production will feature live music by an orchestra conducted by Kurt Bestor, who wrote the original score. "It's a whole new ballgame when it comes to dancing to live music," said Van Mason. "There is a different dynamic, knowing that it's not going to be the same each night."

This year he welcomes a former Ballet West colleague into the cast, Christie Freebairn-Perry. "Christie is portraying the spirit of Colin's mother," said Van Mason. "And since Colin is performed by Christie's son, Mitchell, there is a strong connection that can be felt even during rehearsals. And I wanted someone a little more mature than who we had dance the role before, even though the other dancer did a wonderful job."

Freebairn-Perry danced with Ballet West from 1988 to 1995 and knew Van Mason then. "It's funny because throughout our careers, we have seemingly followed each other," said Freebairn-Perry during a separate interview. "I moved to California and he did later. Then he moved back to Utah and my family followed."