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AUDIENCE REVIEW: Ballet X Presents "The Little Prince"

Company:
Ballet X

Performance Date:
July 18 2026

Freeform Review:

It is in the pillow talk, the stretched linen over plains of mattress and mountains of covers, in which we find ourselves in the audience of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Le Petit Prince. A goodnight story of fairy tales and life’s darkest secrets. Adapted into a ballet, it really sets the stage with its white light, resembling a soft cloud, and the comfort of being tucked into bed.

Among the cast of various personalities, a mysterious, low baah-ing sheep creeps into our subconscious, and we almost forget about it altogether. Until another “Ba-h-h-h” out of nowhere. In the story, we patiently wait to see a sheep, or the Fox, as our focus in the audience turns to the entourage of stranger characters. We pick out the characteristics described to us of the key players in the Little Prince’s journey. Starting with a Rose, we see her dying under a clear umbrella; the Snake, whom we follow most of all in their Bob Fosse-style jazz dance; a King, who looks frustrated; a Narcissist, whom we clap along with; a Drunkard, whose line drawing I had the most difficulty finding after all. Then again, we come across a Business Woman with a suitcase of stars, and a Lamp Lighter, whom I mistook for the elephant in the story — oops — and our trusty Geographer before returning to our crashed Pilot.

We share in the search for meaning in the appearances of adulthood and the Little Prince’s experience; his ideas are different from what they think really matters.

“Le petit prince avait sur les choses sérieuses des idées très différentes des idées des grandes personnes."
— de Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. Le Petit Prince (French Edition) (p. 15). (Function). Kindle Edition.

BalletX, of course, is known for having multiple perspectives on modern-style ballets from choreographers around the globe. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s The Little Prince takes a close reading of the story to refresh our imaginations and what it means to be Les Grandes Personnes.

Yet the imagery is subtle. Stage design by Matt Saunders implies sweet dreams, and composer and musician Peter Salem gives them spectacular dimensions. The libretto and dramaturgy by Nancy Meckler remind us of this dreamy landscape simply by asking, “Where are you?” and “Who are you?” The Little Prince, danced by Eli Alford, performs a pas de deux with the Pilot, danced by Jonathan Montepara, and we ask ourselves what to make of the box.

Author:
Chuck Schultz

Website:
WHYSEEART.COM

Photo Credit:
Chuck Schultz