‘Aladdin’ tea sweeps young ballet-goers into the magic of the show

The children didn’t need a magic carpet to fly them to the opulent Arabian world of Aladdin and Jasmine, as they stepped right into the magic Saturday afternoon.

The fabled Arab prince himself greeted dozens of children at a special pre-show tea before the afternoon performance of Columbia City Ballet’s “Aladdin” at the Koger Center.

“The reason we do it is to get the kids more involved into what they’re actually about to see,” said Emily Welsh, who helped organize the tea as a fundraiser for Columbia City Ballet as a part of the dance company’s Director’s Circle volunteer group. “It helps tell the story of the ballet they’re about to watch. ... It makes this performance and the actual ballet a little more personal for them.”

Five-year-old Rainn Bradley and her 3-year-old brother, Aydinn, hadn’t been able to stop talking about the tea and the ballet since they found out they were going, said their mother, Robin Bradley.

Rainn came dressed for the occasion in a tiara and tutu-style dress she picked out specially for the day.

“It’s just something nice to take them to out of the house, spend time (together),” Robin Bradley said. “We have tea parties at the house all the time, so it’s nice to be able to bring them to a tea party.”

Tea itself was hardly the afternoon’s main attraction, though.

Donning jingling, cymbal-laced sarongs around their waists, a handful of tea-goers lined up in front of a mirror with three of the ballet’s harem dancers for a crash-course in belly dancing – because you’re never too young to learn to belly dance, right?

As a dancer, interacting with the young ones in her audience is something to look forward to, said Madeline Foderaro, a 28-year-old company dancer who shared her skills with the little ladies.

“I think that’s the best part of the job, is when we get to see the audience, their faces up close and personal, and get to see how what we do affects them and how excited they get,” Foderaro said.

“Especially at that age, because that’s when we started dancing, too,” said 24-year-old Amanda Summey, a fellow company dancer. “So it’s like, maybe I’ll be their inspiration.”

Nine-year-old Sophia Vitali said she is captivated by ballerinas’ gracefulness.

She and her mother, Robin, were attending their third tea with the Columbia City Ballet. The trip to the tea and ballet was a Christmas gift from Robin to her daughter.

“We’ve always loved it. It gets us in the spirit and the theme of things,” Robin Vitali said. “It’s just the two of us. It’s just our girl time.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2016 at 5:55 PM with the headline "‘Aladdin’ tea sweeps young ballet-goers into the magic of the show."