Review: Diablo Ballet presents “The Little Mermaid” February 6-7, 2026 at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA
- Jen Norris
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
The inflow of little girls in party dresses, their mothers and grandmothers swimming in their wakes, fills the Hofmann Theatre at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek, California for the lone matinee performance of choreographer Julia Adam’s brand-new The Little Mermaid (Mermaid).
Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved tale, this one-act ballet tells the story of a water nymph who falls in love with a mortal. Given the familiarity of the songs and the overall popularity of Disney’s two “Little Mermaid” films, making a new ballet seems both sensible and daring. Fear not, Adam’s Mermaid far exceeds expectations, as it blends ethereal choreography with imaginative storytelling and stellar visuals.
Mermaid is an eye-catching, imaginative, and engaging contemporary ballet. The Diablo Ballet dancers shine in this work, which was created on and for them. Their beguilingly characterizations tell an emotionally rich narrative. The movement is organic, emanating from the character’s sensibilities. The humanity in Adam’s people is tangible, even when, as is the case for some of these characters, they live under the sea.
Falling in love with someone different from yourself, wanting the best for your child, these are timeless occurrences still relevant to today’s audiences. One of the things which most annoys me is how very gendered classical ballet remains. So while it may seem like a small thing, I appreciate Adam’s creative partnering choices, including a playful piggy-back water fight comprised of both same-sex and boy-girl couples.
Adam’s music choices are eclectic and evocative, as each new song sets the tone for the coming scene. The opening seaside shenanigans unfold against the trumpeting jazz stylings of Louis Armstong’s “La Vie Un Rose.” The underwater scene which follows, features celestial Celtic harp music by composer Adrian Von Ziegler. A dramatic trio between the Prince, the Little Mermaid, and her father, the Sea King, is amplified by the vaulting vocals of a George Frideric Handel Baroque-era aria.
The curtain rises to reveal a simple, yet sophisticated, seashore scene. A slender aqua-blue wavy tube of light hangs shoulder high across a sky-blue backdrop, creating an ocean horizon. A dancer enters taking a long stride, his body hinges forward following the direction of his spearing arms. His back leg rises. His arms part, and are drawn outward in a breaststroke, propelling him across the stage. Others soon follow, all sporting Costume Designer Amanda Farris’s fetching 1930’s era ivory and grey toned swimwear. (Farris is doing double duty as she is also a featured dancer in the company).
The transition to the undersea world of the Mer People is theatrical magic. The wavy-light-bar of the ocean’s surface rises to crest near the top of a dark blue backdrop. Clear plastic umbrellas trimmed with dangling streams of ruffled tentacles float overhead like jellyfish (cleverly they will later be inverted to become chandeliers in an aquatic ballroom). The sparkling ascent of the harp’s notes welcomes the entrance of Nicole Ciapponi, the Little Mermaid, Marco Clemente, the Sea King, and his aquatic court. All wear shear ruffly iridescent white skirts or vests which move liquidity over their form fitting bodices, leggings or shorts.
Lighting designer Cassie Barnes effectively uses light to communicate that a trio of young men, frolicking in an area of golden light, are playing on a beach while across the stage, the Little Mermaid observes them from her cool watering home. There is poignance and humor here, as the King having found his daughter fixating on the mortals, hefts her kicking form onto his shoulder and carries her away.
Ciapponi and Clemente are well-matched as the Prince and the Mermaid. Their brief initial partnering, as she saves his life, makes us root for them. Later, a heartbreaking duet finds Clemente propping up a flagging Ciapponi, who without her shimmering diaphanous tail, struggles to make her angular feet and jointed legs support her.
While the Sea King presides over the ocean depths, a sultry Sea Witch, portrayed with cunning seduction by Olivia Powell, vies for control wrestling with him for possession of his enchanted scepter. The deep plum world of the Sea Witch holds mystery and desire. A throaty female voice singing Hugh Laurie’s “The Weed Smoker’s Dream,” lures us into the Witch’s deep-sea cave where the full company struts and slinks at her masquerade ball.
I won’t give away the ending of this production, but will say that I hope it is reprised soon. This is the 5th world premiere Adam has been commissioned to make for Diablo Ballet since 2009.
Mermaid is the 3rd act of a well-balanced repertory program which begins with Balanchine’s neoclassical ballet Donizetti Variations followed by the Diablo Ballet premiere of Paul Taylor’s iconic modern dance Company B (1991).
Set to the music of the Andrews Sisters, Company B, originally created for 13 dancers, performed here in a 6-dancer version Taylor created later, combines popular mid-20th Century dances including the polka, Lindy, and jitterbug, with jazz, and modern dance techniques. The aesthetic should be sophisticated, as high-energy sock-hop dances and tableau are juxtaposed against the silhouettes of WWII soldiers in harrowing poses upstage. There is a noticeable lack of abundance in this small cast version. Sextets are now trios so nuances are lost and the stage seems unbalanced. With fewer performers each silhouette is essential to our understanding and some were unreadable to my eye. While there were stand out performances, such as Diego Cruz Alvarez’s cavalier delivery of the lead man in “Tico-Tico,” overall Diablo Ballet’s presentation seems underdeveloped. Neither Taylor, not Diablo Ballet was well-served by this programmatic choice.
Meanwhile the cast of 11 dancers in the Donizetti Variations bring a wonderful joie de vivre to this work, created in 1960 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Italy’s unification. Diablo Ballet last performed this cheerful neoclassical ballet in their 2024-25 season, and one can see why it has returned so soon. Alison Ramoran and Luis Gonzalez as the lead couple work well together, offering us high lifts, confident pirouettes and assured balances. The ensemble members are fleet footed and sprightly in the folk-dance inspired sequences and well-unified within the more delicate partnering, like the tipping arabesques.
Now in it's 32nd year, Diablo Ballet continues to spread its wings, commissioning new work and bringing audiences important dances from the leading dancemakers of the 20th Century. Cheers to a continuing relationship with choreographer Julia Adam and The Little Mermaid! This production should become a beloved part of the Diablo Ballet repertoire, as well as those of other U.S. regional companies, whom I expect will want it set on their dancers as well.
Review by Jen Norris, published February 10, 2026
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Production Credits
Diablo Ballet presents The Little Mermaid
February 6 at 7:30 pm and February 7 at 2 pm & 7:30 pm.
Lesher Center for the Arts, Hofmann Theatre, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
DONIZETTI VARIATIONS
Music: Gaetano Donizetti (From Don Sebastian)
Choreography: George Balanchine*
Staging: Sandra Jennings
Costume Design: Karinska Costume
Construction: Amanda Farris
Rehearsal Director: Pierre Francois Vilanoba
Cast: Olivia Powell and Elijah Hartley – 2/6 and 2/7, 7:30 pm
Alison Ramoran and Luis Gonzalez – 2/7, 2 pm
Nicole Ciapponi Lizzie Devanney Kyla Marcus Alina Gonzalez Natalie Allenton Olivia Powell/Alison Ramoran Micheal Bushman Marco Clemente Luis Gonzalez/Elijah Hartley
World Premiere: New York City Ballet, City Center of Music and Drama, November 16, 1960, New York
Diablo Ballet Premiere: February 7, 2024, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, California.
@ The George Balanchine Trust The performance of Donizetti Variations, a Balanchine Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style and Balanchine Technique Service standards established and provided by the Trust.
COMPANY B (Specially staged for six dancers by Paul Taylor)
Songs sung by the Andrews Sisters
Choreography by Paul Taylor Reconstructed by Richard Chen See
Costumes by Santo Loquasto courtesy of San Francisco Ballet
Lighting by Jennifer Tipton Re-created by Cassie Barnes (First performed by Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1991)
Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm NICOLE CIAPPONI AMANDA FARRIS OLIVIA POWELL DIEGO CRUZ ALVAREZ MARCO CLEMENTE ELIJAH HARTLEY
Saturday, 2:00 pm LIZZIE DEVANNEY ALINA GONZALEZ ALISON RAMORAN DIEGO CRUZ ALVAREZ MARCO CLEMENTE ELIJAH HARTLEY
1. Bei Mir Bist du Schön: full cast
2. Pennsylvania Polka: Miss Powell/Miss Ramoran and Mr. Hartley
3. Tico-Tico: Mr. Cruz Alvarez
4. Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!: Mr. Clemente with cast women
5. I Can Dream, Can’t I?: Miss Ciapponi/Miss Devanney
6. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B): Mr. Hartley
7. Rum and Coca-Cola: Miss Powell/Miss Ramoran with cast men
8. There Will Never Be Another You: Miss Farris/Miss Gonzalez and Mr. Cruz Alvarez
9. Bei Mir Bist du Schön: full cast
Diablo Ballet Premiere: February 6, 2026, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, California
All selections performed by The Andrews Sisters Courtesy of MCA Records Original production commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC, with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund and the Brown Foundation. Produced in co-operation with Houston Ballet and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
THE LITTLE MERMAID
Choreography: Julia Adam
Music by: Louis Armstrong, Adrian Von Ziegler, Camille Saint-Saens, Hugh Laurie, George Frideric Handel, Wojciech Kilar
Costume Design: Amanda Farris
Lighting Design: Cassie Barnes
Little Mermaid: Nicole Ciapponi Prince: Marco Clemente
Sea King: Luis Gonzalez Sea Witch: Olivia Powell
Lady in Waiting: Lizzie Devanney
Prince’s Friends: Diego Cruz Alvarez, Elijah Hartley, Micheal Bushman
Mermaid’s Sisters: Amanda Farris, Alina Gonzalez
Mer and Land People: Alison Ramoran, Astrid Arvelo, Genevieve Boyle, Evelyn Febuary, Mia Hanflig, Grace Thompson, Natalie Allenton, Kyla Marcus, Phoenix Breese
World Premiere: February 6, 2026, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek