Review: ALICE (IN WONDERLAND) at The Washington Ballet

The Washington Ballet’s ALICE (in wonderland) is a theatrical, whimsical, and approachable translation of Lewis Carroll’s iconic duology, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 

This production concluded choreographer Edwaard Liang’s inaugural season as The Washington Ballet’s artistic director. Liang’s selection of such a whimsical and familiar story, and a piece from his own repertoire, was a strong start to his new position and a display of his creative vision for the company.

Once Alice was down the rabbit hole, she found everything from a fierce, puppeted Bandersnatch to slapstick Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum riding a tandem bike. The costuming (done by designer Liz Vandal, notable for her work with Cirque du Soleil), scenery and props (by Jack Mehler), and puppets (by Eric J. Van Wyk) were spared no extravagance to make the stage a kaleidoscopic fantasy world. The props of floating doors, rippling wings of the caterpillar, and huge, scaly bandersnatch were very well executed in construction and fabric choice. Vandal’s costume work especially brought a vibrance to the characters that sometimes pushed the limit between costume and kitsch, giving the flamingoes headpieces that were literal flamingo heads and The Cheshire Cat a full catsuit fitted with a purple, tiger-striped coat.

The Washington Ballet also collaborated with their dance school to add to their ensemble. The student dancers did not just stand shyly at the edges but fit alongside company dancers in several playful, well-choreographed scenes. Puffy, pink baby flamingoes flounced about with the other birds, and small flowers circled Alice in the flower fields as the roses danced. They were clever stand-ins for the doors after Alice was enlarged, and they swung and somersaulted as living croquet equipment in the Red Queen’s garden. One baby flamingo even got to fly up in the rigging, a role and production as a whole that (literally) uplifted a younger audience of dancers.

The style of dance was approachable due to its directness: Pantomime, gags, and overacting conveyed the meaning of most scenes and characters. In particular, The Queen of Hearts, danced by Kateryna Derechyna, sustained perfect villain energy in her pouting face and figure and angular, dramatic posture on pointe. 

Alice and the White Rabbit acted as perfect foils for each other in their styles and personalities: Andile Ndlovu as the rabbit had technical skill and a sure, sprightly attitude that blended very well with each scene, while Maki Onuki’s Alice is intentionally out of place. Her juvenile, raw movements mimicked much of the other dancers, and she slowly built a daring strength to take on the Jabberwock and win the croquet game against the queen.

However, for Alice to be in Wonderland, she should have spent less time on the sides of the stage. At the introduction of a new character or scene, Alice would often flit to a corner to watch with the rest of the audience, where she would disappear completely from the eye. For the audience to see a fuller characterization, her interactions with more scenes would have allowed her to develop her style and energy as the protagonist.  

ALICE (in wonderland) from The Washington Ballet was a welcoming introduction to Liang’s programming as well as the ballet as a whole. Whether your parents were taking you to the ballet for the first time, or you were a frequent patron of the arts, everyone could find a seat at the tea party. 

Stay tuned for more information about the Washington Ballet’s 2025-2026 season at the link below:

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Runtime: 2 hours, including intermission

Photo credit: Sonia Bartolomeo. Photos courtesy of the production. 

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