'Wild Things' and 'Firebird' fly across the stage
With children’s stories generally reserved for bedtime bliss, the Grand Rapids Ballet Company defied tradition and brought two fantastic fairytales to life to the delight of young and old alike, last weekend.
The Grand Rapids Ballet performed “Where the Wild Things Are,” composed by Randall Woolf, and “The Firebird,” composed by Igor Stravinsky.
The night began with Max, played by Attila Mosolygo, entering the stage in a white wolf suit and wreaking havoc on everything surrounding him — including his mother.
Nicholas Schultz played a superb mother, despite his slightly bulky form and occasional manly gestures. He and Mosolygo played off each other beautifully, taking turns gracefully throwing each other about and creating the perfect mother-son battle.
Max finally gets sent to bed without any supper and begins to dream of the perfect revenge. Max’s room begins to change into a tall forest and Max climbs onto a boat with his name written on the side.
On his voyage he encounters two glorious sea creatures, played by Dawnell Dryja and Schultz, who performed a series of magnificent lifts, taking away from the silliness and protecting Max on his journey to the land unknown.
The boat was a delightful representation of the book and the background sets and costumes mirrored the illustrations perfectly. The best depictions of the book’s creativity, however, were the Wild Things.
As Max enters into his own fantasy world, five hideously hilarious Wild Things approached Max and attempted to frighten him through their ridiculous expressions and even more ridiculous dancing.
Moishe, played by Calvin junior Joel Stob, headed the troupe of silly monsters and left the crowd roaring with laughter as Max silenced the beasts and stared them into dumb submission.
After realizing the magnitude of Max’s terribleness, the Wild Things crown him King of all Beasts and Max calls for the Wild Rumpus to begin.
Through a series of choreographed movements, the Wild Things danced as the music grew in intensity and excitement. Each Wild Thing performed a short dance solo as the audience once again laughed hysterically and applauded wildly.
Mosolygo represented Max with passionate accuracy. He presented a childlike defiance accompanied by a stubborn feistiness that only a young boy can display. Through his demeanor he danced marvelously, seeming childlike in nature while still wowing the audience with his talent.
The performance ends with Max returning to his room, where his supper is set out and smiling as a voice says, “and it was still hot,” as the audience jumped to their feet in a standing ovation before the intermission.
“The Firebird” began after the intermission and changed the mood drastically.
“The Firebird” is a ballet based on an old Russian folktale of a boy who seeks the help of a Firebird when he is attempting to release a beautiful princess and her 12 sisters, who have been taken captive by an evil sorcerer.
Gaiane Akopian and Akop Akopian performed perfectly together as the Firebird and brought traditional ballet to a whole new level.
In dazzling authentic red costumes, the two filled the stage with beauty and left the audience in a state of awe.
Alexey Kulpin, a dancer originally from Russia, played the prince and complimented the character of the Firebird, doing a series of lifts with Akop and his partner, creatinggorgeous pictures of a struggle for control of the most beautiful prize.
The dance of the princesses left a little to be desired as the girls threw apples back and forth to each other, occasionally missing their target and setting off the pattern of the dance.
The love scenes between the prince and princess, played by Dryja, however, made up for any awkward tosses and left the audience in a state of romantic bliss. 
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