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\nChoreographer Robert Wesner rehearses Dancing Wheels dancers in “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Photo by Sara Lawrence-Sucato <\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfad NEW! Cleveland Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfad NEW! Cleveland Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n
First, there was the 1962 song made famous by folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. Then, a 1979 juvenile fiction book adaptation by Romeo Muller. Now, Puff the Magic Dragon, the familiar children\u2019s tale about childhood imagination and growing up, is being told as a multimedia ballet.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Lake Erie College\u2019s Rickel Theater, Cleveland\u2019s Dancing Wheels Company and School will perform Robert Wesner’s dance adaptation of Puff the Magic Dragon, based on Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton\u2019s original song, and Muller\u2019s expanded narrative book.<\/p>\n
The former founder and director of Northeast Ohio\u2019s Neos Dance Theatre, Wesner\u2019s one-act children\u2019s ballet tells the story of Jackie Draper, a child who didn\u2019t dance or sing, who was visited by Puff the Magic Dragon. Puff used his magical powers to turn introverted Jackie Draper into more outgoing Jackie Paper, and together they ventured on a sailboat made from Jackie\u2019s bed to Puff\u2019s home, the island of Honah Lee. There, the two encountered and changed the fortunes of a pirate baker, rescued a falling star, and healed a group of sick sneezes using the pair\u2019s powers of cleverness, creativity, and bravery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nChoreographer Robert Wesner rehearses Dancing Wheels dancers in “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Photo by Sara Lawrence-Sucato
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Puff the Magic Dragon is Wesner\u2019s fourth commission for Dancing Wheels, and one he says he found both entertaining and challenging to create in collaboration with Dancing Wheels\u2019 dancers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith a company of seven dancers having to play so many different characters in the ballet, finding ways for them to come on and be recognized as a new character was really fun,\u201d says Wesner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is also a lot of humor and whimsy inherent in the ballet production, says Wesner, including fanciful wigs, props, and artwork projections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dancing Wheels\u2019 company dancers Angelina DiFranco and DeMarco Sleeper will dance the lead roles of Jackie Draper\/Paper and Puff the Magic Dragon, respectively. Joining them and the rest of the company dancers onstage will be students from the School of Dancing Wheels and its performance ensemble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\nDancing Wheels dancers Angelina DiFranco and DeMarco Sleeper in “Puff the Magic Dragon.” Photo by Sara Lawrence-Sucato\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b
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For the 40-minute ballet\u2019s soundtrack, Wesner says he turned to songs from the era in which the Peter, Paul, and Mary tune was written. Songs that blended folk and pop music with socio-political themes. The eclectic soundtrack for\u00a0Puff\u00a0includes music from Melanie, Petula Clark, Yusuf\/Cat Stevens, Ludwig van Beethoven, as well as the ballet\u2019s title track.<\/p>\n
While Wesner\u2019s ballet incorporates the essence of the original song\u2019s lyrics, perhaps the most significant difference between the ballet and the song is that the ballet\u2019s ending is a lot more hopeful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really land where the song does,\u201d says Wesner. \u201cThere\u2019s a renewal of spirit and healing at the end, where Jackie Paper turns back into Jackie Draper, only this time Jackie can dance, sing, and is fully engaged in their family life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dancing Wheels Company and School presents Puff the Magic Dragon\u00a0on Saturday, February 7, at 2 pm at Lake Erie College\u2019s Rickel Theater within Royce Hall, 391 W. Washington St., Painesville, Ohio. General admission tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for those 16 years old and under. <\/p>\n