Wetlands Ballet by Kyra Bailey

In May 2015, the community of Cordova came together for the 25th annual Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival. Each year, nearly five million shorebirds pause in the tidal flats of the Copper River Delta during their migration north, a spectacle so grand that this festival was built around it. Alyssa and Marita Kleissler, sisters and owners of Current Rhythms Ballet Studio, were comissioned to produce a ballet for the Shorebird Festival. The result was the Wetland Ballet, a dance through the seasons. Dancers represented the look and movements of different species in Alaska’s ecosystem, and the whole town seemed to be in the high school’s gymnasium the night they performed.