Carla Clark | For The Republic Snow White, played by Ryleigh Bardakjy, front left, Doc, played by Cora Tregoning, Sneezy, played by Pippa Haywood, Grumpy, played by Tora Vreeland, Dopey, played by Sawyer Peterson, Bashful, played by Clara DeVreese, Happy, played by Brynn Wendel, and Sleepy played by Camilla DeVreese at the end of a scene during a Dancers Studio rehearsal for their production of The Dwarves’ Tale of Snow White, at their studio, Columbus, Ind., Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Around the time Ryleigh Bardakjy first began dancing with Dancers Studio, Inc, she attended its production of Snow White as part of the First Fridays for Families series. Upon watching it, the then 6-year-old Bardakjy told her mother that she wanted to be in the production too some day.
Little did she know that at the age of 13, she would be up on that stage performing as Snow White herself, alongside her fellow dancers and friends, bringing the classic fairy tale to life through movement and music.
“I’m a little nervous. I was very surprised but I’m excited,” Bardakjy said. “I think it’s just going to be an exciting opportunity.”
“The Dwarves’ Tale of Snow White,” a part of the First Fridays for Families series, will be this Friday at The Commons from 5 to 7 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show begins at 5:30 p.m. It is free.
Audience members will watch as dancers tell the story of Snow White through dance and mime, in addition to narration. In a story somewhat based on the Disney animated film, they’ll first meet the dwarves, who try to tell the narrator the story through dance, Snow White’s animal friends and of course the evil queen and her vulture servants.
“I think when (Dancers Studio, Inc. founder) Alma Wiley originally envisioned this show, she went into it going ‘Snow White does a lot in this show, but there’s so much more that you could explore with some of these other characters,’” interim artistic director Kaylin Hogan said. “And so… we come at it from the dwarves’ perspective, so the dwarves are one of the first people on the stage and then they have a pretty pivotal role, a whole bunch of scenes with some really comedic dancing for sure.”
Auditions for the production were held in January and rehearsals began later that month. Dancers range in age from 8 years old to 18, with five of the dancers being seniors this year. Having that wide range requires Hogan to think on her feet and to try and make sure she’s engaging all of them in a different way, while also teaching the older dancers to be patient with the younger ones.
“… actually, several of our seniors and juniors did play the role of some of the animals in Snow White seven years ago, the last time we did this production, and so it’s been a little bit fun to reminisce with them about how hard they were to work with at 9-, 10-years-old but how far they’ve come since then, which is really fun,” Hogan said.
Bardakjy said she wasn’t expecting to get the lead part and expected more of a role like a dwarf, but rehearsals and practicing her part have been fun, though trying to memorize it all has been tricky.
“It’s a lot of dancing and I’m on stage the whole time so it’s a little hard to keep everything in my mind and remember what’s where and when to do things,” Bardakjy said.
Practicing at home and talking with her friends, including Sydney Sampson, who also plays Snow White, and going over things in class have helped, Bardakjy said. This production is double casted, meaning that every major part has two dancers learning it and each will perform once for the public, once for a school show and once for another outreach program, Hogan said.
Bardakjy will be Snow White in the First Fridays for Families performance and a matinee at Columbus North High School on April 18 at 2 p.m. The other cast will then be featured later that evening for the 7 p.m. show. Both of these performances are open to the public and will have special offerings in celebration of Dancers Studio, Inc’s 35th year in business.
“We’re doing a silent auction before the show and then during each intermission, and there’s going to be themed photo booths set up and fun treats and things for kids and for adults and it’s going to be fun,” Hogan said. “Hopefully a chance to take pictures with some characters at some point.”
Those public performances on April 18 will also feature a second act with ballet variation solos and some modern and jazz pieces that dancers have been working on in class, Hogan said. The first act will then be what Dancers Studio, Inc performs at First Fridays for Families, complete with the narration.
Hogan described the First Fridays for Families production as perfect for kids as it’s only one act long, its pace is much faster than traditional ballet and it provides them with a full understanding of the pieces that go into traditional ballet without stopping for long periods of time. The narration also helps audience members match up the mime movements to the actual words from the story.
She said she loves reaching kids through First Fridays for Families and their school performances, and she believes the dancing students also enjoy performing for kids as they react in more fun, exciting and over-the-top ways.
“Adults have a lot more preconceived notions about how they should or shouldn’t act in an audience but kids don’t hesitate to boo for the queen or cheer or groan when the prince kisses Snow White or whatever,” Hogan said. “They’re going to react and sometimes you’ll hear them call something out from the audience and it makes your day, and it teaches the dancers not to break character.”
