What if ballet was performed to rock? Or, as Ballet Fantastique asks, “What if Aladdin had a soundtrack by Queen?” This Mother’s Day weekend, the dancers of BFan are doing just that with their performance of Aladdin: The Rock Opera, a ballet set to a Queen soundtrack. It is not often that ballet companies perform the story of Aladdin, and it is even more rare that they do it to a rock soundtrack. In February and March 2024 BFan did a performance of Cinderella to ’60s music, and, according to BFan executive director Hannah Bontrager, the success and fun of that project made the company want to play with unconventional music again. “The Queen music is more contemporary, but it’s no less valid to make art and it was begging us to create movement to it,” Bontrager says. Growing up, Bontrager loved the story of Aladdin even before Disney’s cartoon adaptation, for its narrative of bravery and choosing your own destiny. Due to Bontrager and her team’s love for the story, she wanted to create something that she would want to see and something that could be done as a family. Bontrager believes that through the soundtrack, ’70s brightly colored sets and dancing, this show has something for everyone. Just in time for Mother’s Day, the performance provides something to do out of the usual Mother’s Day brunch or hike. “You’re giving your kids an experience that’s really meaningful, that they’ll be thinking about for a long time, and a chance for you to escape as well,” Bontrager says.

Ballet Fantastique’s Aladdin: The Rock Opera is 7:30 pm Saturday, May 10, and 2:30 pm Sunday, May 11, at the Hult Center, 1 Eugene Center.Tickets start at $22. Visit BalletFantastique.org/aladdin for more info.