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When Lauren Lane was 12 years old, she rolled her eyes at her ballet teacher—who happened to be her mother, Nancy Davis, the artistic director of The Portland Ballet.
Now Lane is working with her mother again, this time as TPB’s associate artistic director. A former principal dancer with St. Louis Ballet, Lane is also performing in what Davis unabashedly calls the school’s “iconic masterwork,” The Enchanted Toyshop, which features a blue fairy and dancing poodles.
“It’s eye candy. The costumes are off-the-charts gorgeous,” Davis says of the production, which will feature accompaniment by Portland State University’s orchestra (under the direction of Ken Selden).
The Enchanted Toyshop has come a long way. John Clifford, a onetime protégé of George Balanchine, created the ballet 20 years ago for TPB—and Davis and her husband, TPB executive director Jim Lane, had both danced professionally for Clifford in L.A. before starting their dance school in Portland in 2001.
Davis, Lauren Lane, and Charlotte Pener, a 15-year-old student, recently spoke with WW about The Enchanted Toyshop—and the bonds and traditions that define The Portland Ballet.
WW: Lauren, how does it feel to be back here, sharing your experience with students?
Lauren Lane: All of my teachers, almost, are still here, so I think we can connect with the dancers well because we really know what they’re going through. I don’t know if that happens everywhere as much.
Charlotte Pener: It’s really great because Nick [Le Jurica, a TPB alum and its current director of community engagement] and Lauren have been in our shoes. I feel like when I come into this space it’s very different from my school space where I’m really focused on grades. When I’m here, I’m able to just let go of that.
What are your earliest memories of ballet?
Lane: When I was 4 and got to be a polichinelle [one of Mother Ginger’s minions] in Oregon Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker.
Pener: You were 4? Are you kidding?
Lane: Yeah, or 5 maybe. I remember there’s a line of people who do a cartwheel and I didn’t do a cartwheel, and everyone in the audience laughed. I was like, oh, I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I did like being onstage and being part of the production, especially [for] a holiday where there’s a lot of people. The energy is so exciting, and the audiences are so enthusiastic.
When I was in St. Louis Ballet, our director was really adamant that we greet everyone, greet our fellow dancers, greet him, greet the front office staff as we come in and say goodbye every day. That stuck with me, really acknowledging that other people are in this space with you.
Is Luna (Lane’s almost 2-year-old daughter) showing interest in ballet?
Nancy Davis: She’ll either hate it or love it, but so far she’s showing signs of loving it.
Pener: I saw her in the studio, and she was going up to the barre, and she had her leg in arabesque.
Lane: She’s obsessed with ballet. In November 2021, we did John Clifford’s A Christmas Carol, and I performed almost nine months pregnant, so she’s already been onstage. No pressure for sure, but she does seem to be pretty into it [laughs].
Nancy, what was it like to see Lauren thrive as a dancer and now have her back here?
Davis: My mother was a pianist, and working with my mom on the piano did not work, so I’m very proud that [Lauren] found the passion on her own. It’s amazing, and to have her back here and to be doing all the things she’s doing to help me is like full circle. [The Portland Ballet] was started by a husband and wife, and I want to keep it in the family. It’s in the walls, it’s in the atmosphere, it’s part of the community feeling we have.
SEE IT: The Enchanted Toyshop will be performed at Portland State University’s Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave, 503-452-8448, theportlandballet.org, 1 and 4 pm Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 25-26. $10-$40.