Two Tales of Dr. Seuss Brings Ballet and ASL to the Rochester Fringe Festival

Dance has always been a form of communication.

Without saying a word, movement can tell a story, express an emotion, or invite an audience to see something from a new perspective. This September, Rochester City Ballet takes that idea even further with Green Eggs and Ham, part of Two Tales of Dr. Seuss at the Rochester Fringe Festival.

Choreographed by David Palmer, Green Eggs and Ham brings the beloved Dr. Seuss story to the stage through classical and neoclassical ballet alongside American Sign Language (ASL). The result is a performance that explores just how many ways a story can be shared, understood, and experienced.

Telling a Story Through Movement and Sign

Ballet dancers are storytellers. A gesture, expression, or change in movement can communicate something before a character ever speaks.

American Sign Language is also deeply visual and expressive, making its inclusion in Green Eggs and Ham a natural extension of the way ballet communicates with an audience.

Rather than relying on a single form of storytelling, the production brings ballet and ASL together to create an experience that can connect with audiences in different ways. It's an approach that expands how the familiar story is told while helping make the theatrical experience more accessible.

For audiences who know Green Eggs and Ham by heart, it's also an opportunity to discover the story from an entirely new perspective.

A Familiar Story About Trying Something New

At its core, Green Eggs and Ham is a story about curiosity.

Sam-I-Am's persistent invitation to try something unfamiliar eventually leads to one of Dr. Seuss's simplest but most enduring lessons: sometimes, we have to experience something for ourselves before deciding what we think of it.

That message takes on another dimension through dance. Classical and neoclassical ballet, music, theatrical expression, and ASL come together to show how creativity can open new possibilities for communication and connection.

It's playful and familiar, but it also encourages audiences of all ages to remain curious, embrace new experiences, and consider different ways of seeing the world around them.

Creating More Ways to Experience the Arts

The arts have the ability to bring people together, and creating meaningful experiences for a broader community is an important part of that work.

By incorporating American Sign Language into Green Eggs and Ham, Rochester City Ballet offers another way for audiences to engage with the story while demonstrating how traditional art forms can continue to evolve.

It also creates an opportunity for younger audience members to see different forms of communication represented on stage. For some, ASL may be familiar. For others, the performance may be their first introduction to it.

In either case, the experience reflects something at the heart of both dance and storytelling: there is more than one way to express an idea, connect with another person, or share a story.

Two Stories With Something Meaningful to Say

Green Eggs and Ham will be presented alongside The Sneetches as part of Rochester City Ballet's Two Tales of Dr. Seuss.

While each ballet tells a very different story, both invite audiences to think about how we approach the world and one another. The Sneetches explores inclusion, equality, and celebrating our differences, while Green Eggs and Ham encourages curiosity, friendship, and openness to new possibilities.

Together, they create a performance filled with imagination, movement, and messages that can resonate long after audiences leave the theater.