Follow Alice down the rabbit hole-en pointe

“Alice in Wonderland” Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Tonight-Sunday The Benedum Center 412-456-6666

Take a trip down the rabbit hole and join Alice on her adventure through Wonderland. At the North American premiere of “Alice in Wonderland,” Pittsburgh Ballet Theater will bring the bizarre tale to life through dance.

Derek Deane, choreographer at English National Ballet in London, pieced together the ballet for its European premiere more than 10 years ago, and it comes to the United States tonight for a four-day run at the Benedum Center. Composer Carl Davis offers the musical backdrop for Deane’s dance creations.

This isn’t Deane’s first time traveling to the States to work with PBT. Most recently, he led choreography for the 2006 production “Anything Goes!” “Alice” is very different from the Cole Porter tribute that fueled “Anything,” though.

Based on Lewis Carroll’s novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” the show promises to adhere to the history of the many wacky characters that have made the children’s book a classic. Set and costume designer Sue Blane studied the black-and-white drawings from the original book to conceptualize a colored version that “Alice”-lovers would appreciate.

The performers will dance through colorful sets that have seen a few cinematic adaptations already, including those depicted in Walt Disney’s animated version.

From a story that inspired public figures from Salvador Dali to Marilyn Manson comes a theatrical performance meant to be as dark as it is colorful and as meaningful as it is confusing.