Making the Magic

Kenneth Feld & Alana Feld
Producers
One song can touch millions of people around the world and Disney has been at the beat of this concept for years by making music a main ingredient of storytelling. For Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival, we drew from that as inspiration and supersized classic songs and remixed them for fans of rock, pop, jazz, hip hop, country, reggae and much, much more. For many children, we understand that this will be their first stage show experience. Mickey's Music Festival is an opportunity to introduce them to the fun, fist-pumping, feet stomping, hand-clapping vibe of concerts, but in a family-friendly way. With that in mind, we filled this show with up-tempo music, rousing dance moves, glitzy costumes, dynamic lighting, and more than 25 Disney stars including the big cheese himself. . . Mickey Mouse! We want you and your family to be engaged from start to finish and hope that you will still be singing and dancing the entire way home! Thank you for joining us. Get ready to "Rock the Mouse!"

Cynthia Nordstrom
Costume Designer
A 1994 U.S. finalist at the International Young Couture Design competition in Paris, Cynthia has gone on to an exciting career creating costumes for numerous off-Broadway productions, various dance shows at Walt Disney World and Universal Studios and productions of Disney On Ice and Ringing Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. In Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival, Cynthia took the iconic costumes of the classic Disney characters and gave them a hip, urban twist to match the dynamic music and up-tempo choreography.

Fred Tallaksen
Director/Choreographer
With experience as both a performer and a choreographer, Fred brings an eclectic mix of styles to his role as director of Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival. Tallaksen's work in film, television, stage, music videos and commercials includes collaborating with talents as diverse as Madonna, La Toya Jackson, Kelly Osbourne, James Blunt, and Enrique Iglesias. As the winner of two Emmy® Awards, an Espirit Award, a Latin Grammy Award® and several Gala Awards, Fred's resume runs the gamut from dance theatre to choreographing skateboarders, cheerleaders, gymnasts and drummers.

Sam Doty
Lighting Designer
Sam Doty has been part of the creative team on every Feld Entertainment domestic and international ice, stage and circus show since 2006, including Disney's High School Musical: The Ice Tour!, Playhouse Disney Live!, Disney Live! Rockin' Road Show and many editions of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. For Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival, Doty worked to create an innovative new look to complement the rousing atmosphere of the production. The diversity of the musical styles in the show allowed him to experiment with different concepts and tap into the excitement generated by a live concert experience.

Rick Papineau
Production Designer
Rick Papineau is the creative talent behind the seamless scenic transitions used in Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival. From under the sea with Ariel and friends to the Wild West for Toy Story and the bustling city of Agrabah in Aladdin, Rick's designs take audiences on a transforming journey of sights that are in harmony with the electrifying sounds and non-stop dancing. He joined Feld Entertainment in 1991 as a shop painter for Hagenbeck-Wallace, the division that creates show props and scenic elements. Today, he collaborates with the creative teams to bring their scenic vision to life. Recent innovative triumphs include creating a vehicle that transforms to a hot air balloon and submarine for Disney Live! Rockin' Road Show.

Stan Beard
Music Director
Stan Beard began his career touring with the nostalgia group Fred, before working as a studio musician in variety television. He served as a back-up performer for artists such as Bob Hope and Barry Manilow. Beard also toured with Doc Severinsen, worked in the recording studio with artists such as Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra and for five seasons was a back-up singer with The Carol Burnett Show.