ORANGE BEACH — The dancers of Coastal Ballet will spin and leap across the Orange Beach Performing Arts Center stage this weekend as they bring the fabled tales of "Arabian Nights" to life.

"I love 'Arabian Nights' because it stimulates the imagination and gives students new avenues of creative freedom through movement," Madame Rio Cordy said. "We all grew up on Mother Goose fables, but 'Arabian Nights' introduced a whole new genre of fable and legend."

The production includes the tiniest and newest of dancers in the company to the advanced dancers performing their original compositions and classic choreography.

In a town of just over 6,000 full-time residents, you might not expect to find a ballet teacher with a resume like Cordy. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dance in London and The Julliard School in New York, danced professionally with The Miami Ballet where she was a soloist, Walt Disney Enterprises and The Alabama Ballet, danced en pointe until the age of 37 and has been teaching for over 50 years.

Today you will find Cordy training the next generation of dancers in Orange Beach. Some of her dancers may go on to fill her footsteps as professional dancers, choreographers and teachers. But those who aren't dancing as a career are tapping into creativity and unlocking other talents like writing, poetry, photography or sculpting.

"Everybody isn't going to be a professional dancer," Cordy said. "But dance can open multiple access points to our students' creativity."

In cooperation with the city of Orange Beach Expect Excellence program, Coastal Ballet presents "Arabian Nights" at the Orange Beach Performing Arts Center Friday, May 12, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 13, at 2 p.m. General admission tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children ages 4-17 and free for children three and under. To purchase tickets, visit orangebeachal.gov/423/performing-arts-center.