Performances are Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.at the ICC Performing Arts Center in East Peoria. “I thought it was about time for a sequel”. The opening act takes place at Fuller Lodge and Tchaikovsky’s music is replaced with big band tunes, performed by a live brass quartet, as well as classic holiday songs.
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Much of the choreography of the Yale Ballet Company’s Nutcracker excerpt comes from George Balanchine’s version, now the most popular Nutcracker choreography in the United States.
Macomb Township resident Nadia Klug, 17, will perform at Detroits Fox Theatre in Moscow Ballets Great Russian Nutcracker on December 20.
Next year, the Joffrey dancers will perform a new Nutcracker choreographed by Tony Award victor Christopher Wheeldon.
The magic continues and to Clara’s surprise “the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome young prince, who takes her off on an enchanted journey”. The final pas de deux of the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier danced by Valy Menendez ’18 and Chantiles-Wertz is the most dramatic, graceful and technically lovely number in the show. Parent volunteers are out giving students numbers and we select by number, by the talent they bring when they audition, McCleese said.
“It’s a role girls dream of and being able to share it on and off the stage is a joy”, Dawson said. “I just hoped I didn’t mess anything up or get in anyone’s way”. “As I grew older, it gradually became my responsibility to help the younger dancers manage these things”. Shumate said male dancers are at a premium, and in a production that requires so many performers, it was clear Dawson should be invited on stage.
The pageantry of “The Nutcracker” is steeped in the costumes and set, and under the direction of Maris Battaglia, both are breathtaking as the audience is transported back to 1910 and all of its grand splendor. All three of Marshall’s roles will be danced en pointe. Grace is the first dancer of Prattville Ballet to dance the Sugar Plum as well as the role of Clara as a younger girl.
Olga Pavlova has danced for a range of ballet companies.
Yale Ballet Company’s excerpts deliver a lovely rendition of the steps that have delighted audiences for years. Cast members and dancers come from throughout central Alabama.
She also says that performing for children is a great way to introduce them to a different form of entertainment.
“The Nutcracker” truly shines in Act II when Clara slips into dreamland and emerges (played by Emily Wozer) accompanied by her handsome prince (Tyler Malone) to travel the world in style.
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Please also visit www.coloradoballet.org for an updated list of availability as well as purchasing tickets on-line.
