Ballet Western Reserve Brings ‘Nutcracker’ to DeYor
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Ballet Western Reserve will present its annual performance of “The Nutcracker” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 2 p.m. Dec. 7 at the DeYor Center.
The unabridged ballet, choreographed by artistic director Virginia Hartman, is set to the music of Peter Tchaikovsky. Nearly 80 Ballet Western Reserve students ages 6 to 21 have rehearsed the ballet the last three months, Hartman reports.
The recently restored sets and backdrops from Ballet Western Reserve’s 1970 production of “The Nutcracker” will again provide the background against which the ballet students perform the story of Clara and her Nutcracker.
Says Hartman in a prepared statement: “The students of BWR are really working all year round for our biggest production of the year, ‘The Nutcracker.’ The angels can’t wait to be mice, the party children want to be flowers and every year the dancers work harder to be cast in the roles of their dreams.”
Hartman's choreography of “The Nutcracker” includes arrangements with area artists. James McClellan returns as the mysterious and magical Herr Drosselmeyer. Easy Street Productions’ Todd Hancock will narrate again this year. Senior company dancer Maeli Foley will perform the grande pas de deux with guest artist Jens Lee as “The Cavalier.” Kristin Dobson of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio will reprise her role as “Spanish Hot Chocolate” -- one of the highlights of the performance.
Grants from the Walter E. & Caroline H. Watson Foundation and the Ruth H. Beecher Charitable Trust allow Ballet Western Reserve to provide 500 free admission tickets to the “For the Kids” performance at 10 a.m. Dec. 6 to the students in Youngstown City schools.
This production of The Nutcracker was also underwritten by the Ohio Arts Council, Denise and John York, Cailor Fleming Insurance, Akron Children’s Hospital/Mahoning Valley, and WFMJ-TV, The Business Journal and WYSU-FM.
Tickets may be purchased at the DeYor Box office, calling 330 744 0264 or online at www.youngstownsymphony.com.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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