Nutcracker 2010
City Ballet is pleased to present the 17th annual performance of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, our much-anticipated hallmark of the holiday season. We perform a full length, richly costumed and staged version of the ballet, featuring guest artists from Carolina Ballet. City Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” promises to be a truly exciting production, one able to conjure up the magic of the season for young and old alike. Who knows, it may even start a new holiday tradition for your family!
Performance Information
Click here for casting and here for the rehearsal schedule!
Guest Artists
Carolina Ballet dancer and City Ballet teacher Hon Yang Rooth will dance the role of Sugar Plum fairy this year. And Nikolai Smirnov will return as the Nutcracker Prince.
Hong Yang Rooth comes to Carolina Ballet from Beijing, China where she studied dance at the school of the Beijing Dance Academy as a child and then graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy in 1995. She immediately joined the National Ballet of China and was a principal there before going to Toronto, Canada where she danced with Ballet Jorgen Canada.
Nikolai Smirnov was born in the Soviet Union and came to the United States when he was 11. He immediately began studying dance at the School of American Ballet in New York City and danced in George Balanchine’s Nutcracker as a young boy. While at SAB he studied under Olga Kostritsky, Peter Boal, and Jock Soto. He comes to Carolina Ballet from Sarasota Ballet of Florida.
Performances at Stewart Theatre @ NCSU
Friday, December 10 @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 11 @ 2:00 pm
Saturday, December 11 @ 7:00 pm
Box office opens Oct. 16
About “The Nutcracker”
The treasured story begins on Christmas Eve in Victorian Germany, as Clara celebrates the holiday with her family and friends. Her magician Godfather entertains the festive gathering with life-size dancing dolls, and presents Clara with a magical nutcracker that, late that night, comes to her rescue in a battle with the Mouse Queen and her mice minions. When the mice are defeated Godfather Drosselmeier re-appears and transforms the Nutcracker into a handsome prince. Together, the Nutcracker Prince and Clara travel through through the snowy pine forest and the starry night to the beautiful Kingdom of Sweets, where they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Surrounded by colorful confections, including ribbon candy, gingerbread cookies and candy canes, the Sugar Plum Fairy rewards Clara for her bravery against the Mice with a celebration. Beautiful dancers, who represent many kinds of sweets and people, dance in her honor. These dance variations include Polichinelles that somersault out from underneath Mother Ginger’s skirt. Hot Chocolate (Spanish Dancers), Marzipan Flutes, Coffee (Arabian dancers), Tea (Chinese Dancers), Russian dancers and Icing Flowers. And before the night is over, the Sugar Plum Fairy dances a beautiful Pas De Deux with her Cavalier.
Come watch the magic as the Christmas tree grows 20 feet tall, the toy soldiers come to life to battle the evil mice, and the Snow Queen and her Snowflakes dance amid real falling snow. Lavishly staged, City Ballet’s cast of professional dancers and selected dance students offers a must see Nutcracker production this Holiday Season.
