When E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote a short children’s story in 1816 called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, the plot centered around a battle between gingerbread eating mice led by an evil seven-headed Mouse King. Seven-year-old Marie, whose dream conjured the horrific battle, is caught in a holiday nightmare until good overcomes evil. Thank goodness the adaptation into the Nutcracker ballet has emerged into a more child-friendly version over the years that includes dancing sweets, a Sugar Plum Fairy and a Nutcracker who comes to life to defeat the Mouse King. In 1891, choreographer Marius Petipa collaborated with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to write the music that would adapt a later version of the book into a ballet. Today, various versions are performed for millions all over the United States making it a holiday must see for many. Here is a sneak preview of some area productions, all of which come with their own unique approach to this timeless tradition.
The Danbury Music Centre
The Danbury Music Centre is one of the few productions in the state of Connecticut that includes a live symphony orchestra to accompany the Nutcracker Ballet. Tchaikovsky’s entire iconic music score is performed by the Danbury Symphony Orchestra in a fully staged production complete with beautiful scenery, costumes and lighting, as well as a children’s chorus. Auditions are open to dancers throughout the greater Danbury area, and it boasts representation from 23 dance schools performing 200 parts. The Nutcracker is in its 56th year and Executive Producer Marcie Gemza says that one of the joys is to see past performers coming back year after year and repeat generations performing in and enjoying the show. “The Nutcracker doesn’t just get into your heart—it gets into your soul,” she says.
Danbury High School Auditorium,
43 Clapboard Ridge, Danbury
December 8 – 7:30 p.m., December 9 – 3:00 p.m., December 10 – 3:00 p.m.
Tickets go on sale November 1 at: www.danburymusiccentre.org
Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance
The Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance returns to the Ridgefield Playhouse stage with the classic production of the Nutcracker featuring the score and divertissements that audiences have come to love, but with a few special touches such as Marionette Puppets and a heroic Snowy Owl. “Ours is one of the area’s only full and professional staged traditional Nutcrackers produced by a school,” says Executive Director Amy Piantaggini. “We feature almost 100 students and hired professionals including RCD faculty member Edgar Cortes as Drosselmeyer.” Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi has made a cameo performance as one of the party parents for nearly twenty years and calls it a wonderful experience and an opportunity to watch students emerge from tiny mice to accomplished dancers. New York City Ballet dancer Henry Seth will be performing and will also partner with two upper-level students. Students will have an opportunity to rehearse alongside a professional dancer making the 12-week “rehearsal process and performance even richer,” adds Nutcracker Director Mary Beth Hansohn.
The Ridgefield Playhouse
80 East Ridge Road, Ridgefield
Friday, December 8 – 6:30 p.m., Saturday December 9 – 2:00 and 6:00 p.m., Sunday, December 10 – 11:00 a.m. & 2:00p.m.
Tickets available at www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org
The Enchanted Garden
The Enchanted Garden’s child-friendly adaptation of the Nutcracker offers a creative slant to the traditional classic. In its 21st year, it is choreographed and directed by Lori Strelec, a former prima ballerina who has danced many of the roles. A clever infusion of hip-hop along with other world dances from Ireland, Ghana, Spain, Poland and Russia are woven into the traditional ballet. “Our production is designed so that young children in the audience will be able to follow the story,” says Enchanted Garden founder Judy Hirt-Manheimer, who will narrate. As in the past, the Enchanted Garden donates all proceeds from ticket sales to a charitable cause. This year the money will be used to start up dance and music programs at the elementary and middle schools in the town of Kobina Ansa, Ghana, West Africa, providing dance attire, music instruments, and staff to children, opening a new world to these children.
Ridgefield High School Auditorium
700 North Salem Road, Ridgefield
December 16
12 noon & 4:00pm
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit enchantedgardenstudios.com
Wilton Dance Conservatory
The Wilton Conservatory of Dance heads into its 13th year of producing the Nutcracker and while they like to add a few unique touches, owner and artistic director Christine Titus says that their focus is to expose their dancers to classic ballet. The program started as a storybook version with just 34 children and has since graduated to a complete production with 150 dancers from age five to adult. One of the things that make this production unique is that the children who are repeat dancers change parts each year. Titus says that by the time the little ones graduate they have gone from angels to princesses to having the opportunity to dance most of the parts in the show. The production is family friendly and traditional with the little twists that are always found in Nutcracker productions, but this is ballet at its best.
The Wilton High School Clune Center for the Arts.
396 Danbury Road, Wilton
December 17 – 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Tickets available through the website: www.conservatory-of-dance.com
