Ballet Arkansas returns to Robinson Performance Hall for The Nutcracker with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra
“Ballet Arkansas is thrilled to return to the Robinson Center to celebrate the holidays with our Central Arkansas audiences on the advent of its reopening,” says Ballet Arkansas Artistic Director Michael Bearden, “Our professional dancers are poised to bring to the production a higher technical quality of artistry and our 200-plus community cast members have been working hard for months to prepare for the show.”
The role of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier will be danced alternately by Ballet Arkansas veterans Amanda Sewell and Paul Tillman and by Megan Hustel and newcomer Zeek Wright. The Nutcracker Prince will be performed by Toby Lewellen and Paul Tillman, and the Dew Drop Fairy will be danced by Megan Hustel and Little Rock native Meredith Short Loy. Clara will be danced by Geneva Millikan and Izzi Rhodes.
The Nutcracker, composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, will be performed by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the ASO’s Associate Conductor Geoffrey Robson. New to Central Arkansas audiences in 2016 is a reworking of the Waltz of the Flowers scene by Ballet Arkansas Artistic Associate and Director of The Nutcracker Laura Hood Babcock.
Performances are December 9th at 7:30 p.m. and December 10 and 11 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are available on the ASO Box Office website and are $25-$70 (ticket fees included). Student and military discounts are available for all ticket levels.
The 2016 Ballet Arkansas production of The Nutcracker is generously supported by Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Centennial Bank; Quattlebaum, Grooms and Tull; US Bank; and “In Loving Memory of Ron W. Strother.”
For more information about Ballet Arkansas and its programs, visit the website at www.balletarkansas.org or email info@balletarkansas.org.
Photo credits Jonathan Funk, courtesy of Ballet Arkansas.
