AN enchanting Christmas ballet treat is coming to the Swan Hill Town Hall next week – and familiar local faces have been selected to perform.
The Victorian State Ballet Company will bring the timeless, world famous, traditional Christmas ballet The Nutcracker to the venue on Saturday, December 17.
Audience members will join Clara at her Christmas party, as she ventures into her nutcracker prince’s magical land, delighting at the famous sugar plum fairy pas de deux, breathtaking snow scenes, a beautiful Christmas tree and party surprises.
Swan Hill Council performing arts manager Simon Myers said featuring the music of Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker was probably one of the most loved and well-known ballets of all time.
“The ballet is based on the Hoffmann fantasy story of a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King,” he said.
“It is the perfect first ballet experience and the Victorian State Ballet’s production is second to none.
“This delightful and powerful ballet will enchant children and grown-ups alike.”
Santa had even found time in his busy schedule to drop in and have photos taken with some very lucky children and families between 9.30am and 11.30am in the cafe area.
Workshops were also held late last month with a number of students from local dance groups.
From the workshops, dancers were selected and have the opportunity to perform with the company in their performance.
Victorian State Ballet assistant director Michelle Cassar de Sierra said The Nutcracker would be the most well-known ballet performances out of all the repertoires, alongside Swan Lake.
She said The Nutcracker was a beautiful family Christmas treat, performed by the state ballet every Christmas for the past 15 years.
Asked what made it stand out more than just being read from a book, Ms Cassar de Sierra said the music was composed especially for ballet.
“The musical used is The Nutcracker composition, composed exactly for ballet so that makes it really special,” she said.
“When you hear the music, you know that that’s The Nutcracker, the sugar plum fairy solo, the famous opening of the land of snow – the score of music is magical.
“There are some traditional pieces of choreography in the performance, and probably the most traditional is the piece of choreography being the sugar plum dance with the prince.
“Everything else is an adaptation of the ballet, but everyone sticks to the storyline mostly.”
Ms Cassar de Sierra said the opportunity for local ballet dancers to perform professionally was not to be sneezed at.
“The main character, Clara, will be dancing with the next generation of professional ballet dancer as part of the story, and a really important part of the story when all her friends come to the Christmas Eve party,” she said.
Amid a growth in ballet dancing in the Swan Hill region, Ms Cassar de Sierra said it had never been more popular, especially among boys.
“The amount of boys that are involved in the ballet world is incredible and the standard is amazing,” she said.
“Even though COVID tried to kill us … dancers didn’t know what live performances would look like because we were the first industry to shut and the last to reopen and get back on stage.
“But out of the all the industries, we were well prepared and the way the theatres handled patron caps was really great.
“Here we are, strong and alive, and have a great future ahead.”
About 30 dancers will arrive next Friday and head home Sunday, adding to the local tourism economy.
Details
When: Saturday, December 17, 2022
Two performances: Matinee, 2pm, and evening, 7.30pm
Duration: two hours, including interval
Prices: Adult $57, Concession – Senior/Pensioner/Healthcare $52, 16 years and under $32
Tickets: https://swanhilltownhall.com/events/the-nutcracker/
