FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jodie Fisher
CONTACT: Jodie Fisher
Ballet West
(801) 323-6922
BALLET WEST TO ONCE AGAIN GRACE KENNEDY CENTER STAGE
Critically Acclaimed NUTCRACKER Joins
Roster of Arts Luminaries for 2012-13 Season
SALT LAKE CITY – March 6, 2012 – Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute today announced Ballet West’s appearance on The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ 2012-13 Ballet Season Schedule. The Company will bring Ballet West Founder Willam Christensen’s iconic version of The Nutcracker, December 5-9, 2012. Hailed by New York Times Dance Critic Alastair Macaulay as “one of the best productions I’ve ever seen,” Ballet West’s The Nutcracker will be accompanied by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and will include Washington, DC-area children in the youth roles.
“Our founder Willam Christensen created the first full-length Nutcracker in America,” said Sklute. “It has been delighting audiences out West for nearly 60 years and now it feels so right to finally bring this truly American Classic to our Nation's Capitol.”
After founding the San Francisco Ballet, Christensen not only created the first full-length American production of The Nutcracker but also of Coppélia and Swan Lake. Christensen’s Nutcracker was originally choreographed for San Francisco Ballet after conversations with Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine.
Ballet West is among the world’s finest ballet companies to appear on The Kennedy Center’s 2012-13 Ballet Season. The Company joins American Ballet Theatre, Mariinsky Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, and Ballet Across America III, which showcases regional ballet companies from across the country.
“Ballet West is honored to return to the Kennedy Center this Christmas season, and I am thrilled to share our acclaimed production of ‘The Nutcracker,’" said Sklute.
Ballet West’s The Nutcracker will continue to be performed at the Capitol Theatre, 50 West 200 South, Salt Lake City, on November 30, December 1, 13--16, 18-24 and 26-29, 2012. Tickets to The Nutcracker are available now as a season subscription by calling (801) 869-6900 or by visiting www.balletwest.org. Single tickets go on sale Saturday, October 20.
About Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker
Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker had its Utah premiere on December 27, 1955 at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus. The first American to choreograph a full-length version of the ballet, Christensen used guest artists in primary roles and drew on children from several Salt Lake dance studios to fill the additional parts. The result was a cast of 75 local dancers. The large cast brought with it the interest of family and friends, who snapped up tickets for the performances, resulting in an add-on matinee and sold-out houses. Since then, Ballet West’s The Nutcracker has become Utah’s favorite holiday tradition.
Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker had its Utah premiere on December 27, 1955 at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus. The first American to choreograph a full-length version of the ballet, Christensen used guest artists in primary roles and drew on children from several Salt Lake dance studios to fill the additional parts. The result was a cast of 75 local dancers. The large cast brought with it the interest of family and friends, who snapped up tickets for the performances, resulting in an add-on matinee and sold-out houses. Since then, Ballet West’s The Nutcracker has become Utah’s favorite holiday tradition.
About The John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts
In wide-ranging programming that covers theater, dance, music of all kinds, and productions for young people, the Kennedy Center continues its commitment, as the nation’s center for the performing arts, to producing and presenting the best of national
In wide-ranging programming that covers theater, dance, music of all kinds, and productions for young people, the Kennedy Center continues its commitment, as the nation’s center for the performing arts, to producing and presenting the best of national
and international arts. For more information about the Kennedy Center, visit www.kennedy-center.org.
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