6 local dancers appear in 'Nutcracker'
They will perform with the Moscow Ballet at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN, Arts and Entertainment
Published December 21, 2007
Six young dancers from Pasco County have been chosen to appear with the Moscow Ballet in The Great Russian Nutcracker at Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg today and Saturday.
The ballet will be presented in more than 90 U.S. cities, with 45 to 50 members of the Moscow troupe in the adult roles and local dancers as mice, angels, snowflakes, butterflies and party children.
"The dancers auditioned in September," said Judith Lee Johnson, whose Judith Lee Johnson Studio of Dance in St. Petersburg has more than two dozen dancers in the show. Moscow Ballet soloist Oxana Gasnikova was in charge of auditions and also has taught the students the choreography for the show, Johnson said.
Pasco students who were selected are Arianna Shuster (Party Child) and Nicolas Rivera (Mouse) of Lutz, who study at Contempo School of Dance in Palm Harbor; Caroline Lebron (Mouse) of Zephyrhills, who studies at Song and Dance Inc. in Wesley Chapel; Chloe Miranda (Mouse) and Eve Miranda (Angel) of Holiday, who study at Suncoast Academy of Dance in Palm Harbor; and Lara Mitchell (Mouse) of Trinity, who studies at Sells Broadway Studio in New Port Richey.
Those who auditioned had to be between age 7 and 16 and have at least one year of formal training in ballet, Ms. Johnson said.
As part of its education outreach program, "Celebrating Children ... The Arts Can Make A Difference," the producers of The Great Russian Nutcracker cast local children in each city visited to play children's roles.
So far, more than 6,000 young dancers have performed with the 132 Russian dancers who make up the various troupes.
The ballet was conceived and written by Anatoli Emelianov, whose Act 2, Land of Peace and Harmony, has an ethereal dove that escorts Masha and the Prince to a land where there is no war and suffering, said publicist George Deveny.
There is a cast of more than 100 dancers, as well as larger-than-life puppets, a backdrop of unicorns, exotic birds and animals, and sets inspired by the art of French Postimpressionist painter Henri Rousseau, Deveny said.
The ballet master is Vladimir Troschendo, who once danced with the legendary Nadia Pavlova, and the chief choreographer is Emelianov.
"Everyone back stage is speaking Russian," Ms. Johnson said. "It's quite exciting."
The Great Russian Nutcracker cast local children in each city visited to play children's roles.
So far, more than 6,000 young dancers have performed with the 132 Russian dancers who make up the various troupes.
The ballet was conceived and written by Anatoli Emelianov, whose Act 2, Land of Peace and Harmony, has an ethereal dove that escorts Masha and the Prince to a land where there is no war and suffering, said publicist George Deveny.
There is a cast of more than 100 dancers, as well as larger-than-life puppets, a backdrop of unicorns, exotic birds and animals, and sets inspired by the art of French Postimpressionist painter Henri Rousseau, Deveny said.
The ballet master is Vladimir Troschendo, who once danced with the legendary Nadia Pavlova, and the chief choreographer is Emelianov.
"Everyone back stage is speaking Russian," Ms. Johnson said. "It's quite exciting."
Fast facts
If you go
The Great Russian Nutcracker will be performed at 7:30 p.m. today and at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $37 to $67 for adults, $27 to $57 for newborns to age 12, and $32 to $67 for members of the military and seniors at the theater box office, or through Ticketmaster online at www.nutcracker.com, which adds $7.60 for handling, plus a delivery fee if mailed or e-mailed (free at "will call" window).