If you go
› What: “Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker”› Where: Tivoli Theatre, 709 Broad St.› When: 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30› Admission: $30, $40, $50, $70, $102 and $177 VIP› For more information: 423-757-5580
Moscow Ballet incorporates a Dove of Peace scene into its ballet as a symbol of peace and unity. (Moscow Ballet Photo)Extend the afterglow of Christmas by celebrating the holidays with a performance by the prestigious Moscow Ballet of the "Great Russian Nutcracker.
This new, over-the-top production includes puppets, nesting dolls and beautiful handcrafted costumes. "Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker" is currently on a goodwill tour to 150 cities in the U.S. and Canada. With its theme of peace and unity, the ballet has added a Dove of Peace scene in this production.
As it tours, the company partners with a dance studio in each city, which is tasked with auditioning and casting local children to perform with the professionals in the ballet. Moscow Ballet's "Dance with Us" program gives these aspiring dancers the rare opportunity to dance with a professional, international touring ballet company in the "Great Russian Nutcracker" and other classic Russian story ballets.
This is the third year that Moscow Ballet has selected Patricia Ryan of Hamilton Academy of Dance to audition and train the local dancers.
"We had auditions with children coming from all over the city, and chose the best 41 to perform with Moscow Ballet. They began rehearsing in September. They range in age from 6 to 17," says Ryan.
Moscow Ballet provides their costumes. Ryan says that in the ballet, the local students will play children in the party scene, mice, snowflakes, snow maidens who dance in the Dove of Peace scene, and they will perform in the Spanish, Russian, Arabian, French and Chinese variations.
Professional dancers selected to tour with Moscow Ballet are among the best in the world and include winners of top awards at international ballet competitions around the world. Company members and ballet masters are graduates of top Russian schools including Bolshoi, Mariinsky/Kirov and Perm.
Principal artists touring with "Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker" are Iryna Borysova, soloist from the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine; Alexandra Elagina, graduate of the Kazan Ballet Academy; Alexey Gerasimov, guest soloist with companies such as Imperial Russian Ballet, Moscow Ballet and The Crown of Russia Ballet; Natalie Gubanova, graduate of the Vaganova Ballet Academy; Svetlana Isakova, ballet soloist at the Kharhov National Academic Opera; and Sergey Klyatchin, 2017 Laureate Prix of Excellence winner at the Teatro Greco Festival in Italy.
Moscow Ballet cavalry in the "Great Russian Nutcracker." (Moscow Ballet Photo)