Texas Ballet Theater will fill December with production after production of the beloved Christmas classic.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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Time for The Nutcracker
By Leonard Eureka
In the dance world, December spells The Nutcracker, and North Texas is no exception. Texas Ballet Theater begins its marathon with a three-weekend run in Bass Performance Hall Friday and continues down the pike from Dec. 20 through the 23 in Dallas’ State Fair Music Hall. With extra 7 p.m. showings scheduled for Dec. 15 and 18 in Fort Worth, the company will clock in 20 performances of the holiday classic this year.
The production is the familiar hybrid featuring the choreography of company director Ben Stevenson, created for the Houston Ballet when he led that group, and TBT’s own colorful sets and costumes designed by Campbell Baird, one-time assistant to the legendary designer Oliver Smith. A new Spanish dance has been added, and the usual tinkering and adjustments have been made, but essentially this is the popular version that many folks here have grown to love.
Stevenson himself will sign a new five-year contract extension with TBT sometime this month, “which will probably make me the oldest living ballet director by 2011,” he said jokingly at a recent meeting. (Since he and I are the same age, that may make me the oldest active music and dance critic.)
Several casts are scheduled; on opening night, Julie Gumbinner will dance the Sugar Plum Fairy with Lucas Priolo as her Prince, the same couple that gave us memorable performances of Romeo and Juliet in October. Enrica Guana Tseng will dance the Snow Queen, and the Fort Worth Symphony, under the direction of Jack Buckhannan, will accompany.
Thru Dec. 18 at Bass Performance Hall, 555 Commerce St, FW. Tickets are $18-70. Call 1-877-212-4280.
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