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WORCESTER, Mass. - Several talented Auburn ballet dancers enchanted audiences at Hanover Theatre during Thanksgiving weekend's performance of "The Nutcracker."
Auburn area cast members included Lily McLaughlin, Emelia Moore, Sophia Moore, Haley Norris, Karina Sargent and Madison Sullivan.
“The Nutcracker Ballet at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts is a high-caliber performance in a world-class theatre featuring ballet professionals and rising ballet stars from the Worcester area,” Jennifer Agbay, Director for Ballet Arts Worcester said.
More than 100 dancers share their love of dance and the joy of this ballet classic when they step on stage in the spectacular Hanover Theatre.
Performing in this dance masterpiece is a dream come true for members of the ballet corps, a dream shared by children around the world every time they slip on their ballet shoes.
The Nutcracker, a two-act ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was first performed in Russia in December 1892. The story revolves around Clara, a young girl who receives a nutcracker doll as a Christmas gift and then enters a world of make believe as the nutcracker and other characters come to life.
Shining in the principal role of Clara is Sophia Calandra, a talented 13-year-old from Grafton. Calandra has been training in Classical Ballet with Ballet Arts Worcester for 5 years now.
Agbay said that Calandra is a testament to the exceptional level of ballet dancers in the Worcester area. The 2011 Nutcracker dance corps includes four professional guests artists from the Festival Ballet, Providence, three professional dancers from Ballet Arts Worcester, and 95 Worcester-area dancers, ranging in age from 7 to 21, including several members of the Youth Ballet of Worcester.
The dancers auditioned over several days in late August and early September. Once cast in their roles, the dancers immediately began a 12-week rehearsal schedule which blends a professional practice program with a positive, supporting environment.
“The Nutcracker staff of Ballet Arts Worcester wants to provide the young dancers with an experience that is very close to working in a real-life dance company,” Agbay said.
“Meeting high standards on an artistic and technical level is serious, and the dancers and the coaches work together in achieving this goal.”
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