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Colored lights, hot cocoa, parties, shopping.and The Nutcracker! A Las Vegas Valley tradition for over twenty years, a joyous and jubilant season begins with Nevada Ballet Theatre's tale of warmth and wonder. The most famous holiday fairytale of all brings Clara, Fritz and all of their friends to life at UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre, from December 14 - 27, 2007. Ticket prices are $39, $49 and $72 and can be ordered by calling 895-ARTS (2787) or by visiting www.nevadaballet.com/performances/html
Sugarplums will be dancing in the heads of children - from thousands who live here to the almost one-hundred that are in the production! Featuring the students of Nevada Ballet Theatre's new Youth Company, part of its affiliated school, the Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre, the classic roles of Clara and Fritz as well as party scene children, mice and soldiers, will be danced by these talented students.
This year's Nutcracker will include some exciting surprises - from a special guest at the party on opening night to a mad scheme from the maniacal Mouse King! To add to the excitement, audiences will witness a sleigh that takes flight.and snow falling from the sky.
In a city known for its Hollywood-like glamour, going to The Nutcracker has become a family mainstay - a true, feel-good event that is synonymous with genuine holiday entertainment. Remarks Artistic Director Bruce Steivel, The Nutcracker showcases dance and music that invokes mood, imagery and fantasy.it is a great holiday tradition for families to share together."
Nevada Ballet Theatre is bringing back the talented Kelly Roth, Artistic Director, of the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) Dance Ensemble. Kelly danced the role of the over-protective father in Nevada Ballet Theatre's season opener, Don Quixote. In addition to Kelly, two students from CSN will be performing in this year's Nutrcracker - Ryan Bondhus and Damon Lasiter.
Aside from the professional dancing and lavish sets that gives Nevada Ballet Theatre's production its quality, another attractive feature is the hand-sewn costumes by famed costume designer Alexandre Vassiliev, created especially for the Las Vegas based ballet company.
Corporations and organizations are encouraged to bring their staff and employees to a performance as a unique holiday gift, or to sponsor underserved youth groups. For further information on Nevada Ballet Theatre, please call (702) 243-2623, email info@nevadaballet.com, or visit www.nevadaballet.com.
FOR CALENDAR INSERTION - NUTCRACKER IN A NUTSHELL
Nevada Ballet Theatre Presents Bruce Steivel's The Nutcracker
SEVENTEEN PERFORMANCES.Tickets from $39 on sale NOW! - Call 895-ARTS for Tickets
DECEMBER 14 - 27. PERFORMANCE TIMES VARY.
Nevada Ballet Theatre, the state's largest professional ballet company, presents its prized holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. With vibrant costumes, stunning sets and Tchaikovsky's upbeat musical score, this enchanting tale comes to life in Las Vegas. Don't miss the classic story of Clara and her nutcracker prince in this beloved tale of childhood innocence.
17 Performances
Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m. & Saturday, December 15 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, December 16 1 p.m. & 4:30 p.m. & Tuesday, December 18, at 8 p.m.
Wednesday, December 19 at 8 p.m. & Thursday, December 20 at 8 p.m.
Friday, December 21 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. & Saturday, December 22 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, December 23 at 1 p.m. & 4:30 p.m. & Monday, December 24 at 1p.m.
Wednesday, December 26 at 8 p.m. & Thursday, December 27 at 8 p.m.
HISTORY OF THE NUTCRACKER BALLET
By now, most audiences know the story of The Nutcracker. But many may not know the history: Over 100 years ago in December, 1892, in St. Petersburg, Russia, the first performance of The Nutcracker was held. The production was choreographed by Marius Petipa to music composed by court composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Americans saw the first full-length Nutcracker 52 years later in San Francisco. The famous choreographer, George Balanchine, put his own unique signature on The Nutcracker for the New York City Ballet in 1954. Ever since, it's become a holiday classic, performed by hundreds of professional companies and thousands of dance academies every year. The Nutcracker is probably the best-loved ballet of all time because it reveals the mysteries and enchantments of Christmas as seen through the eyes of innocent children.
Choreographer Marius Petipa gave Tchaikovsky very precise instructions as to rhythm, tempo, even number of measures for each dance. The score, which continues in use today, is marked with detailed stage directions. While composing, Tchaikovsky was delighted to discover the newly-invented celeste, which he bought for about $240. He considered the instrument perfect for the dance of the Sugarplum Fairy and didn't want to be "scooped" by his composer-competitors. The score includes riffs from Tchaikovsky's other works such as 1812 Overture (battle between toy soldiers and mice) and Fourth Symphony (snow scene).
ABOUT NEVADA BALLET THEATRE
Under the direction of Artistic Director Bruce Steivel, Nevada Ballet Theatre, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, is the largest professional ballet company and dance Academy in the state. Committed to the highest artistic standards, dancers for the forty-one member company have been recruited from around the world and include artists with international performing experience. This classically-based company is at home in an eclectic repertory, moving easily from the classics to the high-energy contemporary ballets. The mission of Nevada Ballet Theatre is to educate and inspire regional, statewide and national audiences and vitally impact community life through professional company productions, dance training and education and outreach.
Nevada Ballet Theatre would like to acknowledge the following Season Sponsors: Las Vegas Review Journal and Luxury Las Vegas, Nevada Power, KVBC Channel 3, Nevada Public Radio- KNPR and KCN and the Nevada Arts Council.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
ABOUT OUR NUTCRACKER SPONSORS
ABOUT E.L. WIEGAND, SPONSOR
In early 2001, Nevada Ballet Theatre learned that the prestigious E. L. Wiegand Foundation, based in Reno, awarded the organization a grant of $250,000 to create an all-new Nutcracker for its 30th Anniversary Year. Other donors contributed the matching funds needed to make the production a success. The foundation makes grants primarily to develop and strengthen programs and projects: at educational institutions in the academic areas of science, business, fine arts, law, and medicine; and at health institutions in the areas of heart, eye, and cancer surgery, treatment and research, with priority given to programs and projects that benefit children.
ABOUT SIGNAUTRE HOMES
Founded in 1978, by Richard and Wendy Plaster, Signature Homes is one of the largest homebuilders in the Las Vegas valley. The company has built thousands of homes, condominiums, and apartments and is listed in the top 100 builders nationally.
As part of a long-term vision, we continually search for new ways to improve both long-standing values and the quality of life in Signature neighborhoods. Richard and Wendy Plaster continue to operate Signature Homes as a family business.
Supporting those efforts, our team focuses on ways to heighten each home's livability and aesthetic appeal.
ETHEL'S® & NEVADA BALLET THEATRE RING IN THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Another annual tradition, ethel's beloved annual Cactus Lighting, will begin on Tuesday, November 20 from 5 pm - 8 pm and will feature performers from The Nutcracker. Remarks Artistic Director Bruce Steivel, "We are thrilled to be working with ethel's - this is the third year their company has generously sponsored The Nutcracker and we look forward to continuing this partnership."
"We are pleased once again this year to support Nevada Ballet Theatre, one of this state's great cultural institutions," said Blair Ford, Vice President of Retail for Mars Retail Group. "As a Nevada-based company, we recognize the importance of supporting organizations such as Nevada Ballet Theatre who contribute to our community and make Southern Nevada a great place to live and work."
Ethel M® Chocolates' breathtaking Botanical Cactus Garden is Nevada's largest and one of the world's largest collections of its kind. Based on the English landscape model of naturalistic design, the Ethel M® Botanical Cactus Garden features four acres of drought-tolerant ornamentals, cacti, and other succulents.
With a landscape base of 15,000 cubic yards of sandy fill and a special planting soil, the beds were raised and rookeries constructed using 400 tons of rock, thereby providing the best possible viewing experience for visitors.
Over 300 species of plants can be found on the grounds. Half are cacti and succulents largely native to the American Southwest, and the rest are desert trees and shrubs from the Southwestern United States, Australia, and South America. All of these plants were chosen both for the beauty of their floral displays and their ability to adapt to the climate of Southern Nevada. The types of rock used are Utah Bali Hai chocolate and Arizona moss rock (from the Grand Canyon region). Here is sampling of the types of plants that you will see visiting our Cactus Garden.
ABOUT ETHEL'S® CHOCOLATE
ethel's® chocolates and Ethel M® chocolates are manufactured and sold by the Mars Retail Group, dedicated to offering innovative chocolate lounges and approachable gourmet chocolate for everyday enjoyment. ethel's® chocolate is currently available in 10 stores in Metropolitan Chicago, and the Las Vegas Valley, respectively, as well as online at www.ethelschocolate.com or by phone at (800) 471-0352.
PROGRAM NOTES/SYNOPSIS
Act I
It's Christmas Eve, 1899 in the German Embassy in St. Petersburg. The German Ambassador and his wife are entertaining other Ambassadors and their families. Their children, Clara and Fritz, also have invited friends. All of the guests share the excitement and celebrate this festive occasion by exchanging gifts, lighting the Christmas tree and dancing. The most welcomed guest is Herr Drosselmeyer, a magician, who provides entertainment with his magic tricks and dancing dolls. He also brings gifts to Clara and Fritz - a stuffed Mouse King for Fritz and a Nutcracker doll for Clara!
After the guests leave and the family goes to bed, Clara and Fritz return to the living room to look for their toys. They fall asleep on the sofa and are awakened by an invasion of mice led by the Mouse King. Drosselmeyer chases the mice away and turns the toy Nutcracker into a full size Nutcracker, who with the help of the toy soldiers, defeats the army of mice. The Nutcracker is then transformed into a handsome Prince who takes Clara and Fritz to visit the King and Queen of the Snowflakes in an enchanted Snow Kingdom.
Act II
The Prince has brought Clara and Fritz to his Kingdom of Sweets, where they are honored guests. Dancers from many different countries entertain, and the Prince himself also entertains with his Princess, the Sugar Plum Fairy. Then it is time for Clara and Fritz to return home, and they float away in a beautiful sleigh. Was this a dream or reality? You decide.
ABOUT PETER I. TCHAIKOVSKY, COMPOSER
In 1892 when Tchaikovsky composed his third and last ballet, The Nutcracker, he was already famous. He had finished five symphonies, piano and violin concertos, The 1812 Overture, tone poems, Romeo and Juliet, and Francesca da Rimini. Only the Pathetique Symphony remained to be written. Two of his operas, Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades had been huge public successes. And, his first two ballets, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, captivated audiences in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Between conducting engagements in Europe, Tchaikovsky worked on The Nutcracker as well as the opera, Yolanta. By March of 1892, he had finished the orchestration and presented some of the music at a concert in St. Petersburg. This was the first performance of The Nutcracker Suite, destined to become one of the most popular symphonic compositions in the musical world.
The ballet, first choreographed by Lev Ivanov, received no more than a polite reception at the premiere. Tchaikovsky had been pessimistic about the ballet from the beginning and had written to his nephew about his concerns. The lukewarm response merely enforced his conviction that he was losing his creative powers.
Tchaikovsky produced two acts and three scenes of varied, brilliantly orchestrated musical vignettes. In its overture and fifteen musical parts, are sumptuous waltzes, a French nursery tune, snippets of Schubert and Schumann piano music, an older Georgian cradle song used in the Arabian Dance, a Spanish bolero, an Italian tarantella, and a Cossack trepak to show off leaping Russian male dancers.
ABOUT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR BRUCE STEIVEL
Now in his eleventh year as Nevada Ballet Theatre's Artistic Director, Bruce Steivel is an internationally recognized choreographer and teacher. Previously, Mr. Steivel served as the Artistic Director of Bern Stadt Theatre in Switzerland, the Hong Kong Ballet and the Universal Ballet of Korea.
Graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts, Mr. Steivel continued his studies on full scholarship with the American School of Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and the Harkness House for Ballet Arts. He has trained and worked under some of dance's most famous teachers and choreographers including George Balanchine, Jiri Kylian, Roland Petit, Anton Dolin, Ben Stevenson, Andre Eglevsky, Alexandra Danoliva, David Howard and Heinz Spoerli.
As a dancer, Mr. Steivel danced every major role in the classical repertoire, including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Albrecht in Giselle, Franz in Coppelia and the Prince in The Nutcracker, to name a few. His contemporary repertoire included working with such notables as Sir Frederick Ashton, Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylian and Maurice Bejart.
As Artistic Director for the Hong Kong Ballet and the Universal Ballet, Mr. Steivel developed a strong internationally accepted company and launched each company on their first American and European tours. Hong Kong Ballet's tour to mainland China was the first time the Hong Kong based company performed in China.
As Artistic Director of Nevada Ballet Theatre, Mr. Steivel has expanded the repertoire by adding 30 ballets - 13 from visiting choreographers and 17 from of his own creation. His Nutcracker continues to be a holiday favorite, along with Peter Pan, Midsummer Night's Dream and Good Times. Several of his works are in the repertoire of five major dance companies.
Mr. Steivel is frequently sought after as a guest teacher, teaching for Nederland Dans Theatre, the Norwegian National Ballet, the Hungarian National Ballet, the National Ballet of Portugal, the Berlin Stadstoper, Beijing Ballet, Shanghai Ballet, Bat-Dor of Israel, the National Institute of Istanbul, Turkey and numerous schools in Japan and America.
His international involvement continues with his position as the Artistic Director for the prestigious International Concours de Danse in Luxembourg, under the patronage of the Grande Duc and Duchess of Luxembourg.
ALEXANDRE VASSILIEV, COSTUME & SCENIC DESIGNER
Alexandre Vassiliev is an internationally acclaimed costume and set designer as well as a fashion historian. He was born in Moscow in 1958 into a celebrated family of artists. His late father designed for the Bolshoi Theatre and his mother was an actress. At the age of five, he designed his first costumes and sets for a puppet show and starred in children's programs for Soviet television. He graduated from the Moscow Arts Theatre Studio and then designed for the prestigious Moscow Dramatic Theatre.
In 1982, Vassiliev moved to Paris, where he immediately started to design for the French theatre. There he worked for the Theatre du Rond Point des Champs Elysees, the Studio of the Bastille Opera, the Lucernaire and the Cartoucherie, among others.
Alexandre Vassiliev designs operas, plays, films, and ballets for world-renowned companies. His work has been received with great public and critical acclaim in Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia. He is also in great demand as a guest lecturer in the History of Fashion and Stage Design. Vassiliev has one of the world's largest private collections of Russian period costumes, which have been displayed in France and around the world. The author of the award-winning, "Beauty in Exile," he has also been a Feature Editor for the Russian editions of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar magazines. For more information, please visit: http://www.vassiliev.com/index.htm
Remainder of 2007-2008 Season:
FROM STRAVINSKY TO SINATRA
February 8 & 9, 2008
Choreography: George Balanchine (Rubies) Twyla Tharp (Nine Sinatra Songs) and Bruce Steivel (new work)
Music: Rubies: Igor Stravinsky, Nine Sinatra Songs: Various Composers, New
Work: TBA
UNLV Performing Arts Center, Artemus Ham Hall
*After-hours reception. Call 243-2623 for more information.
Sway, swing, and swoon to three ballets, including Ol' Blue Eyes crooning to Twyla Tharp's ballroom choreography in Nine Sinatra Songs. A premiere for NBT, this ballet is a favorite among Tharp fans. The trip down memory lane includes dancers donning elegant costumes by famed designer Oscar de la Renta. The program also features Rubies, from Balanchine's ballet, Jewels, with jazzy rhythms and upbeat dance steps including the Rumba and the Tango. The evening ends with a world premiere by our own Bruce Steivel.
Performances:
Friday, February 8, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 9, 2008 at 2 p.m.
EAST MEETS WEST
March 21 & 22, 2008
Choreography: Bruce Steivel, James Jeon
Music: Raymonda-Alexander Glazounov, Inner Moves-Moon Seok Chang, New Work-TBA UNLV Performing Arts Center, Artemus Ham Hall
*Dinner & The Ballet Evening. Call 243-2623 for more information.
East meets West in this unique production combining dancers from both Nevada Ballet Theatre and Seoul Ballet Theatre of Korea. This triple repertoire program showcases Steivel's Raymonda with Nevada Ballet Theatre; a new work from James Jeon with Seoul Ballet Theatre; and then both companies collaborate onstage for Jeon's Inner Moves.
Performances:
Friday, March 21 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
CINDERELLA
May 16-18 2008
Choreography: Peter Anastos
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
UNLV Performing Arts Center, Judy Bayley Theatre
*Dinner & The Ballet Evening & After-Hours Reception. Call 243-2623 for more information.
Cinderella's ugly stepsisters keep her on her toes in this hysterically comedic take on the favorite classic fairytale. Choreographed by Emmy award nominee Peter Anastos, and set to the music of the great 20th century Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, this ballet is an absolutely delightful and funny three-act ballet.
Performances:
Friday, May 16 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, May 17 at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Sunday, May 18 at 1 p.m. & 4:30 p.m.
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