For many, seeing a live performance of 'The Nutcracker' is as much a holiday tradition as tree lighting and gift giving.
"The Nutcracker" comes to the Stockton PAC Dec. 10 & 11
Ballet is a refined art form appreciated by a sophisticated few, so it’s somewhat ironic that the most beloved ballet of all time, and the one that serves as a rite of passage for many leading into the holiday season — the Nutcracker — was initially panned by critics.
Its debut in Russia in 1892 was a failure, but was well received when the New York City Ballet staged George Balanchine’s version of it in 1954, and the tradition of performing the Tchaikovsky-scored musical during the holiday season eventually spread throughout the United States.
The Atlantic City Ballet has made the Nutcracker part of its repertoire since the company formed in 1982, and has performed it to sold-out audiences annually. Under the direction of founder and artistic director Phyllis Papa, the A.C. Ballet will this year bring the Nutcracker to Collingswood, Cape May, and the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey’s Performing Arts Center on Dec. 10 and 11.
“I think for a lot of people it’s like a kickoff to the holiday season, and an event people enjoy going to see each year,” says Papa, who employs 22 professional dancers in the production, many of whom come from, and were formally ballet trained in, other countries. “And what’s really interesting is that every company that does the Nutcracker does it differently. Unless you’re doing George Balanchine’s version of the Nutcracker — and there are some professional companies that take his choreography and use it — then every one throughout the world is different. Mine is totally different because it’s my choreography, and the same with other companies. Even though it’s the same story, and even though the music is the same, all the dance steps, the scenery and the costumes are different from one production to the next.”
The two-act production is the story of a young girl named Clara, the gift she receives of a nutcracker, and her “enchanted dreams of princes, princesses, sugar plums and toy soldiers.” Along with her professional-dance cast, Papa also auditions and engages local children for certain scenes.
“The party scene calls for children and one small section in the battle, so when we go up to Collingswood they audition, and for [Stockton] we have kids from this area audition,” says Papa. “What’s particularly great about it is that they get a chance to see how a professional production works. This is like an education to them, as it would be elsewhere. Even the New York City Ballet uses children.
“I try to improve the production each year, wherever I think there might be a weak spot,” she says. “I’d have to say that in all the years we’ve done it, it’s gotten better and better because we try to improve it all the time.
“The beginning of Act Two I change almost every year,” adds Papa. “The choreography there I just never felt worked 100 percent, and it does depend on the number of dancers you have too. Normally the beginning of Act Two will open with 16 dancers and this year I have 12, so things have to be changed a bit because sometimes there’s choreography that just doesn’t work well with a particular dancer, and I have to make adjustments. But this year I really kind of like the beginning of Act Two, so we may keep it intact for next year.”
Because the ballet’s musical score (probably best recognized by the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”) is so universally appealing, and the sets, scenery and costumes so colorful, the Nutcracker has always been a favorite of children.
“I’ve had really little children that I’ve watched in the audience, two or three years old, who sit and are glued to the production without making a peep,” says Papa, the mother of four who says it can sometimes take hours to properly choreograph a single minute of music. “They don’t say anything — except for maybe when the Rat King comes out and they get a little scared — but other than that they tend to sit there and take it all in. There’s nothing like a live performance, whether you’re young or old.”
‘The Nutcracker’
Where: Richard Stockton College Performing Arts Center
When: Friday, Dec. 10, 7pm; Saturday, Dec. 11, 1pm & 5pm
How Much: $35 orchestra ($30 seniors), $20 mezzanine ($15 seniors), $10 children under 12 with adult ticket. 652-9000 or stockton.edu/pac
Moscow Ballet’s ‘Great Russian Nutcracker’ brings holiday cheer to Atlantic City at Harrah's Resort while the A.C. Ballet takes its 'The Nutcracker' to area venues.
In 1982 Phyllis Papa, an acclaimed ballet dancer whose credits include the American Ballet Theatre, established the Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theatre in the Atlantic City area. Now known as the Atlantic City Ballet, her ballet company has been a treasured beacon of dance excellence in southern New Jersey for 30 years.
The Atlantic City Ballet’s two newest productions, 'Caught Up in the Swing' and '7 Sins.' will be featured as double-header productions at three southern New Jersey locations — Rowan University’s Wilson Hall’s Pfleeger Theater (Saturday, March 17, starting 7pm); the Ocean First Theater in Manahawkin (Saturday, March 31, 7pm); and at Richard Stockton College’s Performing Arts Center (Thursday, April 19, 7pm). Both productions are family friendly and appropriate for all ages.
'The Nutcracker' is fundamental to every holiday season and has been part of the Atlantic City Ballet’s annual repertoire since its foundation in 1982.
During the past few years, critics of the Atlantic City casino scene have often sited a lack of family-style activities as one of the knocks against the town. That particular complaint melts away like freshly fallen snow when the holiday season rolls around every year.
It's another eclectic line-up for the Richard Stockton College Performing Arts Center fall and holiday season.
Sweep that special someone off of their feet and celebrate love with the Atlantic City Ballet as they present a 'Lover’s Program' on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Lower Cape May Regional High School.
High culture doesn’t always get much time in the spotlight in the shadow of Atlantic City’s glitz and pop culture extravaganzas, but one of the most enduring, and endearing, arts groups in the southern New Jersey area remains the Atlantic City Ballet.
It’s surely a sign of the season — and the economy. Casino showrooms are ramping up for the holidays, but this year — just as last — there are fewer holiday shows from which to choose. And for the second consecutive year casino guests will have to get their Nutcracker fix elsewhere.
For a ballet company, the obvious holiday production comes at Christmas when The Nutcracker is performed around the country. But what about a Halloween ballet? Check around, there aren’t any. Well, there is one. Phyllis Papa and her Atlantic City Ballet are in their third year of presenting the completely original ballet Dracula.
The Nutcracker Ballet, one of the world's most popular holiday productions, proves that even a common little nutcracker can become an enchanting prince. The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa will feature tw...
“I was really impressed,” says Adrianna Poindexter, a dance performance major at Richard Stockton College. “All the dancing in the movie was beautiful.”
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