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.
For many locals, however, the ballet usually means a performance of The Nutcracker during the Christmas season. While a favorite tradition, there’s much more to the company than that.
The 27-year-old company, with dancers hailing from Spain, Italy, Latvia, Israel, Japan, Canada, Korea, Australia and the United States, has announced its schedule for the 2010-11 season. The performances range from An Evening with the Atlantic City Ballet, with samplings from several famous ballets, to ballets inspired by Shakespeare and the legend of Dracula.
“It will be an exciting season with new work and new choreographers, which will take the company to a whole new level,” says Phyllis Papa, artistic director of the company.
The company will open the season on Tuesday, Aug. 31, with a performance of An Evening with the Atlantic City Ballet at the John Drew Theatre at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York, but local fans can catch the same performance on Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Milton & Betty Katz Jewish Community Center in Margate.
The performance is a repertoire program of four different short ballets that range from the dramatic to the comedic. With wide audience appeal, the ballets range from Pas de Dix (Classical), Mountain Legend (Dramatic), and Les Patinuers (Simulated Ice Skating) to Impressions (Comedy with Beatles music).
The company will be performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2 and 3, in Cape May at the Cape May Renaissance Festival, sponsored by Access to Art.
Later in October, it will be performing the legendary Dracula, a ballet conceived and choreographed by Papa, at the Stockton Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Oct. 28. Other scheduled dates for Dracula are Oct. 23 at the Paul W. Schmidtchen Theatre, Cape May, and Oct. 24 at the Scottish Rite Theatre in Collingswood, N.J.
The traditional holiday Nutcracker will be performed at Stockton Performing Arts Center on Dec. 9-11 with five presentations. Other performances are scheduled for Dec. 3-4 at the Scottish Rite Theater in Collingswood and Dec. 18 at the Paul W. Schmidtchen Theatre, in Cape May.
In 2011, the Atlantic City Ballet will be performing a “Lover’s” program for February. The performances will feature new choreographers with original works for Valentines' evening. President’s weekend, the company will perform at the Surf Light Theater in Beach Haven. Other performaces will be announced.
One last note, this Sunday, Aug. 8, the company will hold auditions for local children who’d like to perform as extras in this season’s Nutcracker performances. The auditions will be held at 2pm at the ballet studio, 713 West Moss Mill Road, Egg Harbor City.
For additional information, call 804-1995.
For more on the ballet, go to acballet.org.
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.
Backstage before, during and after a show is the most exciting place in the world. Adrenaline pumps everywhere, even through the observer, and that’s where I spent last Thursday, Oct. 27, as Phyllis Papa’s Atlantic City Ballet performed 'Dracula' in time for Halloween.
The Atlantic City Ballet is coming to Resorts Hotel and Casino’s Superstar Theater Friday and Sunday, Nov. 4 and 6, for two free shows.
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.
On Thursday, Oct. 28, the Atlantic City Ballet returns to the Stockton PAC for 'Dracula,' a full three-act ballet from artistic director Phyllis Papa.
“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 the A.C. Ballet's Phyllis Papa, who employs 22 professional dancers in the production, many of whom come from, and were formally ballet trained in, other countries.
“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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