The beloved holiday classic returns to Stockton’s Performing Arts Center with four Atlantic City Ballet performances Dec. 9-10. Plus other holiday events at Stockton.
POMONA, N.J. — Just as scary masks are staples of the Halloween scene, 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.
The two-act, Tchiakovsky-scored ballet, created in 1892 and first popularized during the holidays by Russian choreographer George Balanchine in 1954, returns to Richard Stockton College under the direction of A.C. Ballet’s founder, choreographer and artistic director Phyllis Papa.
“Our first Nutcracker was at Harrah’s [casino] and we couldn’t do the whole thing because we didn’t have enough money,” says Papa, who employs over 20 professional dancers and several local school children in every production. “We could only do act two. The following year Claridge [casino, now part of Bally’s] gave me $5,000 for the costumes and sets to do act one. Coincidentally the Baltimore Ballet had just had a fire, and was selling all of its Nutcracker sets and costumes for $5,000, so my husband and I drove down with a truck, bought them, and drove them back.
“They smelled a little smokey at first, but that allowed us to do the entire production. That was our first Nutcracker. Some of the set design we still use today, like the cannon, is from the Baltimore Ballet.”
Papa tends tweak the choreography each year, particularly in act two, playing up the strengths of every dancer she employs.
“Some dancers find it harder to do a lift one way and easier to do it another way, and I work with that and change it up a little bit,” she says. “Because everyone is so individual I want to hit their strengths. I don’t want to make them do something that’s not going to make them look their best.”
The Nutcracker is the story of a young girl named Clara, the nutcracker she receives as a gift, and her enchanted dreams of princes, princesses, sugar plums and toy soldiers. One of its best-known scenes is the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy — a particular favorite among children.
“We get a lot of families at each performance,” says Papa. “The Nutcracker’s a good first exposure to the ballet. You don’t have to think too much about it, you’re just entertained. And I think in today’s world, people just want to be entertained. They don’t want to think too hard about anything.”
Atlantic City Ballet’s The Nutcracker will appear at Stockton’s PAC on Friday, Dec. 9, at 10:30am (a show for school children only) and 7pm.; and Saturday, Dec. 10, at 1pm and 5pm. Tickets are $35 for orchestra and $20 for mezzanine ($5 less for seniors) and $10 for children with an adult ticket.
‘The Nutcracker’
Where: Stockton College PAC, Pomona
When: Dec. 9 (7pm), Dec. 10 (1 & 5pm)
How Much: $10-$35
Other Holiday Events at Richard Stockton College
Stockton Dance Company’s ‘ChoreoProject 33’ will appear in the Experimental Theatre Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 1-3, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, Dec. 4, at 3pm. The 33rd in a series of annual concerts serves as a preview to works-in-progress of the Stockton Dance Company. It is accompanied by musical selections, elaborate costumes, and well-plotted lighting effects. General-admission tickets are $8, students and seniors $6.
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.
It’s that time of year when we are joyous about having days off, but at the same time dreading the almost forced family time. Most of us would love to take a holiday vacation, get away from our daily routines and experience new sights and cultures, but during this time of year we are stuck in holiday-related traffic and stressing out about superficial things. Don’t lose sight of the fact that although it’s tough to get along with everyone, especially the odd family members that you just can’t relate to no matter what you do, that you are spending time together because deep down it is a “ritual of reassurance,”...
“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.
For Phyllis Papa, artistic director of the Atlantic Ballet, the company’s annual production of The Nutcracker, to be performed at the Stockton Performing Arts Center Friday and Saturday (Dec. 11-12), is both a time of happiness, and just a little sadness.
WHO WOULD HAVE guessed that The Nutcracker ballet would become a beloved holiday tradition more than 100 years after its original performance? Even famous Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky probably had his doubts. Tchaikovsky wrote the score for the ballet, which is based on an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman's story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The first production of The Nutcracker in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 17, 1892 was panned by the critics and the audience. However, later productions were greeted with favor. When the Moscow Ballet brings its critically acclaimed Great Russian Nutcracker to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for two shows on Saturday, Dec. 11, it will mark the first time that the casino offers entertainment that is sure to delight family members of all ages. "I thought it was a good time of the year to do something like this," says Larry Mullin, Borgata executive vice president and chief operating officer. "And it's received a tremendous response. Tickets are reasonably priced and they're going very fast." Mullin says that Ron Hudson, Borgata director of entertainment, expressed the idea of bringing The Nutcracker to the Borgata. "I was very familiar with the show, and knew...
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1. Anonymous said... on Dec 5, 2011 at 12:09AM
“just saw them tonight in LBI! i'm thinking of taking the kids to stockton, too. wonderful show! the whole family had a great time!”