Press Release

Media Advisory For More Information Contact: Stuart Carroll Capitol Ballet Artistic Director (916) 484-1188 directors@capitolballet.com

For Immediate Release,
12/15/2009

The Nutcracker at Delta College’s
Atherton Auditorium, December 19

(Stockton)

When the presents are open the magic has just begun… 

Epic battles, magical creatures and wondrous winter landscapes are all part of the fantasy of the holiday favorite “The Nutcracker,” Performed by Capitol Ballet Company of Sacramento at Delta College’s Atherton Theatre, Saturday, Dec. 19th at 2pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for students, children and seniors.

“Over the years it’s not just a ballet, it has become a tradition,” Capitol Ballet artistic director Stuart Carroll said. “There is so much in the Nutcracker for children and for families, that for a lot of people, it has become an annual tradition during the holidays.”

The Nutcracker begins with a German family Christmas party, when an uncle appears with a nutcracker as a gift for Clara, the family daughter and main character of the story. But it is only after the family is asleep that Clara’s nutcracker comes to life!  

“There are other versions that are sophisticated and melodramatic,” Carroll said. “But ours is one that a child would enjoy…For me the Nutcracker is about childhood innocence, the kids getting wild at a party surrounded by sweets and chocolate and watching Clara slowly maturing and discovering her first love.”

Although this piece has been performed by Capitol Ballet for many years, the choreography continues to change. “We keep it fresh and interesting for the audience as well as the dancers.” Carroll said. “This year we have new lifts, new costumes and although we keep to the original storyline, dance has to change because people change.”

The Nutcracker based on E.T.A Hoffman’s story “The Nutcracker and the King of Mice" was adapted into a ballet by French author Alexander Dumas and was composed by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky in 1891. But it wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became a popular ballet in the US. “The critical part of the Nutcracker is the music,” Carroll said. “The music covers about every emotion and feeling, from the playfulness of the party, to the beautiful music of the waltz, to the grand pas de deux (dance for two) in the second act.”

In the second act Clara and her Nutcracker journey through a land of enchantment, where they are visited by Chinese, Arab and Russian dancers and a sugar plum fairy dances with a prince in a pas de dux.  “The pas de dux is a classical piece of choreography,” Carroll said. “With all the elegance, pomp and refinement that a couple can display.”

Capitol Ballet is a non-profit classical ballet company whose mission is to increase appreciation of ballet by performing throughout the central valley. The company also recruits dancers from Stockton Ballet and is open to dancers of all ages and experience levels.

“It’s important to expose people to the arts period.” Carroll said. “The more people are exposed, the more they find they enjoy it and it becomes a part of their lives.”

For tickets to “The Nutcracker” contact the Delta Center for the Arts (DCA) box office at:
(209) 954-5110. Tickets are also available on-line.Visit the DCA web site at: http://www.deltacollege.edu/div/finearts/dept/dca/index.html

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