by August Barham and Abby Smith
On December 18th, Brevard Ballet will be performing their annual Nutcracker production.
The show will be held at the Jones Auditorium on the Brevard High School campus at 5:00 P.M.
In the story, Clara, the lead, falls asleep at her family Christmas party cradling her favorite Christmas present, a nutcracker doll. Clara dreams that the Nutcracker comes to life as a prince and travels with her to the Kingdom of the Sweets. After meeting numerous interesting characters, Clara says goodbye to her prince and wakes up to find herself back at the Christmas party.
While this original story is a Christmas classic, Brevard Ballet has taken an interesting twist on the show.
“We base our story on the local history of Brevard,” said Brevard Ballet director Angie Wells. “Our story revolves around the Silversteen family, and it is set at Silvermont in the 1920s.”
Some of the main characters in Act 1 are the Silversteen family themselves.
“I play Miriam, the oldest of the Silversteen daughters,” said sophomore and Brevard ballet dancer Maya Borhaug.
Brevard Ballet’s variation on the original story may seem small, but all together the performance is elaborate and takes many months to prepare.
“Brevard Ballet dancers first began working on this year’s Nutcracker on August 1,” said Wells.
Brevard Ballet has put many months and hours into this year’s show, but the ballet school has been working on the Nutcracker in general for much longer than a few months.
The winter Nutcracker performance first became a Brevard Ballet tradition on December 15, 2013, at the Brevard High School auditorium. The new twist on the story using the Silversteen family was first introduced last year, with the help of the ballet’s new choreographer, Tom Shoemaker.
Brevard Ballet’s 2015 Nutcracker performance included new choreography and the story’s twist primarily in the first act. This year they modified the second act as well.
“We have several new costumes and new sets because our Act 2is all new choreography this year,” said Wells.
In order to assist with the growing Brevard Ballet costume closet, visit the silent auction in the High School lobby after the performance on December 18th.
“We are having a silent auction in the lobby,” said Wells, “All proceeds will go to offset costs of the nutcracker.”
Brevard Ballet’s Nutcracker performance grows every year. This year, with the help from many generous volunteers, parents, dancers, and, of course, the director Angie Wells, it looks like this year might be their best Nutcracker performance yet.
“I am honored to work with such talented dedicated dancers and their families,” said Wells. “I would also like to thank the [Oskar Blues] Can’d Aid foundation, the Audrey Love foundation, and several community sponsors for their generous support in making this possible.”
Students are also feeling very thankful towards those who helped make the show possible.
“Everyone is really talented, and I am so happy to be working with them,” said Borhaug.
Tickets are on sale now at the Brevard Ballet website, brevardballet.org./brevardballet. Tickets are $20.00 plus taxes and fees for adults, and $10.00 plus taxes and fees for students. Seats are limited so those interested in viewing the show should purchase their tickets soon.
“Come enjoy the show and support your fellow Brevard High School students,” said Wells.