What would the holidays be without a performance of George Balanchine’s Nutcracker™, performed by the premier professional ballet company in the state of Alabama? At home and on tour throughout the Southeast, this performance highlights the superlatives of Alabama Ballet, which ranks 16th in the nation for artistic excellence.

Alabama Ballet is only one of six companies in the world licensed by the Balanchine Trust to perform this challenging version, complete with authentic Balanchine choreography, costumes and set exactly the same as the New York City Ballet’s famed production. With a core of 36 professional dancers under leadership of Artistic Director Tracey Alvey and Associate Artistic Director Roger Van Fleteren, this December performance is a generational must-see for grandparents, parents and children.

Members of the community also find themselves on stage for the local performance and touring show in Anniston. Auditions were open to children ages 8 to 16 for the chance to perform as angels, baby mice, candy canes and other special roles. 

You can count on seeing snow, both on stage and in the audience, in the dramatic Snow Scene. Or come early and enjoy the Sugar Plum Party, a special time for children to enjoy activities, Nutcracker treats and photos at 1:30 p.m. prior to matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays, Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20.

Evening performances are Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. All performances, Dec. 11-13 and Dec.18-20, are set for Wright Center at Samford University. See below for details or go to the Alabama Ballet website.

Community outreach
Nutcracker may be a highlight of the year for dancers and audience alike, but Alabama Ballet reaches out to the community with high-quality performances and dance education year-round, including both classical and contemporary ballet.

The 24,000-square-foot Alabama Ballet Center for Dance at 2726 First Avenue South features six state-of-the-art dance studios, where young children take their first steps and professional dancers hone their skills.  

This is the home base for the Alabama Ballet Royal Academy of Dance, the only school in the state to be Royal Academy Accredited. More than 200 students from age four to adult currently are studying on pre-professional or hobby tracks, joining them to more than 250,000 students worldwide who are involved in this classic ballet training..

Alvey trained under the RAD syllabus and sees this as a major step in Alabama Ballet’s role to develop dance in the Birmingham community and the state of Alabama.

Students and the community can be part of Alabama Ballet through Outreach Programs reaching more than 50,000 Greater Birmingham youth and adults:

• CityDance, 16-week hands-on-dance training program targeting third through fifth graders in  five Birmingham City schools.
• School Shows, which allow more than 11,000 elementary through high school youth to experience a full-length professional ballet, often for the first time.
• Dance Discovery Workshop, on-site school educational program which fosters dance appreciation and demonstrates the discipline an art of classical ballet.
• 2nd Tuesday, informal Alabama Ballet performance and "studio chat" with Artistic Director Alvey, free, on the second Tuesday of each month, featuring glimpse of season productions.

This year, Alabama Ballet already has treated audiences to special experiences at Gorham’s Bluff and the Hoover Library Theatre.

An outgrowth of the Birmingham Civic Ballet, the University of Alabama at Birmingham Ballet and Ballet Alabama, Alabama Ballet began in 1981 and began to grow, first under the artistic direction of world-renowned dancers Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. Other important leadership came from Wes Chapman, now with ABTII, and from Van Fleteren and Alvey.

More about shows:
Tickets to Nutcracker are $20 children/students, $30-$55, adults, Call 975-2787 or go to www.alabamaballet.org or purchase a ticket at a branch of BBVA Compass Bank.
The next 2^nd Tuesday performance is Feb. 9, 2010, featuring scenes from the upcoming main stage performance of “Don Quixote.” Refreshments are served at 6 p.m. with the performance starting at 6:30 p.m. Call 322-9095 for more information.

NOTE: Photos by Billy Brown