Festival Ballet Providence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2003

Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129

Festival Ballet Providence’s Nutcracker at PPAC
December 12-14

Providence, RI - Festival Ballet Providence celebrates the holiday season with its annual favorite, The Nutcracker. Five performances will take place in the opulent Providence Performing Arts Center December 12 to 14, 2003, Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 pm and Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 PM.

Ticket sales are already brisk for this magical production by one of New England’s leading dance companies. This story ballet follows a young girl, Clara, whose gift of a Nutcracker doll from her beloved Uncle Drosselmeyer leads her from a joyous family Christmas party complete with dancing dolls and a tree that grows 30 feet in height, to a midnight battle pitting a battalion life-size toy soldiers against gigantic mice lead by the Mouse Queen. Protected by her gallant Nutcracker, Clara survives the ordeal, finding her Nutcracker doll has been transformed into a human. He leads her through a snowstorm of dancing snowflakes to the delectable Kingdom of Sweets, where the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier reign over a colorful troupe of dancers from round the world. They celebrate the victory over the Mouse Queen with brilliant dances that culminates in a grand finale.

Festival Ballet Providence Artistic Director Mihailo (“Misha”) Djuric is excited for audiences to see this year’s production of The Nutcracker. He noted “After great reviews, standing ovations for all three performances and audience acclaim for our October production of Carmen, the company is in fine form, and ready to present an unforgettable production of The Nutcracker. Our new dancers should add even more sparkle to what is already a stunning production. Since The Nutcracker is often an audience member’s first exposure to ballet, we do what we can to make the experience extra special.” The production also distinguishes itself with over 100 talented young dancers from throughout the region, who auditioned for roles such as Angels, Party Children, Candy Dolls, Mice, Soldiers and Russian dancers.

Sponsors
Festival Ballet Providence’s 2003 production of The Nutcracker is sponsored by Season Presenting Sponsor Sovereign Bank, Swarovski, David Yurman, Providence Diamond, Stern-Leach, C & J Jewelry, Armbrust International, season television sponsor NBC10, ClearChannel Communications, the Providence Phoenix and ongoing support from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

Tickets
Performances take place at the Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset Street, in Providence, RI. Performance times are Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2:30 and 7:30 pm and Sunday at 1:00 and 6:30 pm. Tickets priced from $17.50 to $52.50 are available by contacting the PPAC Box Office at 401.421-ARTS, or at all Ticketmaster locations, online at ticketmaster.com, or by calling 401.331.2211 in RI or 508/617.931.2000 in Massachusetts. Group discounts are available by calling PPAC at 401.421.2997 extension # 3162.

Festival Ballet Providence will also be offering Clara’s Tea on Sunday December 14th from 11 am to 12:30 pm at the Federal Reserve Restaurant, 60 Dorrance Street, Providence, prior to the 1:00 matinee performance. This holiday-themed meal is complete with holiday decorations, dozens of Nutcrackers adorning the holiday-themed dining room, tea sandwiches, pastries, tea and coffee. This event makes the visit to the Kingdom of Sweets even more special. Tickets for Clara’s Tea are $25.00 including tax and tip.

Festival Ballet Providence will also be serving up Dinner with Drosselmeyer, a scrumptious holiday buffet at Federal Reserve Restaurant, Sunday December 14th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. This meal consists of a variety of salads, carving stations, seasonal vegetables and desserts, with coffee and tea. The pricing for this dinner is $25 for children, and $50 for adults, including tax and tip.

To reserve seating for Clara’s Tea or Dinner with Drosselmeyer, call Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129. Reservations and full payment must be received by December 11, 2003.

The Festival Ballet Providence and the Festival Ballet Providence Center for Dance Education are together a not-for-profit arts organization whose EIN is 05-0377245 and whose Rhode Island Corporate ID number is ND-27-137.

The role of Clara will be played by Cumberland’s Siobhan Charvarria, a high school student at Mt. St. Charles Academy.

Casting of principal and soloist roles includes:

Sugar Plum Fairy
Carolyn Dellinger, Leticia Guerrero, Karla Kovatch

Her Cavalier
Cameron Baldassarra, Gleb Lyamenkoff, Davide Vittorino

Snow Queen
Heather O’Halloran, Jennifer Ricci

Snow King
Gleb Lyamenkoff, Davide Vittorino

Dew Drop Fairy
Leticia Guerrero, Karla Kovatch

Spanish
Daniela Debrot, Carolyn Dellinger, Marissa Gomer, Elizabeth Jessee, Hillary Lopes, Beth Petkus

Arabian
Jennifer Ricci with Gleb Lyamenkoff, Eivar Sair

Russian
Cameron Baldassarra, Brandon Martin

Nutcracker
Ty Parmenter, Eivar Sair

Mouse Queen
Leticia Guerrero, Karla Kovatch

Herr Drosselmeyer
Piotr Ostaltsov

Chinese
James Brown with Sara Medeiros/Caitlin Novero

Festival Ballet Providence is offering two additional performances of The Nutcracker as part of its Discover Dance series, schoolday performances for school groups, retirment groups and social service agency groups, at 10 am December 12 and 15. These subsidiezed performances of The Nutcracker provide a wonderful low cost introduction to ballet to over 5,000 children and seniors annually. For information contact Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129