Deanna Pietrorazio of Middlebury dances the role of a soldier doll in the 2013 BCB “The Nutcracker.” (Paulina Pietrorazio photo)
Brass City Ballet (BCB), a nonprofit dance school and semi-professional ballet company, will present its 18th annual production of “The Nutcracker” Saturday, Dec.13, at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. at Rotella Arts Magnet School at 440 Pierpont Road in Waterbury. Tickets for this holiday classic are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, children 12 and under and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at Tututix.com or by calling 1-855-222-2849. On the days of the performances, tickets will be available for purchase at the door.
At each performance, Brass City Ballet will hold a toy drive, collecting new, unwrapped presents. They will be donated to St. Mary’s Pediatric Clinic in Waterbury. BCB dancers, dressed in costume, will deliver the toys to the children in person.
Brass City Ballet opens its Nutcracker auditions up to the general community, with performers young and old from Cheshire and Watertown to Waterbury and Southbury. “Many of Rotella Magnet School’s students auditioned for the production and will be dancing as well,” said BCB Artistic Director Elizabeth Fisk Barisser. “Rotella boasts one of the largest stages in the area, so the dancers are thrilled that they won’t have to hold back.”
Many of the dancers are enrolled in BCB’s Concentrated Study Program and train three to six days a week. The role of Clara will be performed by Hannah Jensen of Southbury on Dec. 13 and by Samantha Perrella of Middlebury on Dec. 14. Samantha Mankowski of Watertown will dance Dewdrop Fairy and Kendra Sperry of Woodbury will dance the role of Snow Queen. Celia Torrey of Southbury, a senior at Pomperaug High School, will dance the lead role of Sugarplum Fairy.
As part of its mission to reach out to the community, Brass City Ballet will hold a special school performance of “The Nutcracker Sweets” for the Rotella Arts Magnet School student body Friday, Dec. 12. “Our dancers love to perform for the schools. It gives them an extra performance, and the kids are such an appreciative audience. They certainly don’t hold back their approval. If they see something they like, they clap, and if it’s funny, they laugh“, said Barisser.
Brass City Ballet, partially sponsored by individuals, corporations, foundations and the state of Connecticut, is a nonprofit dance school and student performing company with studios in Middlebury, Conn. The school offers classes in classical ballet, hip-hop/jazz, modern dance, Zumba® and yoga. BCB serves students ages 3 to adult with year-round enrollment. For more information on classes and performances, call Brass City Ballet at 203-598-0186 or visit www.brasscityballet.org.
You must be logged in to post a comment.