Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
Asheville Contemporary Dance Theatre (ACDT) and New Studio of Dance present their annual production The Nutcracker and the Mouse King on Friday and Saturday, December 6 and 7. In addition to the 7:30 p.m. showing on both days, there will be a special school performance on Friday at 10 a.m. and a matinee on Saturday at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in the Diana Wortham Theatre at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts.
ACDT puts a special, unexpected spin on this classic holiday ballet, pulling less from Tchaikovsky’s famous arrangement and more from the 1816 tale written by the German author E.T.A. Hoffmann. “We are trying to be faithful to the spirit in which it was written,” says Susan Collard, director and founder of ACDT. “We select dancers/actors who we feel can develop the specific characters in the story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. They need to understand the story line and their relationship with the various characters they dance and interact with.”
For those who are devoted to the more familiar holiday ballet, there will be two sections of Tchaikovsky music in the performance: during the street cleaners’ dance after the snow storm, and the beloved finale, when Marie declares her love to the toy Nutcracker and thus breaks the spell that was imprisoning the young man.
The performance will feature the ACDT adult company, White Dog ProjectX International, and the students of New Studio of Dance. “This year’s performance is a celebration of life and community,” says Collard. “Dancers of all ages, professionals to young students, are coming together with joy and excitement to live and perform in a magical world.”
The Wortham Center for the Performing Arts is located at 18 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville. Tickets start at $23. For reservations and additional information, call 828.257.4530 or visit DWTheatre.com.
