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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, May 20, 2012
North Star Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ voted best production Eric Engman/News-Miner
By SUZANNA CALDWELL scaldwell@newsminer.com In a lot of ways, the North Star Ballet would not be what it is today with “The Nutcracker.” In was more than two decades ago when artistic director Norman Shelburne came to Fairbanks to stage the holiday classic. He only had a few months to prepare for his first direction of “The Nutcracker” in 1986, but he pulled it off. Since then, the tradition has only grown, each year building on bits from the past to make the next performance more stunning. “The Nutcracker” was voted best performance of 2012 by Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner readers, beating out
Thank You, Fairbanks for voting us one of the best
Amy Cross, 17, a senior at Lathrop High School who plays The Doll, ties her bonnet before a performance of the North Star Ballet’s 25th anniversary showing of “The Nutcracker” in December 2011 at the Hering Auditorium.
Fairbanks Light Opera Theatre’s production of “Annie” and Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre’s “Macbeth.” Last season’s performance
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marked the 25th anniversary of the production. It was dedicated to John Turner, who in 1987 originated the role of Drosselmeyer in the first fulllength production of the ballet. Shelburne said in honor of the 25th anniversary of the production the company looked back to the beginning, and “there was John.” Turner was an influential board member who died in
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The children aging and changing make for a unique experience every year, something Shelburne thinks brings people back again and again. “It’s different every year because the cast is different,” Shelburne said. Shelburne said after 25 years, there’s no plans to change the production in any major way. With the community so involved there is a strong sense of ownership. “People grow accustomed to it and they go outside and see a ‘Nutcracker’ and come back and say ‘I like ours better,’” he said. “This is our ‘Nutcracker’ and we own it. To change it dramatically would be a mistake.”
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1988. Shelburne said Turner could see there was a need for a dance educator in Fairbanks. “In a small community like this, that was a real boon,” Shelburne said. “That set the tone, which I have enjoyed ever since.” With Turner and Shelburne advocating for a program that would help prepare dancers for “The Nutcracker,” the North Star Ballet was born. Since then, every year they have performed “The Nutcracker” using a cast of almost all local dancers. As the production has grown, so have the children involved. Children usually start as cherubs at age 8 but later grow into elves, little mice, party children or wooden soldiers.
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