Atlanta ballet THE COMPANY Jacob Bush, Peng-Yu Chen, Christian Clark, Nathan Griswold, Anne Tyler Harshbarger, Jonah Hooper, Yoomi Kim, Tara Lee, Nadia Mara, Daniel Mayo, Courtney Necessary, Kristine Necessary, Joshua Reynolds, Alessa Rogers, Kelly Tipton, Jesse Tyler, Rachel Van Buskirk, Brian Wallenberg, John Welker, Christine Winkler, Kelsey Yip APPRENTICES Lauren Alesch, Jamal Callender, Cortney Funk, Mark MacKillop, Tommy Panto FELLOWSHIP STUDENTS* Sara Beery, Kevin Flores, Brandon Funk, Victor Galuppo, Heath Gill, Kendall Green, Jessica Guda, Yoko Kanomata, Melissa Mitchell, Jackie Nash, Kelly Prather, Lauren Sherwood, Katie Syfert, Nayomi Van Brunt, Jocelyn Wright *All student dancers courtesy of Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education
atlanta ballet’s nutcracker Our story begins a little more than 100 years ago on a snowy Christmas Eve in St. Petersburg, Russia. Drosselmeyer, an ingenious toymaker, finishes making gifts for a party at the Petrov house. On his way, he passes the magical town clock he created. As it chimes, three curious — and prophetic — images appear: a ballerina, a nutcracker and a terrifying Rat King. ACT ONE The Petrov party guests await the arrival of the gay but mysterious Drosselmeyer, who seems to impart magic wherever he goes. Restless, the children are allowed to open one gift. To her delight, young Marya Petrov receives satin ballet shoes. When Drosselmeyer arrives, he reveals his new creations. He gives the most enchanting toy to Marya — a handsome nutcracker. Nicholas is attracted to his gift, and is so intrigued with it he seems to relate to it. It is a ratchet in the shape of a rats head. He uses this to smash the Nutcracker and break it. As the evening nears its conclusion, Drosselmeyer weaves his magic and begins to take Marya on a surrealistic journey. Little mice are now scurrying around the dark house. Nicholas is roaming the house looking for the Nutcracker. Just as Nicholas 16 EncoreAtlantA.com
finds the Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer startles him. Drosselmeyer intentionally leaves his large magic satchel behind for Nicholas to explore. Inside the satchel Nicholas discovers a rat cape and sword. He now personifies a rat and is empowered to initiate a great battle. Nicholas changes mice into rats and the battle begins. Marya comes to the rescue of the Nutcracker and slays the Rat King. At the end of the battle, Nicholas realizes that choosing conflict leads only to darkness. He now feels grown up and understands that his sister’s love and support is what matters most. Drosselmeyer rewards Marya’s courage and takes her on a fantastic journey to a crystal kingdom filled with snow spirits. ACT TWO The journey continues to the land of the Sugar Candy Kingdom, where Marya is hosted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. There is a glorious ball, complete with dancers from exotic lands. Marya is enraptured with this amazing and enchanting experience. She feels like she is floating on air. The next moment, Marya realizes she is dreaming as she wakes up in her bedroom and smiles to herself as she understands her dreams have come true. She ponders all the dreams yet to come true.