Welcome to Northeastern Ballet Theatre’s 2022 production of Nutcracker!
We are very excited to be presenting a full length Nutcracker. These timeless classics are inspiring and absolutely beautiful to watch. In 1962, I was a Party Girl in Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker. I was 10 years old, and it was my first time on the big stage. I remember staring at the floor a lot, and watching some of the huge ornaments from the gigantic Christmas tree fall and shatter all over the stage. I also remember seeing the older dancers warm up, and the excitement of being backstage. This excitement stuck with me and since then, The Nutcracker has been part of my life.
NBT’s 2022 Nutcracker production will be my 60th Nutcracker. I am thrilled to share my memories and the tradition of NBT’s Nutcracker production. It’s based on the old Boston Ballet version that I remember dancing as a child, and is told from the perspective of a 10-year-old-girl — 10-year-old Edra Toth, that is. NBT’s Nutcracker is basically a recreation of my childhood.
The Nutcracker is the only ballet in the classical repertoire that is for children, in that it predominantly features children in dancing roles. So, unlike other companies versions of the ballet, the role of Clara in NBT’s Nutcracker is not on pointe, because I feel that it’s more magical for Clara to be a little girl. In addition, there are mice but no rats because rats are too scary for small children
Six years after my debut as a Party Girl, I danced the role of Sugar Plum Fairy for the Boston Ballet. The choreography of that role is ingrained in my DNA. Back then, choreographers didn’t have access to information like we do today — i.e., there was no YouTube — so roles were taught and passed on from dancer to dancer through, what I will describe as, a “verbal presentation of the role."
Today, I carry on this tradition by teaching my NBT company dancers and students the Nutcracker choreography in exactly the way the roles were taught to me by describing the dance and demonstrating the steps from memory.
NBT’s Nutcracker is a lifetime of honoring and sharing tradition. A lifetime of choreography passed on to the next generation of dancers. A lifetime of memories my memories brought to life.
Iona Darling has been dancing with NBT since the age of 5.Born with an innate love of dance, she worked her way up from Clara to Sugar Plum Fairy. She has attended many summer intensive programs including NBT, American Ballet Theatre, and Ellison Ballet. When she’s not dancing Iona runs her own small business, Miss Iona’s Beauty Box.
Yuval Cohen began dancing at the age of 6 and studied at the Jerusalem Ballet School. In 2018 he won first place in Russia’s famous Nutcracker competition and accepted a position a the Vaganova Ballet Academy. In 2021 he joined the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and the Philadelphia Ballet II for the 2021/2022 season, where he is now an apprentice.
Naomi Sawyer has been performing with NBT since 2013 as a soloist and lead dancer. As a scholarship student in Boston Ballet’s training program, she performed in their Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. She now teaches at NBT and is also a physical therapist, and offers Dance Injury Prevention consultations. She dances for the sheer joy of it.
Assaf Benchetrit is a graduate of the Rubin Academy for music and Dance in Jersualem. His professional credits include Panov Ballet, Jersualem Dance Theater, Israeli National Ballet Company, Joffrey Ballet, and Metropilitan Classical Ballet Coompany. He is currently an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance at the University of NH.
Ben Hanley has a BA in Theatre and Dance from the University of New Hampshire and has performed in many NBT productions including Le Corsaire and many Nutcrackers. He also enjoys performing in musical theater productions and has appeared in West Side Story, A Chorus Line, and more.
Among a lifetime of credits, Alan Wilbar was a Party Child in Boston Ballet’s 1972 - 1974 Nutcracker when NBT Founder and Artistic Director Edra Toth danced the lead. “We shared Miss E. Virginia Williams as a teacher.” He has toured and built stages for U2, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, has appeared in nationally televised ads, and wrote and performed “The Learning Man,” a play about his own TBI and recovery. Alan frequently performs in NBT productions to the delight of audiences throughout the region.
Ella Roberts danced at New England School of Dance (NESD) for nearly 12 years and is currently a freshman at UNH Ella has done summer intensives at NESD, Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory, Bossov Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hartford, and Festival Ballet Providence.
Theresa Szafranski,dance career began in Baton Rouge, LA, when she took her first ballet class at age 5. SShe has danced with the Central Wisconsin School of Ballet in Wausau, WI; with Dance Center North in Syracuse, NY; with the Manhattan Youth Ballet in New York City; and for three years in the PreProfessional Division of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet at American Ballet Theater in New York City.
Drosselmeyer’sDoll AmaraEndrizzi
Drosselmeyer’sMaid HeatherTower
Drosselmeyer AlanWilbar
Clara MarleyChase
Fritz MicahWerner
Maid HannahHartley
DeliveryBoy BenHanley
Grandmother KarenPonton
HerrSilberhauss KeithDowns
FrauSilberhauss SusanEndrizzi
PartyParents
PartyChildren
ErinMawn,KatherineMeek,NaomiCrystal,Jon Donahue,MattClement,ErikHilgard
AvonleaKeller,DaisyMack,EmilyRadcliffe,Alexavier Richardson,DavidCampbell,JohnSalmonsen
KissingDoll JuliaZhu
SoldierDoll JubileeTower
Nutcracker BenHanley
MouseKing JonDonahue
MechanicalDolls AnayahTower
Mice AmeliaRoseLewis,EmiliaRicci,EmmaRoss,Lilly RoseDye,MadisonTerletzky,NortherlyLoughman
Tucker Smith
Annemarie Gelinas
Anna Crystal, Kyla King, Chelsea Kunz, Alexavier Richardson, John Salmonsen, Caroline Schmidt, Hannah Struble
Naomi Sawyer 11/27, Iona Darling 11/26
Assaf Benchetrit 11/27, Yuval Cohen 11/26
Hadassa Downs, Rhiannon Emerson, Sophia Fracassa, Eve Mack, Ella Roberts, Theresa Szafranski,Erin Turnbull, Emmy Van Dorn, Fiona Fitzpatrick, Jordan Stanley
Chloe Dye, Amara Endrizzi, Nora O'Connell, Hannah Pierog, Jubilee Tower, Julia Zhu, Kyla King, Daisy Mack, Caroline Schmidt
Eve Mack Anna Tibbetts Nora O'Connell, Hannah Pierog
Hadassa Downs Rhiannon Emerson, Hannah Nagy, Emmy Van Dorn
Theresa Szafranski, Matt Clement Ben Hanley
Elsie MacKenzie & Micah Werner
Maya Clifford, Annemarie Gelinas, Eleanor Benchetrit, Lily Morris, Rosalia Morris, Abigail Richardson, Autumn Smith, Stella Yule
Ella Roberts
Erin Turnbull, Sophia Fracassa
Chloe Dye, Amara Endrizzi, Nora O'Connell, Hannah Pierog, Jubilee Tower, Julia Zhu
Iona Darling 11/27 ,Naomi Sawyer 11/26
Yuval Cohen 11/27, Assaf Benchetrit 11/26
Amelia Rose Lewis, Geneviève Renaud, Emilia Ricci, MadisonTerletzky,Noah Terletzky, Northerly Loughman
Gil Barrioz
Pappy Porter, Gil Barrioz, Travis Barrioz, Christopher Terletzky
Peter Illyitch Tchaikovsky
Edra Toth after Marius Petipa and E. Virginia Williams
Susan Endrizzi
Brian Turnbull
Assaf Benchetrit
Bre Barrioz, Lisa Gelinas
Andrea Smith
Chelsea,weareimmenselyproudofyou!!! Allourlove, Dad,MomandCharlotte
Julia,WeareProudofYou.Congratulationson anotherNutcracker! LoveMom,DadandSophia
“CongratstoourfavoritemouseEmmaRoss.You’re abrightshiningstar!”
HannahPierog: Soproudofallyou'velearned.Excitedtowatch youdanceenpointeintheNutcrackerforthe1st time! Love,Mom,Dad,Alicia
BackstageCoordinator AmyHarley Backstage KarenPonton MakeUp EmilyXu GraphicDesign EveMack,BreBarrioz Communications KimberlyPierog Marketing BreBarrioz
It is Christmas Eve at the house of Herr and Frau Silberhaus and the children. Friends of the family, with children, are welcomed in the Silberhaus home to celebrate Christmas. Once the guests have arrived, Herr Silberhaus lights the beautiful Christmas tree in preparation for the night's festivities. The children stand in awe of the tree sparkling with candles and decorations. The adults and children dance with delight and joy as the celebration continues.
Presents are given out to the children. Then, suddenly, a mysterious figure enters the room as the owl-topped clock strikes eight. It is Herr Drosselmeyer, Clara and Fritz's godfather. But Herr Drosselmeyer has a surprise for Clara, a wooden nutcracker carved in the shape of a little soldier. He is also a talented toymaker who has brought gifts for the children, including two lifelike dolls-a Kissing Doll and a Soldier-who dance to the delight of all. Herr Drosselmeyer has the precious dolls put away for safekeeping. The other children are presented their gifts by the Silberhaus: dolls for the girls and horns for the boys. Fritz, however, is not satisfied that his sister got a special gift and snatches the Nutcracker from her. The other boys hold Clara while Fritz breaks her new present. Clara is heartbroken.
Drosselmeyer binds up the broken Nutcracker with his handkerchief. The other girls come and comfort Clara. The boys interrupt with their toy trumpets and horns. Herr and Frau Silberhaus announce it is time to finish the evening with a traditional Grandfather dance. After the dance, the guests depart, and the children are sent off to bed.
During the night, after everyone else has gone to bed, Clara returns to the settee in the living room to be with her beloved Nutcracker, she curls up to sleep, and the magic begins. The Mouse King steals into the parlor as the clock strikes midnight and casts a spell on Clara. Drosselmeyer banishes him. First, Drosselmeyer shows Clara his magic and makes the tree and the room grow to dizzying heights. Then, he uses his most potent magic to make the Nutcracker life-size. Soon Clara finds herself amid a battle between an army of tin soldiers and mice led by the Mouse King.
The Nutcracker appears to be winning. The dastardly Mouse King. King trips the Nutcracker as he is about to finish him; Clara bravely throws her slipper at him, distracting him long enough for the Nutcracker to run him through with a sword. The Nutcracker removes the crown from the Mouse King's head, breaking the spell.
The mice retreat and the Nutcracker is transformed into a handsome prince. He leads Clara through the moonlit night to a pine forest where Clara meets the Snow King and Snow Queen. The Snow Queen instructs the Prince to take Clara on to the Land of the Sweets.The Snow King and Queen, along with their snowflakes, dance a joyful wintry dance to celebrate Clara and the prince.
Clara and Herr Drosselmeyer travel in a sleigh to the beautiful Land of the Sweets, ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy & her Cavalier. Clara is greeted in the Land of the Sweets by heavenly Angels.
In honor of the young heroine, a celebration of sweets from around the world is produced: chocolate from Spain and tea from China all dance for her amusement; French marzipan shepherdess performs on their flutes; Russian perform a powerful Trepak for Clara, coffee from Arabia dance for her, a troupe of adorable Bon Bon's dance for her pleasure, and candy canes dance to Clara's delight.
A string of beautiful flowers perform The Waltz of the Flowers joined by the Dew Drop Fairy and her attendants. To conclude the night, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier perform a Pas de Deux.
A final waltz is performed by all the sweets to honor Clara. It is time to say goodbye and Drosselmeyer appears with the sleigh to accompany Clara back to her home. The Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier usher Clara to the sleigh saying their final farewells.
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