LIFESTYLE
Arts & Culture
Community Youth to Perform in Televised Premiere of
Nashville’s Nutcracker
The televised premiere of Nashville’s Nutcracker, presented by Nashville Ballet and in partnership with Nashville’s CBS affiliate NewsChannel 5, will feature youth cast members from middle Tennessee alongside Nashville Ballet’s company dancers. The fulllength, televised performance sponsored by the Tennessee Titans, will feature an introduction and narration by former Tennessee Titan Eddie George, and will replace the previously scheduled in-theater production at TPAC’s Jackson Hall out of an abundance of caution amid COVID-19. Each year, the youth cast for Nashville’s Nutcracker includes over 200 members ages eight and up from both the School of Nashville Ballet and the surrounding community. Due to COVID-19, this year’s cast was selected from the Academy division at School of Nashville Ballet in place of open auditions. “This was a big opportunity for our Academy students this year,” said School of Nashville Ballet Academy Principal Kate Linsley. “Our students are used to performing in Nashville’s Nutcracker at TPAC every December but preparing for a performance during the pandemic required immense commitment from our students, our faculty, and their families. I am so proud of how our School of Nashville Ballet community has adapted over the last several months and we are thrilled that our students will be featured in the film.” This year’s youth cast from Williamson County includes: • William Barton as a Party Boy, Kai Carter-Sullivan as a Party Boy, Mariana Dominguez as a Party Girl, Emerson Rose Duke as a Baby Mouse, Carly Graham as a Party Girl, Catherine Graves as a Commodore Cavalry, Anna Caroline Henry as a Frontier Soldier, Amelia Johnson as a Commodore Cavalry, Victoria “Winnie” Jones as a Lamb, Alyssa Shave as a Russian Nesting Doll, Anna Sloan as a Frontier Soldier and Madeleine Stillwell as a Lamb. Nashville Nutcracker’s two-hour performance will feature new and creative ways to engage audiences (such as George’s introduction and narration), as they take a sparkling—and safe, socially distant— journey through the Land of the Sweets 60 HOLIDAY 2020
and Music City’s past. In the midst of these unprecedented times, Nashville Ballet hopes that viewers will find comfort in enjoying this classic holiday tradition in a new and safe way. Nashville Ballet completed filming for the televised premiere within its 12,000-square-foot warehouse in early October on a sound stage that was specifically constructed for this event. Under continued consultation with a team of trusted medical advisors, close collaboration with the Metro Nashville Public Health Department, and guidance from the CDC and Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville Ballet instituted numerous policies to ensure the process was completed in the safest way possible. Nashville Ballet is the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet and the second company, NB2 (a pre-professional training company), provide more than 55,000 arts experiences to adults and children annually through season performances and its Community Engagement programming. Curriculum-based Community Engagement programs bring dance education to community centers, colleges, public libraries, and public elementary, middle, and high schools across the state. School of Nashville Ballet brings world-class dance instruction to students age two and up. To learn more about Nashville Ballet, please visit nashvilleballet.com. Nashville Ballet receives public funding from Metro Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions from local, regional, and national institutional funders and community partners, as well as hundreds of generous individuals, provide ongoing support of Nashville Ballet’s mission-critical programs.
Nashville’s Nutcracker will air December 18th at 7pm. To tune in, watch on NewsChannel 5 (WTVF Nashville), NewsChannel 5+, or the WTVF app that can be found on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Amazon Alexa, and Google Play. The performance will re-air on December 24th at 7pm on NewsChannel5+ and December 25th at 3pm on NewsChannel 5.
