December 18-19, 2009 at Mitchell Hall
Make Mid-Atlantic Ballet's production of The Nutcracker a tradition and celebrate the season with a holiday treat for your entire family!
Three Shows
Friday, December 18 @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, December 19 @ 1:00 and 5:00 pm
Tickets may be ordered online or by phone through Ticketmaster or purchased in person or by phone from University of Delaware box offices. Please note that online and phone orders will involve an additional convenience charge.
Attention Girl Scout Leaders: Bring your troop to see a performance of MAB's Nutcracker and then join us again on January 16th at 3pm for a free workshop to complete your Dance Badge. Please contact the studio for complete information at 302-266-6362.
About the Ballet
The Nutcracker was commissioned in 1891 by the director of the Imperial Theaters in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was to be a follow-up to the successful collaboration between choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910) and composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) on The Sleeping Beauty. Neither man seemed happy with the results of their new work, however. While Petipa undoubtedly oversaw the choreography for The Nutcracker, he either fell ill or washed his hands of the ballet, leaving much of the work to his assistant, Lev Ivanov. Upon finishing the score, Tchaikovsky wrote that his music was “infinitely poorer than The Sleeping Beauty.” The Nutcracker premiered in 1892 to tepid reviews and was infrequently performed until the mid-20th century when George Balanchine choreographed a new full-length version for the New York City Ballet. Since then it has become the most frequently performed classical ballet in the world. Mid-Atlantic Ballet has performed The Nutcracker annually since 2004.
Guest Artists
Michael Gross: Dad/Sugar Plum Cavilier
Steven Vaughn: Drosselmeyer/Coffee
Michael Gross (Colorado Springs, CO) is a recent graduate of the University of Arizona with a B.F.A. in Dance, under the direction of Jory Hancock. He received much of his training from Colorado Jazz Dance Company in Colorado Springs and has also attended several summer intensives at the American Academy of Ballet. Michael has worked with an array of choreographers including Sam Watson, Douglas Nielsen, and Susan Wuinn, and has performed master works by Frank Chaves and George Balanchine, among others. After two summers as a River North Chicago summer apprentice, Michael is ecstatic to join the company for his first season, and cannot thank his family and friends enough for all of their support.
Steven Vaughn was born in Iowa City, Iowa, and grew up dancing all over the Midwest and Massachusetts at various dance studios. While attending the University of the Arts in Philadelphia (graduating in May 2009 with a BFA in Modern Dance), he has been given the opportunity to perform works by Silvanna Cardell, Martha Graham, and Twyla Tharp, among others, and to present his own choreography. His college career also afforded him the privilege of working professionally with Diane Sharp-Nachsin's SHARP Dance Company; Scott Jovovich in Brandywine Ballet Theater; Zane Booker and his Smoke, Lilies and Jade Arts Initiative; and Brian Sanders' JUNK. Steven joined Parsons Dance in June 2008 as an apprentice.