The Etowah Youth Orchestras and the Downtown Dance Conservatory will partner again to present encore performances of “Le Casse-noix Modern (The Modern Nutcracker)” on Saturday, December 17th, and Sunday, December 18th, at Wallace Hall on the campus of Gadsden State Community College. The performances are sponsored in part by The Exchange Bank of Alabama. Saturday night’s performance is at 7 PM, and the Sunday afternoon matinee is at 2 PM. Tickets for both shows can be purchased at www.wallacehall.org.
“Le Casse-noix Moderne” is a new take on the traditional holiday classic “The Nutcracker” that encompasses every form of music from the 1920’s to the present time. Each section of the show is presented in a different musical style, with the choreography combining traditional classical ballet and contemporary dance. The collaboration creates a retrospective of modern music and classical ballet, with all of the magic and familiarity of the timeless holiday classic.
Along with hearing fresh, contemporary orchestrations and arrangements of the original music by EYO Music Director Mike Gagliardo and EYO Composer-In-Residence James Woodward, audiences will also experience an entirely new staging to the traditional version of “The Nutcracker.” With an all female cast, DDC Director and Choreographer Linze McRae had restaged and rescripted the show, and rechoreographed many elements of the storyline to add new twists and turns at every corner. The collaboration creates a “Nutcracker” that excites and involves the audience with a modern approach to the music and choreography. With handpainted sets and many original costume designs, the show features fast paced choreography that will excite audiences of all ages.
The premiere performances of “Le Casse-noix Moderne” were presented in December of 2010. In addition to the performances in Gadsden, the EYO and the DDC will present the show in New York City at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater on the campus of John Jay College on Thursday, December 29th, at 7 PM. Tickets for this show may be purchased at www.dciny.org.
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