A holiday favourite will return to Vancouver this month with at least a dozen Tri-City dancers popping up in two separate productions of the ballet classic.
The Goh Ballet opens its version of The Nutcracker on Thursday at The Centre while Ballet BC — in conjunction with Alberta Ballet — presents the tale at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, starting Dec. 29.
For Port Moody’s Cierra Munro, 18, a full-time day student in Goh’s youth program, she’s been in every Nutcracker put on by the company in the past seven years. She is cast as a snowflake, Dewdrop and a Spanish dancer — all of them roles she’s reprising.
However, this year’s show is somewhat different from previous events as principal dancers from China, the San Francisco Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet are included.
As well, the dancers will be accompanied by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra — led by Leslie Dala — with steps by choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes. “It’s not just a ballet,” Munro said. “There’s a magician, Russian dancing, gymnasts and so much more. There are lots of fun things to look at.”
Port Coquitlam’s Kyra Soo, 14, a Grade 9 Riverside secondary student who commutes every day to Goh for her half-day studies, portrays three characters in this year’s Tchaikovsky composition: Tall Angel, Giant Mouse and a dancer in the Waltz of the Flowers.
Soo said the Waltz is challenging because it’s en pointe, a technique that involves the dancer to stand on the tips of his or her feet.
Soo said she has also enjoyed training with the Chinese dancers. “It’s interesting to watch how they work,” she said. “There’s been some language barriers but it’s been a lot easier [communicating] than I thought.”
Meanwhile, more than 80 Lower Mainland students are part of the Ballet BC/Alberta Ballet Nutcracker, of which the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is performing.
Choreographed by Edmund Stripe with sets and costumes designed by Emmy Award-winning designer Zack Brown, the show is a remount of the Alberta BC production from 2011.
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jwarren@tricitynews.com
