A buzz of energy could be felt backstage at the International Ballet’s dress rehearsal of ‘The Nutcracker’ on Dec. 12.
Dancers dressed as party guests, toy soldiers, rats and snowflakes prepared to perform a final run of the show before opening night on Friday. Three sold out performances of the holiday classic were staged at the Peace Center from Dec. 13-15.
International Ballet has performed the ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Peace Center for the past 21 years. Sarah Shoemaker, president of International Ballet, said ‘The Nutcracker’ serves as the crown jewel of the season for the local dance company.
‘The Nutcracker’ follows the story of a girl named Clara who receives a Nutcracker doll for Christmas. The doll magically turns into a prince who fights off the Mouse King and takes Clara on a journey to a magical land.
Vlada Kysselova, artistic director of International Ballet, and Hennadii Bespechnyi choreographed the local company’s production of “The Nutcracker.” The Greenville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lee Mills, performed the classical music composed by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky for the shows. The Greenville Youth Chorale also provided vocals during the snow scene in Act 1.
Ninety-two preprofessional company dancers and academy students from International Ballet prepared for this year’s performances of ‘The Nutcracker’ since September. The local dancers range from 8 to 18 years old.
Three guest artists joined the dancers on stage at the Peace Center including Victoria Jaiani from the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and Ukrainian character dancer Denys Simon. Brooklyn Mack, formerly of the Orlando, Florida, and Washington ballets, played the Nutcracker prince and Cavalier. Mack said International Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” is the most grand production he has seen a dance school put on.
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“It’s a pretty cool story and hopefully the audience can just feel a little bit of magic and wonder,” Mack said.
To learn more about the production, visit internationalballetsc.org/performances-events.
Did you know?
International Ballet’s performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ features over 100 costumes. These costumes along with the production’s sets were created at the opera house in Kiev, Ukraine.
See more rehearsal photos below.
