Hartt School Community Division Presents THE NUTCRACKER, Begins 12.16

The Hartt School Community Division (HCD) presents the timeless holiday ballet classic The Nutcracker Friday, December 16, at 7:30 PM; Saturday, December 17, at 7:30 PM; and Sunday, December 18, at 2:00 PM. All performances are held in Millard Auditorium at the University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford. Please call the University Box Office at 860.768.4228 or 800.274.8587 or visit www.hartford.edu/hartt for tickets. Admission to each performance is $30 for adults; $15 for students 12 and under; and $20 for other students and senior citizens with ID. Group and University of Hartford discount rates are not available for this production.

With staging by new Artistic Director Samantha Dunster, HCD's fully staged production of Tchaikovsky's time-honored classic transports you to a magical world. Dunster says of the ballet, "The holidays are a magical time of the year for children, and Hartt's production of The Nutcracker truly evokes the spirit of the season. HCD's production is performed both by and for young people. Professional guest artists dance cameo roles in our production - dancing along side, inspiring, and mentoring our students throughout the entire process - yet the focus of this production remains exactly where it should be, on our young artists. Featured roles, such as the Sugar Plum Fairy, are danced by our own advanced dancers, which gives them a unique level of experience that other schools do not typically provide."

Alexis Aiudi of Avon and Karma Woodcock of South Windsor dance the starring role of Clara, each at different performances. Gabrielle Collins of West Hartford is featured as the Snow Queen and Kathryn Manger of West Hartford is the Sugar Plum Fairy. The nearly 100 corps members - ranging in age from 5 to 18, and from discovery level study through HCD's elite pre-professional intensive ballet program - hail from a number of area towns, including Avon, Bloomfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Kensington, Newington, Simsbury, South Windsor, Suffield, Tarrifville, Tolland, Unionville, and West Hartford. The company also features Katrina Schmidt, a former HCD student now training at Joffrey Ballet School in New York, NY.

Andrew Matte '15, a Hartt BFA student from Jaffrey, NH, dances the role of the Cavalier, and Stephen Pier, formerly of the Royal Danish Ballet and José Limón Dance Company and current Director of Hartt's collegiate Dance Division, appears as Uncle Drosselmeyer.

Truly a Hartt and Hartford dance community collaboration, severAl Hartt and HCD dance faculty, former Hartford Ballet dancers (HCD is a legacy of the School of the Hartford Ballet), and another BFA student also share the stage. Each performance also features special guest appearances by local celebrities, including Better Connecticut hosts Scot Haney and Kara Sundlun, University of Harford alumnus and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, and Hartt Dean Aaron Flagg.

Special Company Appearances

You do not need to wait for the full performance to get in the holiday spirit. Meet performers from HCD's The Nutcracker on Thursday, December 1, at Blue Back Square's Holiday Stroll event from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, where you may have your child's photo taken with the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Performers from HCD's The Nutcracker also will appear at the Festival of Trees at the Wadsworth Atheneum, and will preview excerpts at a special Nutcracker Tea at the Elmwood Community Center on Sunday, December 4 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Tickets for the Nutcracker Tea are $10 and are available directly from the Elmwood Community Center at 860.561.8160.

On Saturday, December 10, company members from HCD's The Nutcracker will make three appearances for story time and performance: At the Simsbury Library at 752 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury at 11:00 AM; at the West Hartford Bishops Corner Library at 15 Starkel Road in West Hartford at 2:00 PM; and at Barnes & Noble in Blue Back Square, 60 Isham Road, West Hartford, at 7:00 PM.

About Artistic Director Samantha Dunster

Before coming to Hartt in 2011, Samantha Dunster served as Assistant to the Artistic Director/Ballet Mistress of Orlando Ballet (Florida) and taught at the Orlando Ballet School. Ms. Dunster began her professional training with Cristina Pora in Toronto, Canada. At the age of 17, she traveled to Havana, Cuba, to train with the National Ballet of Cuba. She continued dancing with the company of Centro Pro-Danza under the direction of Laura Alonso, where she also worked as regisseur. She earned her teaching diploma based on the Cuban Ballet training method.

Dunster has danced and taught in countries around the world such as Sweden, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina, as well as in the United States. In 1996, she accepted the position of artistic director and principal dancer of Bale da Ilha in Brazil, where she mounted numerous full evening ballets. By 2000, she became ballet mistress of Orlando Ballet under the direction of Fernando Bujones. Dunster re-choreographed La Fille Mal Gardee in 2001 and her invitation to set La Fille Mal Gardee on the National Ballet of Korea came two years later. In 2004, she was commissioned by Orlando Ballet to create a world premiere production of Camelot. In 2007, she accepted the role of assistant to the artistic director of Orlando Ballet under the direction of Bruce Marks. The following year, the pair staged the full-length Don Quixote together. Dunster also has staged several of Bruce Marks's works, including Lark Ascending, for Louisville Ballet. In 2010, Dunster served as the CanadIan Judge for the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Hartt School Community Division of the University of Hartford is a comprehensive community arts school with an accomplished faculty who provide performing arts instruction to more than 2,000 students. HCD offers a variety of lessons, classes, and ensemble opportunities in music and dance for students of all ages, experience levels, and abilities, from young children to adults, beginner to pre-professional. For more information on The Hartt School Community Division, visit www.hcd.hartford.edu.

The Hartt School is the performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920, Hartt has been an integral part of the University of Hartford since its charter merged the then Hartt School of Music, the Hartford Art School, and Hillyer College to create the University in 1957. 2010 markEd Hartt's 90th year of providing world class performing arts education to students in Greater-Hartford and around the world. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt's curriculum. For more information about The Hartt School, visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.