Brooklyn Ballet Honors Holiday Tradition With Free Live Performances Of NUTCRACKER HIGHLIGHTS

Brooklyn Ballet, a unique and interdisciplinary dance company will present highlights from its critically acclaimed and culturally inclusive production of The Brooklyn Nutcracker. Despite the continued performance pause for the entire New York performing arts community. The Brooklyn Nutcracker in the Jewel Box will offer audiences nine free opportunities, from December 10 to 13, to experience the magic of this timeless production live from outside Brooklyn Ballet's home studio space for the whole family to enjoy.

Highlights of The Brooklyn Nutcracker in the Jewel Box will be held Thursday-Sunday, December 10-13, 2020.

The first of its kind, this production fuses ballet, hip-hop, and an array of world dance genres to create a culturally inclusive production that celebrates dances and artists from around the globe. With a cast that typically invites 70 dancers, from student to professional, highlights this year will include solos and small socially distant groups of dancers recreating the culturally integrated Nutcracker dances that are a hallmark of Brooklyn Ballet's work. Performed in the company's studio turned jewel box performance space, enchanting windows will give way to the beloved scenes that mark the holiday season with magic, hope, and community.

With a strong commitment to honor and authentically represent the vibrant and multicultural history of Brooklyn, passerby audiences will experience the African rhythms of the traditional Flamenco Spanish dancer and her "Palmeros," an authentic Middle Eastern belly dancer, afro-modern dancers, hip-hop pop 'n' lockers, and the iconic dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

"This production began nearly 10 years ago on a Brooklyn street corner with a dance collaboration between a petite ballerina and a large hip-hop dancer," recalls Brooklyn Ballet founder and artistic director Lynn Parkerson. "It seems fitting during this most unusual year to reconnect with our community in this intimate way, back on the streets of our great borough, giving dancers a chance to dance again and offering audiences a live Nutcracker experience, cherished by so many."

The company will also offer a festive "Selfie Window" dressed up for the season and dedicated to capturing the memories of the evening, designed by The Brooklyn Nutcracker's art director, Avram Finklestein.

These performances are dedicated to the memory of Nakotah LaRance (1989-2020), an extraordinary artist and beloved cast member of The Brooklyn Nutcracker.