Catskill Mountain Foundation Welcomes Return of Holiday Ballet Classic THE NUTCRACKER

The Catskill Mountain Foundation is set to welcome the return of the favorite holiday ballet, The Nutcracker, for one weekend only December 7 - 9, 2018 at The Orpheum Film and Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main Street, Tannersville, NY.

This year, for the first time, Victoria Rinaldi is partnering with the Petrov Ballet School and the American Ballet Theater Jackie Kennedy Onassis School of Dance. Pre-professional dancers from Petrov Ballet will perform the corps roles, while ABT JKO dancers will perform the two main roles of the 2nd Act.

Petrov Ballet School Artistic Director and Founder, Eugene Petrov is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, and has over 20 years of teaching experience at all levels. Since opening in 2008, Petrov Ballet School has provided quality training and appreciation for the art of classical ballet.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, named after the prior First Lady and longtime ABT Honorary Chairman, is a ballet training program for young dancers, enabling children to reach their highest potential. At its inception, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School had only 10 students and has since grown to enroll nearly 430 dancers per academic year. Under the direction of former ABT Principal Dancer and current JKO School Artistic Director Cynthia Harvey, students receive the best technical training with ABT's National Training Curriculum.

What makes this production of The Nutcracker a popular holiday treat, is the local participation of both children and adults cast in Act 1 as party children and party parents, toy soldiers, mice, and angels. While local children and adults do not need prior dance training to be part of the onstage magic, they have a chance to work alongside seasoned and trained dancers, many of whom have been coached privately by Victoria, or taught at her community class at CMF's Red Barn in Hunter, NY.

About the value of The Nutcracker, Victoria Rinaldi says, "All of our classics should be protected, and some of what I'm presenting in the first act would be exactly the same as someone doing a Shakespeare soliloquy. That sounds very dry and boring, but these are pieces that are historically accurate and come from a very valuable place that should not be lost."

For five years Victoria Rinaldi, has shared her love of dance with many aspiring young local dancers with the help of the Catskill Mountain Foundation. Through intense pre-professional training for unusually talented local children, The American Dream, a yearly school dance performance, and The Catskill Mountain Foundation's annual Nutcracker, hundreds of lives have been transformed. Many of the mountaintop children expressed a desire to learn to dance after they had performed in The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker, a Christmas present given to a young girl, comes to life as a handsome prince and fantastic adventures ensue. Marvel at the unforgettable battle between The Nutcracker with his Toy Soldiers and The Mouse King with his fighting mice; or the moment when Harlequin and Columbine, life-sized dolls emerge dancing from giant presents; and the young girl arriving in the land of sweets where she meets the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Victoria Rinaldi says, "Participation in the Nutcracker and the Community Class has taught our local children, discipline, musicality, mastery over muscles and grace. They have learned to take correction, set goals, work with others, control their impulses and to always strive to do their best."

Nutcracker Performances are Friday, December 7, 2018, 7:30 pm, Saturday, December 8, 2 pm, Saturday, December 8, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, December 9, 2:00 pm at The Orpheum Film & Performing Arts Center, 6050 Main Street, Tannersville, NY. Ticket purchased in advance are $7 for students, $20 for seniors and $25 for adults and at the door: $7 for students, $25 for seniors and $30 for adults. For more information, please call (518) 263-2063 or visit our ticketing website here.

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