Dance Now Presents Contemporary NUTRACKER & Italy's Opus Ballet December 10

What includes a taste of Italy's vibrant dance scene and a new, contemporary spin on the classic ballet The Nutcracker? That would be Dance NOW! Miami's Program I, on Saturday, December 10, when this leading Florida ensemble world premieres their new piece Clara and share the stage with Compagnia Opus Ballet, direct from Florence for their U.S. debut. Taking place at the Miami Theater Center in Miami Shores, the evening will be an unusual - and racy - season performance.

Clara is a reimagining of The Nutcracker, and charts the journey of a young woman, exploring and experiencing the exotic, the unknown and the forbidden, in search of love, identity and self-determination. Featuring a score from Berlin-based composer Davidson Jaconello, drawn from the original Tchaikovsky music, it is choreographed by Dance NOW! Miami Artistic Directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. "This is definitely not your abuela's Nutcracker," says Baumgarten. "It is sexy, modern and a whole new way to experience this holiday favorite."

When Dance NOW! previously traveled to Italy, they had a chance to collaborate with Compagnia Opus Ballet. With this program, the up and coming contemporary dance ensemble will be making their U.S. debut. They will perform an excerpt from The Four Seasons, an homage to the Renaissance, and the iconic Vivaldi music used as the score, choreographed by the company's longtime collaborator Aurelie Mounier. Their second piece will be Ototeman, choreographed by Sofia Galvan and Stefania Menestrina, who also perform this light, playful work with a popular music score. Diego Salterini adds, "It is a special pleasure to do a joint program in Miami with this vibrant, exciting company, as I myself was born and raised in Italy."

The evening will also include And First They Slaughtered the Angels, a 1974 work from Daniel Lewis, former Limón Dance Company Artistic Director and the Founding Dean of the Dance Department at the New World School of the Arts. Lewis will restage this social satire, which includes music by Johann Pachelbel, Hector Berlioz, and Otto Luening, and characters from Hells Angels bikers to actual heavenly angels, on the full Dance NOW! Miami company.

During their week in South Florida, Compagnia Opus Ballet will offer classes in public schools for youth throughout Miami-Dade County, as well as master classes for professional dancers at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. For more information visit www.dancenowmiami.org.

Tickets are all open seating and are $40 in advance, and $45 day of the show, for the general public, and $25 for Miami Shores resident. Advance tickets can be purchased only at www.dancenowmiami.org/events/program1. Student tickets $5 in advance only at www.cultureshockmiami.com. The Miami Theater Center 9806 NE 2nd Ave, Miami Shores, is fully wheelchair accessible, with adjacent on-street parking. To request materials in accessible format, or any disability accommodation, visit www.dancenowmiami.org or contact Dance NOW! at (305) 975-8489 and info@dancenowmiami.org. This performance includes some profanity, adult themes and content, and is not recommended for children under 13.

Other Dance NOW! 2022/23 season events include: February 12, Dance and Romance, a Valentine's Day Concert, Miami Beach Woman's Club; March 4, Program II: Tribe, Unplugged and Area 52, presented by and at Miami Theater Center; April 9, Easter at the Garden with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble, Miami Beach Botanical Garden; May 11 to 13, Program III: featuring the Relativity of Icarus and other works, Duncan Theatre/Lake Worth 5/11, Amaturo Theater/Broward Center for the Arts 5/12, Aventura Arts & Cultural Center 5/13; and June 12 to 23, World Dance Summer Intensive, Little Haiti Cultural Complex.