Photo: THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER Meets Senator Corey Booker While Performing at New Jersey Performing Arts Center
The Hip Hop Nutcracker travels to Bethesda, MD this week.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky's 130-year-old ballet reimagined as a holiday dance spectacle, brought the show back home to New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Newark this past weekend while celebrating the show's 10th season. On Saturday, December 17th, the creative team, cast and crew along with hip hop pioneer and MC, Kurtis Blow, met United States senator from New Jersey Corey Booker.
Check out the photo below!
The touring production features hip-hop pioneer Kurtis Blow, the first rapper to be signed by a major label in 1979. Blow is considered one of hip hop's founding fathers and will perform as the MC of The Hip Hop Nutcracker. The tour includes a cast of a dozen all-star dancers, an on-stage DJ, and an electric violinist who turns the beloved Nutcracker score on its head.
Created in 2013 by director/choreographer Jennifer Weber (Oliver nominated and Emmy winner) and writer Mike Fitelson, The Hip Hop Nutcracker pays homage to the original (George) Balanchine ballet, retold through the modern, self-expressive gaze of hip-hop culture. The production has evolved into a masterpiece due to the creators' never-ending commitment to enhancing the production, and dancers who continue to raise the bar each year. To date, The Hip Hop Nutcracker has been performed more than 200 times in 70 cities.
Photo Credit: Norman DeShong
Corey Booker and The Cast of The Hip Hop Nutcracker
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