PARKERSBURG - The Schrader Youth Ballet Co. will present its annual holiday performance on Saturday, with a slight difference from previous years.
The ballet company is joining with the Parkersburg Art Center at Eighth and Market streets for a combined program this year, and the performance will move from its previous venue at the Smoot Theatre to the stage of the Parkersburg Actors Guild Playhouse, just across from the art center on Market Street.
The show entitled "The Nutcracker (Clara's Dream)" will be presented in two performances, at 2 and 8 p.m. Prior to both shows, a reception will be held at 12:30 and 6 p.m. at the art center with refreshments.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. Reservations and tickets for the receptions and performances can be made at the SYBC studio at 601 Market St. from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, by phone at 304-485-0181 or at the door prior to each performance.
More than 40 dancers will perform in the classic holiday story of a little girl and her magical dream of Sugarplum Fairies, Nutcracker Princes and dancing snowflakes, said Schrader director Velma Schrader.
"The Nutcracker" is a Christmas ballet based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffman, and is performed all over the world during this time of the year. It was first produced in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892 with choreography by Lev Ivanov and music by Tchaikovsky. It was later presented in the United States, in New York City, in 1940 by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
The version presented each year by Schrader's young ballet dancers was choreographed for the company by the late Duncan Noble, who was a member of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and later became an acclaimed instructor, Schrader said. It has now been restaged by Schrader for the youth company, with assistance from instructors Robert Royce, Stephanie Semones and Erin Augenstein.
For this season's production, two dancers will portray the central character of Clara. Emily Yanok will dance as Young Clara, who falls asleep after her parents' holiday party. Her dream begins as the second act when Allie Price will dance as Older Clara.
A performance for school children will take place Friday at 12:30 p.m. at the Guild Playhouse. All tickets for that performance are $4.
The project is supported in part by the Ohio River Border Initiative, a joint project of the Ohio Arts Council and the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
