American Dance Institute’s Youth Ensemble will perform a shorter version, just an hour long, of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

Children an experience the magic of the story and dance in  less intimidating setting and more relaxed environment.

The performances will be held in the intimate 140-seat world-class facility, where children can get a close up view of the performance by ADI students and instructors.

The Nutcracker
The American Dance Institute
1570 E, Jefferson Street
Rockville, Maryland  20852 (map it)
301-984-3003

Dates and Times – Saturday and Sunday, December 20 and 21, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Tickets – Adults – $20.00, Seniors and children 12 and under -$10.00. Contact the Institute at tickets@americandance.org or by phone at 301-984-3003

Nearest Metro Subway Station – Twinbrook Station – Red line, then a 10 minute walk, or take the Ride On #26 bus Glenmont – Montgomery Mall. 

Parking – Free

Image – Flickr
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Post from: The DC Traveler

Momentum Dance Theater takes Ellington’s score and takes a twist on the classic Nutcracker ballet, with the Jazz, Hip-Hop Nutcracker.  They fast-forwarded the original story and dancing to 2006. The music combines both the reworked Ellington jazz, swing and blues Nutcracker score with current hip-hop and club music.  The dancing takes on other forms by combining jazz and hip-hop dance with breakdancers and Latin dances turing it into a high-energy, updated “urbal ethnic” Nutcracker.

Rats and ninjas replace mice and soldiers, and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is swapped with the Sugar Rum Cherry. 

The lead characters are both a boy and a girl; one an over-active writer and the other a shy and withdrawn artist.  After getting their Christmas presents, a writer’s journal and a sketch book, the story and dancing springs from their imagination and leads them to discover their inner strengths through creativity.

Over 25 area children and teen dance students join the company’s professional dancers, acrobats and breakdancers in the performance.  Breakdancers will also incorporate capoeira, a Brazilian dance martial art. 

Momentum Dance Theatre
Jazz, Hip-Hip Nutcracker

Dates
December 7, 8 and 9
Prince Georges County Publick Playhouse
5445 Landover Road
Cheverly, MD 20784
301-277-1710 (Box Office)

December 15, 16 and 17
Stuart Hobson Middle School
410 E Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
202-672-0102 (Tickets)
Nearest Metro subway station – Union Station

Tickets
Adults $18.00 in advance ($2.00 more at the door), youth $12.00, kids $10.00

Check out my recent post on the Washington Ballet’s version of the Nutcracker.

Photo courtesy of Momentum Dance Theatre
 

Post from: The DC Traveler

The Nutcracker Suite ballet is a story about a seven-year-old’s favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, which comes alive on Christmas night and takes her to a magical kingdom of dancing dolls and toys that come alive after the nutcracker kills the Mouse King.

In 1844, Alexandre Dumas (writer of among other works, The Count of Monte Cristo,) adapted the original story and it was later put to music by Tchaikovsky and choreographed by Russian Imperial Ballet balletmaster, Lev Ivanov, in 1892. 

Initially not a very commercially successful ballet after it’s Russian debute, Tchaikovsky considered it one of his less successful works. 

Over fifty years later, in 1944, the San Franscisco ballet, under Willam Christensen put on successful performance of The Nutcracker, but it wasn’t until 1954, under the lead of George Balanchine’s choreography that the New York City Ballet made it the holiday tradition that it is today in the U.S.

This year, the Washington Ballet has set The Nutcracker in Washington, DC, among cherry blossoms on the Potomac River with George Washington in the title role and King George III of England as the evil Rat King.

Last year, The Washington Ballet 41st annual performance of The Nutcracker was partially cancelled due to contact issues and a subsequent strike by it’s dancers. 

The Washington Ballet
The Warner Theater
1299 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC

Dates
December 7-23

Tickets
$29.00 – $85.00

Nearest Metro subway stop
Red, Orange and Blue lines, one block walk

Photo credits: photo 1 flickr, photo 2 flickr

Post from: The DC Traveler