Yellowstone Ballet Company, under the direction of Kathleen Rakela, presents its 31st annual community production of Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic The Nutcracker at 2pm on Sunday, December 18th at the Willson Auditorium in Bozeman.
Encouraging families to attend, every adult ticket purchase qualifies for a free child’s ticket. Children can attend as a Nutcracker characters and compete for one of three gift certificates from the Rocky Mountain Toy Company. The costume contest will occur during intermission and every participant will receive a small gift.
YBC’s The Nutcracker is not just for children. Professional dancers along with gold medalist Nicole Assaad, formerly of Hong Kong Ballet, bring the show to life. Assaad will dance the role of Clara along with the Sugar Plum Fairy variation and the grand pas de deux with Luis Victor Santana, formerly of Ballet Nacional de Cuba.
Joining Assaad and Santana are Bozeman’s artistically passionate and delightful Raison D’être Dance Project under the direction of Erin Levi and Genevieve Trygstad-Burke. They join the production with their spectacular choreography in the Snow Scene, Waltz of the Flowers and Chinese. Rancher/Ballerina, Annie Valle, of Martinsdale Ballet performs as the Snow Queen and also in the Arabian Dance. Aerial Arts of Bozeman will perform a heavenly dance up on the silks for the angel’s opening sequence in Act 2. You won’t want to miss the spectacular flying angels!
Forty dancers from Yellowstone Ballet Academy as well as actors and dancers from Gallatin, Park and Meagher Counties compliment the professional cast.
Reserved tickets for Yellowstone Ballet’s Nutcracker are available at www.yellowstoneballet.info. Admission ranges $25–$70.
YBC is under the artistic direction of founder Kathleen Rakela, a recipient of the Montana Arts Council Fellowship for the Performing Arts. The company has been featuring local, national and international dance talent in the Park and Gallatin counties since 1990. Rakela also runs the Yellowstone Ballet Academy. Her students have received scholarships to world-class ballet training centers and have danced professionally around the world. •
