Seventeen Summit Students to Star in "The Nutcracker"

SEVENTEEN SUMMIT STUDENTS TO STAR IN “THE NUTCRACKER”

Production Features Internationally Renowned Guest Artists

“A mesmerizing production of ‘The Nutcracker’” – Union News Daily

SUMMIT, NJ – Seventeen students from Summit, New Jersey are joining renowned professional guest artists for this year’s full-length production of New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble’s (NJDTE) beloved holiday classic “The Nutcracker.” Ranging in age from Elementary School students through High School students, dancers include Annelise Claus, Farrah Claus, Sutton Girr, Donald Grennon, Talia Kooch, Grace Leoni, Ben Levkov, Eden Levkov, Gabriella Meza, Allison Miller, Kelly Wang Nie, Kate Petrella, Valerie Rios, Alina Slotwinski, Julia Speer, Charlotte Wesson, and Charlotte Zann.

An extraordinary group of international dance artists, including Princess Grace Award recipient Lyvan Esteban Verdicia of Ballet Hispanico as Father/Russian/Arabian, and Marie-Lorène Fichaux, formerly of Paris Opera Ballet and currently with the Lyon Opera Ballet dancing the classic role of Sugar Plum Fairy, join the Ensemble for three captivating performances. Mikhail Ilyin, formerly of Miami City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, will appear as her Cavalier. Also joining the cast are celebrated dancers Christopher Bloom of Ballet Hispanico in the role of Drosselmeyer/Mother Gigone, and as the Grandmother, former New Jersey Ballet prima ballerina Rosemary Sabovick-Bleich

Says Donald Grennon, NJDTE Ensemble Member and eighth grader at Lawton C. Johnson Middle School who is perfroming the Soloist Roles of Mouse King and Lead Chinese, “Being in The Nutcracker provides you with a terrific feeling of camaraderie with other cast members, and a tremendous sense of accomplishment as you see all of your hard work paying off in the final rehearsals. I am super excited about The Nutcracker, because I’ve never prepared as much for a role as I have for the Mouse King.”

Performances are at Memorial Auditorium at Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ on Saturday, December 9 at 1:00pm and 5:00pm, and Sunday, December 10 at 2:00pm. Tickets are $35 Adult & $25 Child/Student/Senior, and are available at njdte.tix.com.

Photo credit: Samantha Wolf by Veranika Antanevich

WHO: New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble

WHAT: “The Nutcracker”

WHERE: Memorial Auditorium at Montclair State University | 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07043

WHEN: Saturday, December 9, 2017 at 1pm & 5pm

1pm Post-Performance Nutcracker “Behind the Scenes” VIP PASS

Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 2pm

TICKETS: On Sale Now at http://njdte.tix.com

$35 Adult | $25 Child/Student/Senior | $10 VIP PASS

ABOUT NJDTE:

New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble’s forward-thinking programming empowers dancers with contemporary technologies as well as traditional dance forms. NJDTE, located in Summit, NJ, provides the highest quality, pre-professional training to aspiring dancers through professional experiences with world-renowned dancers, teachers, choreographers, and musicians. Founded in 1969 under the direction of internationally acclaimed ballet master Alfredo Corvino, and led by award-winning Artistic Director Nancy Turano since 1994, NJDTE has maintained a successful dance curriculum with an unparalleled outcome of artistic excellence. NJDTE has been acknowledged for creating innovative training and mentoring programs for dancers and choreographers in the New York City metro area, including MOVEMENT INVENTION PROJECTÒ, MIP2Ò, AiRÒ contemporary choreographic residencies, and INKUBATEÒ, a site-specific dance installation series at Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, NJ. NJDTE mentors dancers toward higher education and professionalism in dance and provides its alumni with employment opportunities as NJDTE guest artists, faculty, choreographers and staff. www.njdte.org