Dance The World Nutcracker Festival is a Delightfully Unexpected Twist on the Classic, and will play at The Secret Theatre, December 15 – December 20, 2015.
Set to Duke Ellington’s jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Act 1 opens on a hoppin’ holiday party in a NYC Brownstone at the height of the roaring 20’s. At the party, Clara receives a nutcracker doll from her mysterious aunt Drossa Myer. Little does she know that the Nutcracker has a magical spell cast upon it. Later that night the Nutcracker conjures a magical snowstorm that carries Clara on a magical adventure to the 1922 World’s Fair in Rio De Janiero. In Act 2, the World’s Fair, audiences will be treated to performances by a host of New York City’s cultural dance companies.
This production celebrates the diverse cultures that call New York City home and aims to educate audiences about various kinds of cultural dance and music.
FESTIVAL DETAILS
Program A (Tuesday Dec. 15th, 8pm/ Friday Dec. 17th, 8pm)
Dalia Carella – Turkish Gypsy Dance
Dalia Carella Dance Collective – Dances from Egypt
GORANA Bulgarian Folk Dance Company – Bulgarian Folk Dance
Program B (Wednesday Dec 16th, 8pm/Saturday Dec. 19th, 7pm)
Yang Wang- Chinese Folk Dance
Danse Xpressions Dance Co – African & Hatian Dance
Reaction Dance Company – Bollywood Fusion
Program C (Thursday Dec.18th 8pm/ Sunday Dec. 20th 3pm)
Harika Chatlapalli – Kuchipudi Classical Indian Dance
FIYAH Dancehall Theater – Jamaican Dancehall
Xochipilli Dance Ensamble – Mexican Folkloric Dance
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Where: The Secret Theatre, 44-02 23rd St, Long Island City, NYC, NY 11101, (718) 392- 0722
Tickets: $25 General Admission, $20 Students/Seniors/Artists – tickets on sale now.
Running time: approx. 1 hour, 15 minutes, including intermission.
MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Why the Nutcracker? The Nutcracker is one of the most attended and most widely recognized dance productions in the USA. There are people who do not attend dance performances regularly, but will go see The Nutcracker each year as part of their holiday traditions. We thought it would be interesting to take the production and reinvent it in a way that presents all different types of dance and music that the audience might not otherwise see, and hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the diversity that is a part of dance, and a part of American culture as a whole.
What is Cultural Dance? We define world/cultural dance as dance that is an authentic representation of an artist’s culture, nationality, heritage, and/or ethnicity. We want each artist to interpret this definition for themselves. The festival will feature contemporary work, fusions of both contemporary and traditional styles, as well as works that aim to preserve traditional dance practices of a particular nation. We welcome a variety of perspectives on the term “cultural”.
JP Dance Group (JPDG) is a contemporary dance company founded in 2013 by Artistic Director/Choreographer Julie Petrusak and is dedicated to inspiring, educating and entertaining its audiences. We believe that dance is the ideal format for storytelling and strive to deliver powerful dance narratives that resonate with people of all ages and walks of life. JPDG blends dance and drama to connect with the audience in a unique way and to share our stories. JPDG truly believes that dance moves everyone and is dedicated to promoting diversity in dance and making the arts accessible to all. Based in Harlem, the company regularly presents work in New York City and aims to expand its reach to new audiences throughout the metropolitan area. Through a partnership with Riverbank State Park’s Young People Performance Series, the company provides free dance performances to approximately 2,500 children and senior citizens each year. (http://jpdancegroup.org).