The Nutcracker

Ballet Nebraska’s second production of its 2011-12 season was the classic holiday ballet The Nutcracker.

Area schoolchildren enjoyed a performance of Act II at the IWCC Arts Center on Thursday, December 1, 2011. Public performances were:

IWCC Arts Center Dec. 2, 2011, 7:30 pm

Tickets sold through Arts Center box office at 712-388-7140.

Omaha Music Hall, Dec. 4, 2011 , 2:00 pm
Tickets sold by Ticketmaster or at 800-745-3000.

Cozad Auditorium, Dec. 15, 2011, 7:30 pm
Tickets available through Cozad Arts Council at 402-699-1953, Cozad Chamber Office and JM’s Gifts.

In conjunction with the production, the Ballet Nebraska Guild hosted a benefit Nutcracker Tea Party on November 27 at Omaha’s Historic Joslyn Castle. The sold-out event featured activities, refreshments, a boutique, and performances of excerpts from the ballet. The Omaha World-Herald’s Karen Sundell covered the event in the newspaper’s “Around and About” column.

A copy of the Nutcracker program book can be downloaded here (59 mb).

Enthusiastic reception

The performances were well-attended and enthusiastically received by audiences and the news media. Council Bluffs Nonpareil reviewer Teri Davis wrote:

“The Nutcracker was magnificently staged for a packed audience… This particular production was outstanding in costuming, sets, stage management, and involving numerous area children as integral and interactive members of the ballet company.

“This story set to dance, which was brilliantly choreographed by Erika Overturff and Matthew Carter, was easy to follow with only dance and the music. I was amazed at how well this production was staged with every character being totally and realistically involved… truly a magical experience for both the performers and the audience.”

Omaha World-Herald reviewer Kim Carpenter wrote:

“Erika Overturff, the company’s artistic director and founder, choreographed the delightful family-oriented 90-minute performance, one that adhered to Tchaikovsky’s beloved ballet while adding lively new interpretations that made the traditional story fresh and fun.”

Original page

The following is the original text of the production’s promo page:

Everyone knows The Nutcracker as the ballet that has become a holiday tradition and a favorite of families for generations.

Ballet Nebraska’s fresh, lively, and thoroughly entertaining production is sure to become a favorite in your family, transporting you into the enchanting world of a child’s beautiful dreams.

What sets Ballet Nebraska’s Nutcracker apart are its careful attention to clear storytelling and its masterful balance of reality and fantasy. Even the youngest theatergoer will identify with the young heroine, Clara, and follow eagerly as her lively imagination leads her on a wonderful journey filled with colorful characters: the hair-raising Rat Queen, dazzling dancers from many lands, the beautiful Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier… and, of course, the Nutcracker Prince!

Nutcracker video highlights* (from our 2010 premiere production in Spirit Lake, Iowa; requires HTML5-compatible browser):