| Cubans for Christmas
What's Hamilton getting for Christmas that New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto are not? The Ballet Nacional de Cuba, that's what. The prestigious Havana company, brainchild of prima ballerina Alicia Alonso, will play Hamilton Place Dec. 13 to 16 for a total of five performances. The company comes to town as guests of the local Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble whose young dancers, picked through local auditions, will be incorporated into the Cuban company's traditional version of The Nutcracker. "This is a real coup for Canada and for Hamilton," says Belma Diamante, head honcho of the CBYE. "The Cuban company hasn't played here in 31 years. Though they travel through Europe and have played many engagements in Russia, they are not scheduled to play in the United States these days because of the embargo on Cuban goods and arts." The company's last American engagements in California and New York were pretty much sold out.
Aurora dancer takes Canadian stage
A recent graduate of Aurora's Holy Spirit Catholic Elementary School, Victoria's dedication paid off when the 14-year old landed the role of Clara in the Canadian Ballet Theatre's 2006 production of The Nutcracker at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre. "I also played a butterfly (at the same time) in The Nutcracker," she said. Like most aspiring ballerinas, Victoria grew up hearing the story of The Nutcracker and was thrilled to be chosen to play the key role. She was delighted to go on a magical journey with her Nutcracker prince to battle with the Mouse King and travel to the Lands of Sweets to dance with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Soon after the curtain went down on The Nutcracker, Victoria performed in the Pas de Trois in the same theatre early this year. While aspiring to become a professional dancer, Victoria travels to Thornhill Monday to Saturday to attend the Academy of Ballet and Jazz Studio.
Successful holiday formula not a very tough nut for ballets to crack
Canada's ballet companies have packed away the tinsel and candy canes for another season and are breathing a big sigh of relief. As they crunch the numbers, it's clear that their most prized cash cow, The Nutcracker, is still producing milk. The National Ballet sold close to $2.7- million worth of Nutcracker tickets to almost 49,000 people during 24 Toronto performances of its spectacular, James Kudelka-choreographed version. That's more than the show cost to build 12 years ago and $376,000 more than the NBC expected bring in. It's a comforting cash cushion in a hard-to-predict season when the NBC has moved from the cavernous 3,170-seat Hummingbird Centre into the new 2,000-seat Four Seasons Centre. In Montreal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, fielding a Nutcracker first choreographed for the company 42 years ago by the late Fernand Nault, proportionately did even better.
Theater & Dance listings for week of April 2
Beckwith Theatre needs actors (males ages 30 to 50 and 20 to 30 and females ages 20 to 30; Beckwith Theatre, 100 New York Ave., Dowagiac; (269) 782-3443 for information.
Festival Players Guild Open Auditions
5:30 p.m. CDT today; Mainstreet Theatre, 807 Franklin St., Michigan City; (219) 874-4269; or http://www.festivalplayersguild.org">www.festivalplayersguild.org.
THEATER
Bell, Book and Candle
By Beckwith Theatre Company; concluding 2 p.m. today; Beckwith Theatre, 100 New York Ave., Dowagiac; (269) 782-3443.
The Seagull
Concluding 3 p.m. today; Umble Center, Goshen College, Goshen; (574) 535-7566; $.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
By South Bend Civic Theatre; concluding 3 p.m.
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