(Berkshires, Mass.) Oct 29, 2012 – Gadsden youth have been selected to perform alongside 40 Moscow Ballet professionals in the 20^th Anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker at the Wallace Fine Arts Center Palace Theater Tue, Nov 20 7:30pm. Downtown Dance Conservatory is the host studio for Moscow Ballet’s Student Program and a Moscow Ballet soloist is Audition and Rehearsal Director. Every year since 1993, Moscow Ballet has engaged local ballet students and host studios in cities on the North American tour, offering them the most unusual opportunity of auditioning, rehearsing and performing in a professional setting. Cathy Napolitano-Mucci hosted the auditions in her studio, Dance Center North, for the first Great Russian Nutcracker tour and has done so every year since that the company is in town. “I know from watching my students grow and advance since the very first Moscow Ballet tour, that this is one of the most significant experiences a young dancer can have. It lifts them up and humbles them all at the same time,” remarks Cathy Mucci, “I am honored to have been Moscow Ballet’s host dance studio for 20 years.” Children ages 7 to 16, under 5”2” and with some ballet training are eligible to audition.

Selected student dancers in Act I are Party Children:  Lilly Keene, Tobi Akisanya, Kara Livesay, Kate Snead, Karli Anne Allred, Carli Astin, Lindsey Cotton, Samantha Lacy, McCain Foster, Emily Cothran, Anna Voss, Emma Kamran, Kathryn Garrett, Ella Howard.  Snowflakes: Sarah Guffey, Betsy Howard, Libby Freeman, Kylie Swinford, Katie Giles, Mary Ann Rickles, Rachael Wilson, Anna Leigh Hand, Ella Keene, Lauren Daves. Snow Maiden Soloists: Emily Snow, Erin Snow, Brynn Morton, Kylei Strahan Snow Maidens: Madelyn Strain, Ella Ann Cornutt, Julianna Hayes, Alexis Valentine, Amanda Valentine, Anna Bryant, Haley Moore, Alexandria Farley, Brecklyn Parker, Lydia Scott, Ensley Williamson, Amy Kate Sutherland, Hannah Cothran, Aislyn Godfrey. Dancers in Act II’s variations are Spanish Sentinels: Halaya Harmon and Azalea McRae. Spanish Corps de Ballet: Morgan Henegar and Paloma Starr. Chinese Sentinels: Sara Catheryne Freeman and Rebecca Ayres. Russian Sentinels: Casey Rickles and Morgan Strain. Russian Corps de Ballet: Emily Bryant, Elyssa Simpson and Alexis Nail.  French Sentinels: Ella Keene and Mallory Lacy. For tickets go to www.nutcracker.com. For groups of ten or more, call 800-320-1733 x15.

 Downtown Dance Conservatory, planted in the heart of historic downtown Gadsden, Alabama, offers quality classical and contemporary dance education for the primary to pre-professional level dancer. Located in the historical Kyle Building of the Hardin Center, the facility houses three well-equipped studios. With an enrollment of more than 300 dedicated students training on a weekly basis, the Conservatory’s influence also spans throughout the surrounding community. Artistic Director, Linze McRae, holds the Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies of the Royal Academy of Dance, graduating from ballet training  in London, England.  The Downtown Dance Conservatory works in association with the internationally recognized Royal Academy of Dance, Alabama Dance Council, and is a full member of National Guild of Community Schools for the Arts through the Gadsden Community School for the Arts.  

Over 20 Years 50,000+ Children Receive Arts Enrichment – Moscow Ballet’s 20th anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker celebrates the 50,000+ student dancers (an average of 50 students in 50 cities over 20 years time) who have performed along-side the Russian cast of 40 on annual North American tours.  The commitment to deliver children’s programming, in tandem with acclaimed ballet performances, began twenty years earlier when Moscow Ballet producers, then working with Connecticut Dance Theatre, invited Dance Theater of Harlem directors to work with their Hartford students. Among those dedicated students was Charmaine Hunter who went on to become star of Arthur Mitchell’s Fire Bird.  Other children’s programming includes 1984 “Cynthia Gregory Celebration Tour” with the “Just Say No” campaign as it’s official message and chaired by First Lady Nancy Reagan; Russian-Cultural Ballet program produced in museums and art institutions; “Cinderella Around the World” dance and literacy program; and “First International Glasnost Festival Tours” included symposiums, screenings, poetry readings, and more for students and public at Dartmouth, Yale, and other colleges.  Today Moscow Ballet offers all children New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life addressing diet, exercise and creative expression through interactive experiences with Moscow Ballet dancers.  www.nutcracker.com/support/history

Moscow Ballet’s 20^th Anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker features 11 time award-winning principal dancer Olga Kifyak in her North American debut; new “Dove of Peace” choreography in which 2 dancers become one soaring bird – a feat that must be seen to be believed; company of 40 women and men; Christmas Tree that grows to 5 stories tall; playful 10’ tall silk puppets; 200 all new, hand-made costumes; and falling snow.

Russian cultural elements include a Troika styled sleigh escorted by Ded Moroz (Father Christmas) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) and 9 hand-painted backdrops by Valentin Federov, set to Tchaikovsky’s complete Nutcracker Suite score. For 20 years Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker performances have introduced the finest Russian ballerinas and danseurs to audiences across North America. Great Russian Nutcracker - 20 years of acclaim, 20 years of soaring holiday spirit! www.nutcracker.com 

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