SALISBURY — The Eastern Shore Ballet Theatre (ESBT) will present its 29th annual full-length Nutcracker on Dec. 6-8 at the Wicomico High School Auditorium in Salisbury.
In this two-act ballet set on Christmas Eve, the young girl Clara is given a magical doll, which transforms into the Nutcracker Prince. He takes her to an enchanted forest where exquisite snowflakes come to life, and to the dazzling Land of the Sweets, home of the Sugar Plum Fairy and other scrumptious characters.
ESBT’s Nutcracker features choreography by Artistic Director Elena Manakhova-Amy, who trained at the world-famous Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet (Kirov) in St. Petersburg.
ESBT is proud to showcase a cast comprised of young dancers from the community and guest professionals Kathryn Manger and Albert Gordon of the Pennsylvania Ballet, who will dance the parts of Sugar Plum and Cavalier. Alexander Bojko, formerly a principal dancer with the Russian Ballet Theater, will perform as the Snow Prince. This year’s senior ESBT members include Kyley Springer of Laurel, Del. and Kendall Beauchamp, Kamryn Purvis and Sarah Reynolds, all of Salisbury.
This year dancers from the company visited elementary schools in Wicomico and Somerset County and performed excerpts of the Nutcracker for over 880 students. ESBT is scheduled to appear at Story Time at the Wicomico Public Library on Saturday, Nov. 30.
Since its establishment in 1991, the mission of ESBT has been to bring the experience of live classical ballet to audiences on the Eastern Shore, and also to provide a venue and training ground for young dancers in the local community who wish to pursue a professional career in dance. Many members have gone on to successful careers in dance companies across the country. ESBT’s repertory includes Swan Lake, Scheherazade, Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Cinderella, Coppelia, Peter Pan, and many others. Membership with ESBT is open to all dancers from Delmarva, up to age 18 studying ballet at any studio; auditions are held every year in September. ESBT’s productions are funded in part by grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, and support from local businesses and private donors.
Show times for the full-length performance are Friday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, Dec, 7 at 7 p..m.; and Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at www.esbt.org.