The Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, under the direction of Jennifer Beasley, will present their annual production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker on December 9-10 at the Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center, on Ridgewood Road in Jackson. Professional guest artists from Ballet Memphis, Boston Ballet, and a USA International Ballet Competition Bronze Medalist will join the cast of over 100 local dancers in the company’s 25th anniversary presentation of the classic holiday ballet.
Performances are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Saturday, December 9, with matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10. The “Nutcracker Sweet” Tea Parties will follow the matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The tea party includes a whimsical candy buffet, a savory menu from Table 100, delicious desserts from Nothing Bundt Cakes, festive decorations, and the opportunity to meet the characters from the ballet.
The timeless story of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince has delighted audiences of all ages for more than one hundred years. MMB’s version of the grand ballet takes Clara and the audience from the festive party scene of toys, soldier dolls, and puppets, through the magical Land of Snow and finally to the Land of Sweets. From the wondrous beauty of the Sugarplum Fairy, to the excitement of the mice and soldier battle scene, to the comical Mother Ginger and her Polichinelles, there is something to entertain everyone.
Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, a non-profit ballet company based in Madison and a member of the prestigious Southeastern Regional Ballet Association, presents its annual production of The Nutcracker with participation from over 100 dancers from the metro Jackson area. Dancers are selected through an audition process from Mississippi Metropolitan Dance Academy students. The Mississippi Metropolitan Dance Academy is the official school of the Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet.
The Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet has been under the artistic direction of Jennifer Beasley since 1997. Beasley danced professionally with Louisville Ballet and for five years with Ballet Mississippi, including the final year of the professional company’s existence when led by dance legend Fernando Bujones. Since taking the helm at MMB in 1997, the company has more than tripled in size and, in addition to The Nutcracker, annually presents a full-length spring production. Past ballets that have been presented include Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote. The company premiered Frozen Heart: The Tale of the Snow Queen in April 2016, based on the famous Hans Christian Andersen story that was made wildly popular by the animated film “Frozen.” MMB is additionally led by Executive Director Crystal Skelton, a former professional dancer with the Cincinnati Ballet, who will appear in the Party Scene of The Nutcracker along with MMB faculty member Erik Kegler, also a former professional dancer with the Cincinnati Ballet, who will perform the roles of Herr Drosselmeyer and Mother Ginger.
Guest artists Ashley Ellis and Joseph Gatti will dance the roles of The Sugarplum Fairy and Her Cavalier. Ellis is a currently a principal dancer with Boston Ballet, and previously danced as a member of American Ballet Theatre in New York City. Her partner, Joseph Gatti, won the Bronze Medal at the 2006 USA International Ballet Competition and has since gone on to dance as a principal dancer with Cincinnati Ballet, Corella Ballet in Spain, and Boston Ballet. Oscar Fernandez, dancer with Ballet Memphis, will join the cast as the Snow King. Fernandez is originally from Spain and came to the United States to study on scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet School. He has also danced professionally with Ballet San Jose before joining Ballet Memphis. George Sanders, also a dancer with Ballet Memphis, will dance the role of The Nutcracker. Sanders is a former member of New York Theatre Ballet, and trained at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and North Carolina School of the Arts.
The role of Clara will be danced by 14 year old MMB dancer and MMDA student Bella Bach, who is in the ninth grade at Rosa Scott School in Madison. Bach is a resident of Madison and has studied at MMDA since she was 8 years old. Last summer she was accepted via audition to study at the Nashville Ballet School at their Summer Intensive workshop. Victoria Jackson, a soloist with MMB, will perform the role of the Snow Queen. Jackson is a senior at Germantown High School and has trained at MMDA since her family relocated from McComb to Madison when she was 8 years old. Two other MMB soloists, Abigail McCaughan of Ridgeland and Taylor Binkley of Brandon, will share the roles of the Dewdrop Fairy and the Mirliton Soloist. McCaughan is a sophomore at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and has trained at MMDA since she was 5 years old. Binkley is a junior at Northwest Rankin High School and has trained at MMDA since she was 3 years old.
The Nutcracker is the perfect way to ring in the holiday season and to introduce children to the power and beauty of classical dance. “At the heart of Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet's mission is our quest to share the magic of dance with the people of our community, and to encourage a love of the arts in the hearts and minds of our audience members,” says Beasley. “We are proud to again be presenting our annual production of The Nutcracker to the community in our 25th Anniversary Season.”
Tea Party seating is reserved at tables of 10. Tickets for the Tea Party must be purchased in advance, and are sold separately from performance tickets. Performance tickets are available for $20 or $22. Tickets for the Tea Party are $25. Tickets can be purchased online at www.msmetroballet.com or by calling 601-853-4508.
Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet is generously sponsored in the 2017-2018 season by The Mississippi Arts Commission, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Gertrude C. Ford Foundation, Ergon, BankPlus, Harper, Rains, Knight & Co, Table 100, Eventful, Kendra Scott, and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi.
