Ballet Tennessee will present the Nutcracker at Hayes Concert Hall in the UTC Fine Arts Center Dec. 4-6.
Professionally staged and directed with choreography by Anna and Barry VanCura, the production highlights the cultural and economic diversity of the Chattanooga community. The cast of 150 features guest artist Lester Badenoch as the Sugarplum Cavalier and Ballet Tennessee dancer Breanna Houston as the Sugarplum Fairy and includes professionally-trained community children and adults, local dancers, plus Ballet Tennessee’s junior, youth, and apprentice companies and students from the Talent Identification Program and professional track program.
"Our mission is to reach out to, and have a positive effect on, people of all ages, abilities, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds through the art of ballet and we certainly achieve that in this production," said Executive Director Barry VanCura. "So many diverse people coming together for dance creates community bonds where none might exist otherwise."
Geographically the cast comes from throughout the Chattanooga Metropolitan area, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy, Cleveland, Hixson, Brainerd, Chickamauga, Fort Oglethorpe and Henegar, Al. Through the Talent Identification Program, which provides professional training scholarships for talented youth who could not afford the cost of ballet lessons, multiple success stories play out on the stage. The cast is racially diverse, and includes adults and youth who have put aside disability, economic hardship, or other issues to achieve their fullest potential, officials said.
Ballet Tennessee’s production will also reach out to diverse audiences. The company received an Arts Build Communities grant from Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga in partnership with the Tennessee Arts Commission to provide tickets to underserved audiences. Ballet Tennessee is partnering with organizations such as Chattanooga Parks and Recreation and St. Andrews Center to provide transportation to the performance as well.