Holiday Favorite Returns to Round Top’s Festival Hill
After a one year hiatus due to covid shut downs, Round Top Festival Institute will once again present Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic ballet, The Nutcracker. This year’s production celebrates the 13th annual performance danced by Ovation, a youth ballet company in residency at Dancers Workshop in Austin. The legendary ballet will be one show only at the Round Top Festival Institute Concert Hall on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m.
This year’s cast includes 79 dancers ranging from second grade through high school. Chris Ehresman, Austin-based actor/singer/dancer, will again join the cast as the mysterious Herr Drosselmeyer. The Nutcracker Prince will be danced by Luke Sanchez, student at Anderson High School in Austin. Tiffany Phu graces the stage as the ever-popular Sugar Plum Fairy. Tiffany is a senior at Westwood High School in Austin.
The Institute is pleased to announce several new additions to this year’s artistic team. Taylor Woolums joins Julia Dzubinski and Kristi Stere as part of the choreographic team. Lily Collier, former Sugar Plum Fairy now dance major at Texas State University, joins the team as Rehearsal Assistant. Former dancer, Nikolay Korygin, seen in the production in previous years as the Nutcracker Prince and the Rat King, will design the lighting. Nikolay is currently studying lighting design at UT Austin.
New choreography has been created for the famous Snow Scene which closes Act I. In Act II, the much loved BonBons (the youngest dancers in the cast) will perform new choreography wearing new costumes. This memorable story ballet also includes dancing party guests, menacing rats, soldiers brandishing candy canes, graceful snowflakes, the handsome Nutcracker Prince and, the most famous holiday favorite, the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Tickets are available on the website at FestivalHill.org or by calling the Round Top Festival Institute office at 979/249-3129. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Seating is general admission. Doors open at 3 p.m. Reserved handicapped seating is available by calling the office. Special discount pricing is available to groups of 20 or more. Facial coverings are strongly encouraged, but not required. This ballet performance, danced by children for children of any age, will kick off your holiday season with the joy of dance. Do not miss the return of this beautiful holiday event.