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Arts & Entertainment

Missouri Ballet Theatre to Present 'Nutcracker'

The classic Christmas ballet will be performed at the Edison Theatre in Clayton.

St. Louis' own Missouri Ballet Theatre will bring its version of The Nutcracker to the Edison Theatre in Clayton at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17.

Based on E. T. A. Hoffmann's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, and featuring music by Tchaikovsky, the play opens on the Stahlbaum family on Christmas Eve. Godfather Drosselmeyer arrives and presents gifts to the children, Clara and Fritz.

Clara's gift is a beautiful nutcracker, which becomes the hit of the party. Feeling the pangs of jealousy, Fritz breaks it and leaves Clara heartbroken.

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That night, Clara dreams of a fantastical journey on which her nutcracker battles the Mouse King in March of the Toy Soldiers and visits the resplendent Sugar Plum Fairy.

The Nutcracker is a story full of magical moments.

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Missouri Ballet Theatre, formed in 2009, is the newest ballet company in St. Louis and produced a successful Nutcracker during its inaugural season. Adam Sage founded the group and is its artistic director.

"We were pretty much sold out—not to capacity, but audiences were good," said Robert Philander Valentine, who is the group's ballet master and resident choreographer.

Some changes have been made to the show since its first year.

"You have to adapt and adjust to new dancers," Valentine said. "One dance—the Arabian—was made into a solo."

With its performance of The Nutcracker, the Missouri Ballet is sticking to the classical interpretation of the ballet.

"We try to keep it traditional," Valentine said. "With a ballet like Nutcracker, you have to observe what's been done before. You've got to follow the story line. That's going to stay the same," he said.

Missouri Ballet Theatre has a resident company of dancers, but many more dancers were needed for The Nutcracker.

"There are 10 dancers in the company, nine girls and one boy," Valentine said. "Then for Nutcracker, we added 75 kids from all over the St. Louis area. This year, we even have 5 gymnasts" doing the Russian dance.

Missouri Ballet Theatre formed in St. Louis because of a need for a ballet company with a modern focus, Valentine said.

"We do a lot of contemporary ballet—not just classical—but a lot of other stuff," he said. "That's different for us, and it wasn't being done here."

With only one year under its dance belts, Missouri Ballet Theatre is looking to the future of the company.

"It's growing," Valentine said. "These are difficult economic times, but we're holding on. We'll be here next year, and we'll continue growing."

WHAT The Nutcracker, presented by Missouri Ballet Theatre WHEN 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 18; 2:30 p.m. Dec. 19 WHERE Edison Theatre at Washington University, 1 Brookings Drive in Clayton TICKETS Call 314-935-6543 or go to Metrotix MORE INFO Variety Children's Charity will light the Variety Christmas tree at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17 before the opening performance of The Nutcracker.
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