STATE COLLEGE — “The Nutcracker,” a classic ballet about a young girl’s magical adventure with a toy nutcracker that comes to life, is set to take to the Eisenhower Auditorium stage on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m.
The performance is by the Nittany Ballet, a dance division of the Performing Arts School of Central Pennsylvania.
“Performing in ‘The Nutcracker’ with the Allegheny Ballet Company was always a holiday tradition for me, my family and our friends,” Paul Gibson, PASCP artistic director, said in a press release. “My hope is that this magical production of ‘The Nutcracker,’ performed with the unparalleled level of dancing by the students of Nittany Ballet, will be attended by audiences from Happy Valley and neighboring counties, and become a part of their holiday tradition year after year.”
The Nittany Ballet works with students ages two through adults. Its dancers will be featured alongside guest performances by Clara Ruf Maldonado as the sugarplum fairy and Mark Cuddihee as her cavalier, Alex Iozzio as mouse king and Zach Doran as the nutcracker. Maldonado and Cuddihee currently are artists with the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Iozzio and Doran are Penn State artists.
“It provides a sense of community,” Sienna Sullivan, lead peppermint dancer, shared. “It brings our studio together, because it’s the most fun thing we do together all year. And it also brings in friends and family that get excited to see what we really do.”
For Luisa Becker, lead marzipan dancer, “Nutcracker” is a tradition anyone can enjoy.
“Like a lot of people, ‘Nutcracker’ was my first introduction to ballet,” Becker said. “It’s a tradition every year that you can come back to and see your growth through it.”
Tickets are $36 for an adult, $30 for a senior and $25 for a student and those 18 and younger. For more information, visit cpa.psu.edu/events/pascp-nutcracker-2024.
