One of Canada’s finest classical dance companies is returning to Huntsville to present a traditional Christmas classic in a new setting.
BALLET AT ITS BEST: Don’t miss The Group of Seven Nutcracker coming to the Algonquin Theatre on Nov. 21 and 22.
Ballet Jörgen Canada premiered The Group of Seven Nutcracker last season to enthusiastic reviews. This delightful re-working of the timeless classic is born from collaboration with Kleinburg’s world-renowned McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Choreographed by Bengt Jörgen to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s well-loved score, The Group of Seven Nutcracker features as a backdrop Canada’s 20th century landscape artists Franklin Carmichael’s Church and Houses at Bisset (1931), Tom Thomson’s Snow in the Woods (1916) and L.L. FitzGerald’s Trees and Wildflowers (1922). These large interpretations on canvas will act as backdrops during the various scenes.
The ballet’s second act will be placed in a Canadian summer setting with trillium flowers, loons and other distinct representations replacing the traditional Nutcracker dances. The Group of Seven Nutcracker will be a quintessential northern Canadian work with an early 20th century rural Ontario setting. The award-winning set and costume designer Sue LePage will take audiences on a grand journey through northern landscapes filled with snowflakes, dragonflies, beavers, birches, squirrels and other creatures of the woods.
The Group of Seven Nutcracker will have a cast of over 30 including Ballet Jörgen Canada members and two Mentorship Program dancers. For the past two months members of the Huntsville School of Ballet, under the direction of owner Brenda Cunningham with guidance from Ballet Jörgen dance masters, have been rehearsing weekly and will join the professional dancers to help interpret the score.
Funding for this outreach part of the program is provided by the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, which is also presenting the concert.
The Group of Seven Nutcracker will become a national treasure destined to warm the hearts of young and old alike. Ballet Jörgen was last in Huntsville in 2006, and while there has been another dance company presenting a Nutcracker ballet the past two years, they are excited about being able to return with their new work.
The concert is being jointly sponsored by Huntsville Hometown Drugs and Rexall Drugs. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for youth 18 and under. There is also a family pass available for $70. Tickets are available at the Main Street box office by calling 789-4975 or online at www.huntsvillefestival.on.ca. To learn more about the Ballet Jörgen company, visit www.balletjorgen.ca.
