The Nutcracker
& More
By TAYLOR TEMPLETON

When I mention to friends and associates the fact that there are six different presentations of The Nutcracker Ballet scheduled for San Antonio and the surrounding area this holiday season, they think I’m kidding.  But I’m not.  This is definitely a record year for the legendary ballet inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King with original choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Things get started the day after Thanksgiving when the San Antonio Symphony, in conjunction with the Alabama Ballet, presents five performances of Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.  Show times at the Majestic are2pm and 7pm on Friday the 24th of November and Saturday the 25th, followed by a Sunday matinee at 2pm. It is important to note that the Alabama Ballet, under the guidance of Artistic Director Wes Chapman, is one of only six companies in the world licensed to perform George Balanchine’s choreography (first performed in 1954) of this holiday masterpiece.

On Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, Kerrville Performing Arts Society stages the 2nd Annual Nutcracker In The Hills at the Kathleen C. Cailloux Theatre.  Performances by The Saint-Petersburg Classical Ballet Theatre (Russia), in association with the Willis Ballet Company of Panama City, Florida, are scheduled at 2pm and 7:30pm.  Nutcracker In The Hills is a part of the KPAS 2006-2007 season which also includes Time For Three, The Vienna Choir Boys, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Trinity Irish Dancers and Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.

Sunday, November 26th brings two performances of Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker to the Lila Cockrell Theatre.  Akiva Talmi presents this rendition at 3pm and 7pm.

The Nutcracker by the Moscow Classical Ballet is next in the series of six. This Arts San Antonio presentation at the Lila Cockrell features performances on Thursday, December 7th and Friday the 8th @ 7:30pm, as well as on Saturday the 9th at 2pm and 7:30pm. The Moscow Classical Ballet is one of only a few Russian ballet companies still supported by the Russian government. The company regularly performs at the Kremlin Palace of Congresses in Moscow, and has also appeared in over 200 Russian cities, plus more than 30 countries around the world.  They have toured this production of The Nutcracker for nine years.

For the 15th year in a row, Ballet San Antonio brings its production of The Nutcracker to the Lila Cockrell Theatre during the holiday season.  Under the leadership of Artistic Director Myra Worthen-Vance and Ballet Master Clint Clouse, Ballet San Antonio’s The Nutcracker has continued to grow and grow in popularity.  This year’s performances will actually cover two weekends:  Friday, December 15th @ 7pm, Saturday the 16th @ 7pm and Sunday the 17th @ 2pm, followed by Thursday, December 21st @ 7pm, Friday the 22nd @ 7pm and Saturday the 23rd @ 2pm.

McAllister Auditorium is home to The Nutcracker performed by The Alamo City Dance Company with special guest artists Cornel Crabtree and Sasha Dmochowski.  Mr. Crabtree has trained with and danced for both George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins during his expansive career.  Miss Dmochowski is currently a member of the American Ballet Theater Company.  Now in its 14th year of production in San Antonio, the ballet is under the artistic direction of Scott M. Conway and features company members as well as other local dancers.  Performances are at 2:30pm and 7:30pm on Saturday, December 16th and at 3pm on Sunday the 17th.

If you haven’t experienced the holiday magic that surrounds The Nutcracker, this is the year!  Buy tickets.  Take the family.  Introduce the young people in your life to this seasonal classic.  Six different productions of The Nutcracker are yours for the taking!

‘Tis the season for other great evenings of entertainment as well like Brad Paisley with Carrie Underwood at the AT&T Center on Thursday, November 16th and Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas Celebration at the same venue on Sunday, December 10th. 

The San Antonio Symphony also boasts a schedule of outstanding performances in November and December including Northern Exposure with Concertmaster Stephanie Sant’ Ambrogio as violin soloist on Friday and Saturday, November 10th and 11th; Handel’s Messiah at the Majestic on Friday and Saturday, December 8th and 9th; A Benny Goodman Holiday Tribute with the Dave Bennett Sextet on Saturday, December 30th at the Convention Center (Ballroom C);  and A Night In Old Vienna on New Year’s Eve at the Majestic.

Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, graces the stage at the Majestic on Tuesday, December 5th.  She’s a 16-time Grammy winner and the first woman elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In her distinguished career, she has certainly earned our r-e-s-p-e-c-t.  If you miss this show, you’ll miss a living legend. 

Chicago returns to the Majestic in December with a bang!  Fosse-inspired choreography by Ann Reinking and the music of Kander and Ebb make this sizzling stage story of Velma and Roxie a guaranteed razzle-dazzle goodtime!  Be there for all that jazz, December 12th – 17th.  Skidoo!

Space does not permit covering all the performances available during the holiday season, so I’ll end by honoring the adage, “Always leave’em laughing.”  Pauly Shore plays Rivercenter Comedy Club for one night and one show only on Tuesday, November 21st @ 8:30pm. 

The Nutcracker x 6, Mannheim Steamroller, Handel’s Messiah, Aretha, Chicago, Pauly Shore and more….enjoy!