Downtown Dance Conservatory to present 'The Nutcracker Princess' this weekend

The Mort Glosser Amphitheatre will be the site for a scene of holiday magic this weekend as the Downtown Dance Conservatory presents “The Nutcracker Princess.”

This production will take place Friday through Sunday at 6 p.m., and tickets are $17. Coolers, chairs and blankets are welcome.

The dance will feature “original costume designs, dazzling scenery and a host of characters” to tell the story originally created by Tchaikovsky, according to a news release from the Center for Cultural Arts.

This production also will feature local dancers aged 6-12 as part of the community youth cast that is decided via audition each year, according to the release.

“We’ve literally had to leap every hurdle to continue our programs and keep this tradition alive,” Linze McRae, DDC’s artistic director, explained. “Our recent productions (in July 2020 and May 2021) at the amphitheater were such a success, and we are grateful to have such a beautiful outdoor venue in our community.”

The original story of “Nutcracker” is said to be one of the most widely performed ballets and musical scores in the world, being a popular pick for ballet studios for the holiday season.

The story of “The Nutcracker Princess” follows Marie on Christmas Eve after she has been given a nutcracker princess doll by her godfather. At the stroke of midnight, Marie awakens from under the Christmas tree to find that the Spider Queen and her army are surrounding her and that she is now the size of her toys.

Marie’s new doll comes to life and springs into action, defeating the Spider Queen and taking Marie to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, the queen of the Land of Sweets. Here, Marie is greeted by “confectionary delights” that have joined together in dance.

McRae said for this production, she has taken inspiration from “the original Marius Petipa choreography,” as well as the original story by E.T.A Hoffman. With the addition of a bit of Russian flair, she also has given it an “interesting twist” when it comes to the origins and culture of the Nutcracker tradition.

The DDC has been located in the Hardin Center for 17 years and has hosted a variety of “Nutcracker” performances over the years, one most notably in collaboration with the Etowah Youth Orchestras that had for a two-year run that included a sellout production in New York.

This production also nominated for the Golden Nutcracker Award, signifying it as one of the top 50 most original “Nutcrackers” in the country.

“The community agreed that with the quality of ballet students we are able to represent, we could produce our own locally grown ‘Nutcracker,’ with all the magic and glamour of the larger productions performed across the country,” McRae said.

To purchase tickets for this production of “Nutcracker,” visit www.culturalarts.com/boxoffice. For more information about the DDC and its programs, visit www.culturalarts.org.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Downtown Dance Conservatory to present 'The Nutcracker Princess'