For the News & Messenger
The Artistic Director of the Manassas Ballet Theater, Amy Wolfe, describes "The Nutcracker" as "a family tradition" that everyone expects. Given the speed at which the show sells out, she is apparently right.
"We get a lot of Scout troops, churches, clubs … it's a kind of field trip," she said.
But in addition to attracting the usual crowd, the Manassas Ballet Academy, which offers classes for school-aged children through adults, also reaches out to local schools by giving 10-20 minute performances and time for questions and answers.
Administrative Assistant Heather Hebda said, "The one thing that stuck out in my mind and Amy's from our educational outreach performance on Friday at Dale City Elementary was that one of the office personnel said she had never seen the children respond to any other group like they did to us. She said they've had theater groups, but they were just beyond excited to see the ballet. It was a great feeling."
The 12 professional company members come from Russia, Mexico and the United States, while the 50 children live locally. An additional 10 parents make up the rest of the performers, some of whom are part of the Manassas Ballet Theater Orchestra.
The Orchestra provides the music for "The Nutcracker."
Producing "The Nutcracker" takes a tremendous amount of practice -- four weeks for the professionals and seven weeks for the children.
Wolfe said the greatest challenge was organizing the various elements such as set construction, choreogra-phy, costume design, back stage crews, props, lighting . . . "All of it!" she laughed.
Nutcracker will run at Stonewall Jackson High School, 8820 Rixlew Ln., Manassas on Sat., Dec. 19 at 3 and 7 p.m. and Sun., Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. The performance lasts about two hours.
Individual tickets may be purchased online at www.tickets.com or directly from Manassas Ballet Theatre by calling 703-257-1811. Ticket prices in advance are senior 62+ and children $18; adult, $28. At the door, seniors and children pay $20, adults $30.
Visit www.manassasballet.org for more information.
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