George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ Nationwide This Holiday Season

Renowned New York City Ballet and special guest host Kelly Ripa will bring George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™nationwide live to movie theaters this holiday season. The “beloved holiday classic” will be in theaters across the United States, for one night only, on Tuesday, December 13.

What a great idea! If you can’t travel to the big apple to experience The Nutcracker ballet, the ballet will come to you! And that is exactly what The NCM Cinema Network, the NYC Ballet and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts have come together to do.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™  Nationwide

Kelly Ripa will be hosting New York City Ballet’s live performance to over 550 theaters across the United States on Tuesday, December 13 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 5:00 p.m. Central. (A delayed program will air at 7:30 p.m. ror  Mountain, Pacific Hawaii and Alaska time zones.

As host of the live broadcast, Ripa will take audiences backstage for a behind-the-scenes look at the magic of The Nutcracker including interviews with NYCB principal dancers and others who bring this holiday classic to life onstage.

This special holiday event will also feature an exclusive visit to a rehearsal at the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet and home to the young ballet students who perform in the production each year.

“We are thrilled to bring this beloved holiday production to audiences around the country, in what we hope will be the first of many opportunities to present New York City Ballet’s extraordinary repertory in movie theaters throughout the world,” said Katherine E. Brown, NYCB’s executive director. “We are particularly delighted to have Kelly Ripa hosting this landmark presentation, bringing her unmatched passion and energy to this very special event.”

New York City Ballet presents George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ LIVE is being produced for movie theaters by the award-winning Live From Lincoln Center team that brings live performances to millions of viewers every year. This special holiday presentation will be broadcast to select movie theaters through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network.

The Nutcracker will transport audiences to a dream-like place filled with visions of Sugarplum Fairies, marching toy soldiers and a glowing one-ton Christmas tree that will grow, seemingly forever, in front of movie theater audiences nationwide. The production will feature NYCB Principal Dancers Megan Fairchild and Joaquin de Luz as the “Sugarplum Fairy” and her “Cavalier” and Ashley Bouder as “Dewdrop,” accompanied by the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra under the direction of conductor Clotilde Otrano.

Other highlights of this enchanting presentation include an onstage snowstorm and hundreds of elaborate costumes including one for “Mother Ginger” that measures nine feet wide and weighs 85 pounds. The production’s grand finale will also use more than one million watts of lighting — the most used in any New York City Ballet production.

George Balanchine\’s The Nutcracker™ LIVE in movie theaters nationwide

Video source: YouTube LincolnCenterVideos

Set to Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky’s glorious score, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ features choreography by Balanchine, scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley after the original design by Ronald Bates. The production will feature more than 70 New York City Ballet dancers, the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra, and 50 children from the School of American Ballet, the official school of NYCB.

“This is an exciting ‘first’ for Lincoln Center and for the New York City Ballet–the first offering of an American ballet company’s live performance in cinemas worldwide,” said Elizabeth Scott, Lincoln Center’s chief media and digital officer.

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ is a holiday favorite cherished by millions around the world,” said Dan Diamond, senior vice president of NCM Fathom. “Performed live by America’s treasured New York City Ballet, fans will experience this historic holiday performance all in the comfort and convenience of their local movie theater.

Tickets are available at participating theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com . For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom website or click here. (Theaters and participants are subject to change).

Source: National CineMedia. Original article here.

Mark your calendars for this magical production.

Will you be attending your local theater to watch George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ nationwide on December 13? Tell us what you think of this new way of making the ballet available to more people? If you have children, I highly recommend you take them to see The Nutcracker this year. It will be an experience they will always cherish!

If you like this idea, go ahead and click on the LIKE or SHARE button and invite more folks to enjoy the arts this season.