It’s that time of year again! This holiday season, bring the whole family to see local dance students showcase their talents in a community performance of The Nutcracker Suite. Performances will take place on Sunday, December 15, at 3 pm and 6 pm, at Dixon Hall, Tulane University.
The production features participants of the NORDC/NOBA Center for Dance’s programs for youth and senior citizens, along with students of NOBA’s free after-school partnership programs with Wilson Charter School (Orleans Parish) and St. Jerome Church (Jefferson Parish). Tickets for The Nutcracker Suite are $5 per person and can be purchased by phone at 504-522-0996 or in-person at 935 Gravier Street, Suite 800, New Orleans, LA 70112.
The production features participants of the NORDC/NOBA Center for Dance’s programs for youth and senior citizens, along with students of NOBA’s free after-school partnership programs with Wilson Charter School (Orleans Parish) and St. Jerome Church (Jefferson Parish). Tickets for The Nutcracker Suite are $5 per person and can be purchased by phone at 504-522-0996 or in-person at 935 Gravier Street, Suite 800, New Orleans, LA 70112.
The Nutcracker Suite brings together more than 200 youth and senior NORDC/NOBA Center for Dance students throughout the greater metropolitan area. The Center for Dance, a cultural community partnership between the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) and the New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA), offers year-round, tuition-free dance programming to ages 6-80+ at NORDC centers. Each community center where classes are taught is assigned a part in The Nutcracker Suite (angels, mice, soldiers, etc.), and students learn choreography from their respective instructors during the fall. The student participants from each community center come together for the first time the day before the performance for production rehearsals at Tulane University.
Through the extraordinary generosity of Chevron, the production for the second year will feature new costumes. “Chevron believes that supporting the arts directly improves the quality of life in the Greater New Orleans area,” says Warner Williams, Vice President, Chevron North America Gulf of Mexico. “The arts create measurable value because of the economic benefits they generate. A community with a thriving arts sector also enables companies to attract talented professionals.”
Community Open Houses
In addition to The Nutcracker Suite performances, each after-school dance center will also host an open house for the community to celebrate the young dancers’ achievements. The students will perform dances learned throughout the semester, as well as excerpts from The Nutcracker Suite. The free open house performances will mark the culmination of weeks of ballet, tap, modern and hip-hop instruction. This fall, more than 400 students are receiving professional training tuition-free at partnership sites in three parishes (Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard).
The remaining open houses will take place:
•December 18, 2013, 6 p.m. – Wilson Charter School, 3617 General Pershing (Broadmoor)
•January 9, 2014, 6 p.m. – St. Bernard Parish at the Chalmette High School Cultural Arts Center, 1100 E. Judge Perez Drive (Chalmette)
