NEWS RELEASE
FLEET-WOOD DANCENTRE
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Fleet-Wood Dancentre, School of Dance in Collingwood, is set to present The Nutcracker on Dec. 17 at 2 and 7 p.m. at Meaford Hall.
Celebrating its 29th season, Fleet-Wood has been in full rehearsal since September. A twice-yearly tradition for the school, this will be their 15th time presenting The Nutcracker.
A time-honoured tradition for the school, students look forward to dancing all the different roles through the years starting at age five as a Rosebud to age 18 as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Two dancers share the role of Clara. This time it is Esther Stouffer and Taylor Steinberg. Alistair Wark dances the role of Clara’s brother throughout the ballet. Several special leads are performed by senior students in the school with many pieces en pointe.
Fleet-Wood’s mandate is to provide performance opportunities for students in their pre-professional program and, along with the two-hour ballet, they perform mini-Nutcracker ballets in the windows of downtown Collingwood every year, most recently Dec. 2 and 9 during the Christmas market.
The professional staff will also perform in the production. Sierra Maraj-Fleet as Snow Queen, Jonathan Fleet as Father and the Cavalier, Colin Eccles as Uncle Drosselmeyer and the Nutcracker Prince, and Sharron Fleet, director, as Grandma Ginger.
Of special note is a group of alumni dancers heading home for Christmas break who will also perform in the ballet featured in the opening of Act 2. They also dance in Act 1 alongside a cast of 50 dancers who train at Fleet-Wood in the pre-professional program.
The Nutcracker ballet starts with a lively party at Grandma Ginger’s house, where Clara receives a nutcracker doll from Uncle Drosselmeyer. Falling asleep in front of the fire, she dreams about the doll turning into the Nutcracker Prince, who battles the Mouse King and his army. Victorious, magic reindeer fly Clara to the Land of Snow, where the Snow Queen and dancers from all over the world perform for Clara and her brother.
Fleet-Wood Dancentre originally received the Robert Kemp Award in 1995, which provided the funds for the many props, costumes, and backdrops they still use to this day.
The choreography was originally set by Jane Wooding, co-founder of Fleet-Wood Dancentre and former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. Much of her original choreography is still performed, repeated over the years by Sharron, Colin, Jonathan, and Sierra.
The matinee is sold out, with a few tickets left available for the evening performance, available through the Meaford Hall website.
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