Dancers of the Bay Shore Ballet Theatre performance of “The Nutcracker” include (left to right) the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara (front), the Snow Queen and the Rose Queen. Photo by Courtland W. Richards.

Bay Shore Ballet Theatre will present its annual performance of the beloved holiday classic, The Nutcracker, on Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6, 2009 at the Fairhope Civic Center.  

This full-length staging of the legendary classic is sure to delight and charm audiences of all ages.  More than 60 of Baldwin County's most talented dancers will be featured in these performances.

General Admission Tickets:

Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 6 at 3:00 pm:  Adults $12, Seniors and Children 10 & Under $10, Reserved Tickets $15.  Special Preview Performance  Saturday at 2:00 pm - limited seating - all tickets $5.  For ticket information, call 990-9744. 

Teachers and students ... "A Nutcracker Dream."  As part of the Arts in Education Series, educational performances will be presented on Friday, December 5 at the Fairhope Civic Center. Tickets are $3 per student; teachers attend free.  For reservations, call 251-952-8628.  Curriculum resource packets are available.

    IN THE NEWS in 2008

Copyright © 2008 BaldwinCountyNOW.com

Bay Shore Ballet Theatre to present ‘The Nutcracker’
Submitted by Janet Carole
(Created: Friday, November 28, 2008 8:05 AM CST)

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The spirit of the holidays will glow brightly once again with the return of the Bay Shore Ballet Theatre’s widely acclaimed performance of “The Nutcracker.” Marking the 12th year for performances of this glittering classic and one of the world’s most beloved ballets, Bay Shore Ballet Theatre will present performances at the Fairhope Civic Center on Dec. 13, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 14 at 3 p.m.

Janet Carole, director and former principal ballerina with major U.S. and Canadian professional companies, stages the grand scale production with more than 60 dancers and performers from many southwest Alabama communities, including Gulf Shores, Foley, Robertsdale, Silverhill, Bay Minette, Daphne, Fairhope and Mobile.

The performances come to life with the elaborate sets and scenery designed by the late master scenic artist, William Loyed, and the expertise of professional lighting designer Will Dobson.

Bay Shore Ballet principal dancers Katharine Gripp and Ryan Bowman once again will pair together, starring as the gracious Sugar Plum fairy and her Cavalier.

With the dimming of the lights and the first notes of Tchaikovky’s magical score, the ballet will transport the audience to an enchanted place filled with endearing and whimsical characters to tell the story of young Clara (Macey Graham), who falls asleep one Christmas Eve.

As the Christmas tree grows magnificently, she watches as her prized nutcracker, given to her by her mysterious but kindly Uncle Drosselmeyer (Brad Davis), comes to life as a real nutcracker (Jason Clow).

After rescuing the nutcracker from the dreaded King of the Rats (Samantha Stewart), Clara watches as the nutcracker transforms again into a handsome prince.

Clara and Uncle Drosselmeyer are swept away to the glittery Kingdom of Snow to meet the beautiful Snow Queen (Lauren Aldridge) and the crystalline walking snowflakes.

They travel on in this dream of a young girl’s devotion to her nutcracker to the enchanted Kingdom of Sweets and meet the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Clara is entertained by the court of the Sugar Plum Fairy as they bring sweets to Clara from around the world.

They meet the fiery Spanish dancers bringing chocolates, the spirited Russian dancers with licorice and the exotic Arabian Princess presenting Arabian coffee (Kristi Bell with Destiny Taylor and Glorianne Morrow).

The charming Chinese dancers (Emily Davis, Annie Pearson and Julianne Horak) bring tea, the fairy tale character of Little Bo Peep (Shelby Graham) and her sheep spring to life with Marzipan candies and the animated Mother Ginger (Linda Taylor) and her gingersnaps charm Clara with their exuberance.

In the majestic Waltz of the Flowers, Clara and Drosselmeyer meet the radiant Rose Queen (Emily Davis).

The Christmas party scene highlights the amazing mechanical dolls brought by Uncle Drosselmeyer to entertain the reveling guests: the cheerful songbird (Emily Davis), a delightful ballerina doll (Annie Pearson), a lightning fast military doll (Kristi Bell) the lively Harlequin doll (Lauren Aldridge) and a gliding skater doll (Samantha Stewart).

The party scene features Destiny Taylor as Clara’s older sister, Louise; Susan Roh as her precocious little brother; Hanna Doggett as the ever busy maid; and Bobbi Pate and Richard Graham as Clara’s parents.

Shelby Graham and Justin Bennett take the roles of the doting aunt and uncle, and the humorously paired grandparents are Linda Taylor and Gary Godwin.

Party guest include Tamra Graham, Thomas Toombs, Judy and Tom Morrow, Nancy Fontenot, Ellis Ollinger and Brodie Foster.

Bay Shore Ballet Theatre apprentice dancers also featured are Paige Bertagnolli, Lily Frances Fontenot, Brodie Foster, Hannah Doggett, Carly McRae, Shelby Rider, Leslie Simmons and Sarah Templeton.

Junior apprentice dancers are Morgan Cooke, Morgan Foster and Caroline Doggett.

Tickets are now on sale at the Bay Shore Ballet, 305 Fels Ave. in Fairhope and The Coffee Loft, 503 N. Section St. in Fairhope.

Reserved seating is $17. General seating for adults is $12; seniors and children age 12 and under will be admitted for $10.

A special preview performance at 2 p.m. on Dec. 13 will feature general admission prices of just $5.

Ladies of the Bay Shore Ballet Society will also host the Ballet Boutique and the Nutcracker Suite Shoppe in the lobby during intermission.

For more information, call Bay Shore Ballet at (251) 990-9744.

For reserved ticket seating, call (251) 952-8628 or email info@bayshoreballet.com.