With a handsome prince, mischievous mice, a mysterious uncle, beautiful Clara, and a heroic Nutcracker, Saint Augustine Ballet returns to the stage of Lewis Auditorium with their holiday favorite, The Nutcracker on December 19th and 20th. The ballet is a magical holiday show that features, elegant costumes, custom-designed scenery, and skillful athletic dancing that will charm the entire family. The multi-generation cast is a blend of local dancers and celebrities performing alongside world class guest dancers.
Artistic Director of Saint Augustine Ballet, Luis Abella, has also announced the guest artists for their seventh annual production of the holiday favorite, The Nutcracker. Adam Schiffer and Ashley Hathaway, both with the Carolina Ballet, will perform the principal roles of the Cavalier and Sugar Plum Fairy.
Adam Schiffer was born in Budapest, Hungary where he graduated from the Hungarian Dance Academy. He has performed with the Vienna State Opera, the Slovakan National Opera, and the Columbian Classical Ballet. In 2007, he was awarded the Viktor Fulop Scholarship from the Hungarian Ministry of Culture. He toured around the world, including Romania, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, and France before joining the Carolina Ballet in 2008.
Ashley Hathaway is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina where she studied at the Raleigh School of Ballet and continued her training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has been with the Carolina Ballet since 2008 where she has performed both Soloist and Principal roles.
Joining Schiffer and Hathaway onstage will be Orlando Molina, School Principal of the Georgia Ballet, in the role of Drosselmeyer, and Daet Rodriguez, Artistic Director of the Georgia Ballet in the role of Snow King. Rodriguez and Molina are both graduates of the National Ballet School of Cuba. Molina and Daet performed around the world as principal dancers before settling in the United States to teach and perform.
The role of Clara is played by local ballerina Lily Clingan-Darack.
This year, audience members are encouraged to bring a canned good with them to the performances to help fill boxes that will be delivered to the St. Francis House Food Pantry for the holiday season. “Each year we have gifted tickets to our homeless student population and this year we wanted to take our commitment one step further.” explains St. Augustine Ballet’s Communication Director, Joy D’Elia. “ We’re also very excited that we’ve received a grant from the St. Johns Cultural Council’s State of the Arts License Plate Grants program that will help us reach even more students this year.”
The production will take place on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $25 to $30 with a $5 discount for ages 65 years and older, and 12 years and under. Tickets are available for purchase at www.saintaugustineballet.com or by calling 855-222-2849.
Lewis Auditorium is located at 14 Granada Street in Saint Augustine. For more information about Saint Augustine Ballet visitwww.saintaugustineballet.com.
