Tickets are on sale now for the TJC Academy of Dance’s 28th annual presentation of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” set Friday-Sunday, Dec. 2-4, in Wise Auditorium.
Performance times are:
• 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2
• 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3
• 2 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4
All seats are reserved. Admission is $25 for VIP reserved (front, center orchestra section), $20 for premium (side and mid-rear orchestra), and $15 for main (rear orchestra and balcony). Main seating is $10 for seniors ages 65 and over, TJC students and children under age 12.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.tjc.edu/Nutcracker or by calling 903-510-2099 to purchase tickets or them up between noon and 4 p.m. Fridays in the Wise Auditorium box office.
The production is under the direction of Carolyn Hanna, director of the TJC Academy of Dance. Assistant choreographers are Shurrell Wiebe and Thereza Bryce-Cotes.
“This is a fun, exciting show that's an annual tradition for so many families in our community,” Hanna said. “We have world-renowned guest artists coming to perform the role of Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, as well as more than 100 local community dancers."
Principal dancers are Abigail Simon, formerly of The Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and George Sanders from Ballet Memphis.
Simon played the part of Louise to critical acclaim in the Chicago Lyric 2015 production of “Carousel” and reprised the role with the 2016 Houston Grand Opera production. She was also the principal dancer in the Chicago Lyric production of “Cappriccio” starring Renée Fleming. She also portrayed Juliet in Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet” in Vienna. She trained at the School of American Ballet and performed with American Ballet Theatre prior to dancing for 10 years with The Joffrey Ballet. Simon has worked with such renowned choreographers as Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and Benjamin Millepied.
George W.N. Sanders joined Ballet Memphis in 2016, following a stint in the New York Theatre Ballet. He trained at the Rock School for Dance Education, Ballet Academy East, and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Favorite roles include George Balanchine’s “Symphony in C,” Lynne Taylor Corbett’s “Dracula,” “Raymonda,” and the tour of “West Side Story.” He finished in the top eight of the Youth America Grand Prix. He is a native of the Bronx, N.Y.
Local performers in this year’s “Nutcracker” production are: Brynn Allen, Tori Asiaban, Michelle Azzi, Analee Becerra, Scarlett Blackburn, Jenifer Blackburn, Luke Blackburn, Logan Blackburn, Reyna Bowles, Madison Bowser, Camila Bravo, Eva Brown, Spencer Burton, Bella Burton, Ginger Christiansen, Emma Clark, Cammie Coleman, Mackenzie Copfer, Faith Craig, Karsyn Cunningham, Rebecca Dai, Qwynnen Davis, Allyson Davis, Madison Dean, Caleigh Duquette, Leslie Earle, Lydia Earle, Annie Edge, Caley Fitzgerald, Lillie Fitzgerald, Haley Foster, Ruth Fuentes, Kara Gandy, Kenna Gandy, Isabella Garcia, Rachael Gibbs, Audrey Green, Savannah Gregory, Malynn Hable, Tanesha Hall, Nadia Hartnauer, Lenora Hill, Skyla Horace, Oliver Howard, Kyndra Hulen, Cameron Humphress, Katie Humphress, Emma Huston, Bethany Huston, Julie Huston, Abigael Hyde, Sofia Iskander, Felicia Jarrett, Allison Jarvis, Autumn Jenkins, Marissa Jenkins, Keary Johnson, Jim Johnson, Kileigh Johnson, Gwendolyn Jones, Tom Jones, Wesley Kirkpatrick, Christel Kirkpatrick, Liberty Koerbel, Jamyla Laningham, Juliana Leach, Zoe Lissner, Tehillah Lisulo, Kim Loeffler, Blythe Magill, Zoe Grace Mazzare, Barbara McAlister, Alli McCreary, Addison McHam, Lydia Middleton, Morgan Miller, Leely Nguyen, Anna Nowlin, Dacey Ogrodnik, Cynthia Ojeda, Addison Petty, Allie Phillips, Megan Powell, Lauren Powell, Reagan Powell, Caroline Priest, Annabel Priest, Libby Prosperi, Annabelle Prosperi, Ainsley Rhodus, Brooke Rhodus, Evelyn Robinson, Demi Rodriguez, Jerod Rogers, Grace Schoenberger, Chaysee Sepko, Sydney Sharp, Gracie Smith, Audrey Spurlock, Taylor Stroud, Layla Sullivan, Michelle Swartz, Anna Swartz, Kaitlyn Tayler, Julianna Trotter, Elisabeth Vahovius, Gabriella Volberding, Andrea Walker, Ava Wamboldt, Alyssa Whitaker, Elexis Wiebe, Brynn Wilder, Ariel Williams, Jaide Williams, Izzy Winston, and Polina Zhilchenkova.
Media underwriter for this year's production is KLTV Channel 7.