Dancers from the Debra Franco Preparatory School of Dance have been practicing for their upcoming performance of the “Nutcracker” ballet and to assist them four professional artists will also be dancing, including two from New York City.
“I am so excited to have Morgan Claire McEwen dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Scott Webber dance as her Cavalier in our performance,” Debra Franco said.
Both McEwen and Webber are dancers with the New York City Metropolitan Opera dance Company, she said.
McEwen began her professional ballet career at the age of 17, and in 2009, she began dancing with the Metropolitan Opera. There she performed in Metropolitan Opera premiers including Rossini’s “Armida,” Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann” and “Enchanted Island.”
Webber has recently performed as a principal dancer in “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” and “Aida” at the Metropolitan Opera and some of his regional theater credits include “Carousel,” “On Your Toes,” “The Pajama Game” and “La Cage Aux Folles.”
Typically a senior dancer from the studio dances the “coveted role” of the Sugar Plum Fairy, said Franco, but this year there were no seniors interested.
Other professional performers for the local performance are Caitlin Elledge, who is with the Richmond Ballet Company from South Mississippi and local, Kevin Arredondo, who has been dancing with the Greensboro Ballet Company.
Elledge will dance the part of the Spanish soloist, and Arredondo will be the Cavalier for the Snow Queen, said Franco.
“The Nutcracker” ballet is an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” with music composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The ballet opens with a party scene, and Clara is presented a nutcracker. Her rambunctious little brother, Fritz swipes the gift and winds up breaking it.
Clara is upset and after finally falling asleep that night, she dreams her broken toy comes to life and he takes her on a journey to the Land of Snow and the Land of Sweets.
“This is my first time to be in the ‘Nutcracker,’” said Bella Kate Futch, who is six years old.
“I saw my aunt being a soldier and it looked fun,” she said.
Performances for the ballet are scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Vicksburg Theatre Guild’s Parkside Playhouse, 101 Iowa Blvd.
Tickets are $10 and are available by calling, 601-638-7282.