December 8 & 9
With so-familiar songs both grand and delicately twinkling, The Nutcracker is one of the holiday soundtracks most able to conjure the excitement of the season. Combining the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT), this month's production at Miller Symphony Hall delights with music and movement to tell this timeless story.
For three decades, RDT has given local ballet dancers the chance to appear onstage in this most famous example of their art. One hundred dancers bring the magical elements of The Nutcracker to life, choreographed with care by late RDT founder, Dolly Haltzman, and current directors, Jennifer Haltzman Tracy and Trinette Singleton. They're able to adjust the choreography so that dancers as young as seven and as experienced as this year's guest stars can show off their skills. “We want them to shine,” Tracy says.
The orchestra not only keeps time for the dancers but reads soloists' expressive movements to best accompany them. “There are a lot of rewarding moments,” associate and pops conductor Ronald Demkee says. “It's a lot of fun.”
While new dancers bring new audiences each year, there are also plenty that have been returning as they grow, giving orchestra and audience members the chance to see young dancers develop. The opportunity for students to dance with professionals like this year's guests, Sean Stewart and Elina Miettinen of the American Ballet Theatre and Daniel Mayo of Ballet X, is another gift to the local dance community.
Adding jazz into the mix, the bonus Let's Go Nutz show on Saturday night features the jaunty Glenn Miller version of The Nutcracker and other holiday favorites with tap dancing from the group Tap Ties.
$22–$42 | 2 p.m. | Miller Symphony Hall | 23 N. 6th St., Allentown | 610.432.7961 | millersymphonyhall.org
