This weekend, the Charlottesville Ballet is putting on their fifth annual performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite:
Dancer Caitlin Lesson will be taking on for the sixth time her childhood dream-role, The Sugar Plum Fairy. Her childhood passion to portray the Fairy was the reason she started taking ballet, leading her to become a founding member of Charlottesville Ballet when it opened in 2007. The life of a professional ballet dancer is a difficult one, and is brutal on a dancer’s body. Charlottesville Ballet developed out of the idea of creating a dance company “that promoted the health and well-being of the dancers.” The full story is below – it’s quite an interesting one, and well worth the read:
Charlottesville Ballet puts a new twist on the art of dance
“When I was 3, my parents took me to see The Nutcracker, and I remember telling them, ‘I want to be the Sugar Plum Fairy,’” said Caitlin Lennon. “They were like ‘O.K., sure, we’ll sign you up for ballet classes.’ But in my mind I thought, ‘No, I’m gonna do that. I’ll take classes for a year and then I’ll be the Sugar Plum Fairy.’” …
The company’s performance of the Nutcracker is a slightly shorter rendition that is meant to be ‘child-friendly.’ Additionally, they are offering a “Class with Clara” preshow, designed for children to learn some basics of ballet from a professional. And even the children do not want to be ballet dancers themselves, the class can still be beneficial. Jane Dunlap Norris from the Daily Progress writes:
“Sara Jansen Clayborne, co-director of Charlottesville Ballet … pointed out that children who don’t end up pursuing dance training after the experience can come away as better audience members. Having a little insider information about how things work can make watching performances more enjoyable.”
Tickets for the show can be purchased at www.charlottesvilleballet.org. Why not support the local arts this weekend while arriving in style with Camryn Limo?
