THE PATRIOT LEDGER – Set to Tchaikovsky’s romantic score, “The Nutcracker” ballet is a whimsical Christmas fantasy that tells the story of a little girl, Clara, who flies off to a magical land when her nutcracker doll comes to life. With such a fairy-tale story line, it’s no wonder “The Nutcracker” has become a holiday tradition, not to mention one of the few ballets to enjoy mainstream popularity. You can get your fill of sugar plum fairies and magical princes with several productions of “The Nutcracker.”
BOSTON BALLET: Among the familiar attractions in the company’s “Nutcracker” are a Christmas tree that soars 45 feet and onstage “snowfall.” Thirty-five performances run Nov. 26 through Dec. 26 at the Citizens Bank Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston. 617-695-6955 or bostonballet.org.
Featuring children from the South Shore:
- MILTON: Lia Duran, Clara Howard as soldiers and Cecilia Malin as a reindeer and urchin.
- QUINCY: Saraellen Mathewson, page and urchin.
- SHARON: Skylar Liu, musician soldier.
SOUTH SHORE BALLET THEATRE: Ninety ballerinas, mice, soldiers, snowflakes, polichinelles and more take the stage at 2 p.m. Dec.18-19 at Thayer Academy Center for the Arts, 745 Washington St., Braintree. Tickets are $22; southshoreballettheatre.com.
South Shore dancers include:
- ABINGTON: Shea Gill, Elisa Slagle.
- BRAINTREE: Amelia Biddlestone, Emerson Chan.
- COHASSET: Natalie Heffner, Noelle Hess, Ceili Kornhaber, Maren Phifer, Isabella Walker.
- DUXBURY: Paige Bannon, Lyla Carlin, Annabel Gagnon, Caroline Gillespie, Clara Kelly, Emelyn Kenney, Elise Reed, Emerson Sprague, Lila Stevens, Lucy Warner.
- EAST BRIDGEWATER: Miranda Boates.
- HANOVER: Ariadne Clayton, Scarlett Kleimola, Leah Laybourn, Devin McDonough.
- HANSON: Levi Swisher-Rosa.
- HINGHAM: Delanie Carter, Lilian Chamberlain, Catherine Delorie, Estrella Engdahl, Sydney Hemmer, Phoebe Hertzog, Roen Howell, Annie Hughes, Isabella Lovett, Grace Mackenzie, Elizabeth McKinell, Saachi Menon, Louisa Murphy, Thomas Rosenthal, Ali Rossetti, Tala Sanford, Louisa Stevenson, Marlo Stevenson, Evelyn Urbano, Madeleine Van de Kieft.
- HOLBROOK: Nyah S. Baker.
- KINGSTON: Khloe Amonte.
- MARSHFIELD: Ensley Borchert, Gemma Borchert, Tessa Neumann.
- MIDDLEBORO: Paxley Taylor.
- MILTON: Cora Kulage, Savannah Kulage.
- NORWELL: Grace Bragg, Madison Fairweather, Avery Maguire, Lovelyne Ngnintoundem, Amalia Niblack, Lydia Niblack, Evangeline Scheid, May Scheid.
- PLYMOUTH: Julia Ronemus, Enya Teran.
- QUINCY: Claire Buchholz, Owen Veith.
- ROCKLAND: Tegan Byers, Julia Wessler, Matthew Wessler.
- SCITUATE: Bianca Brandolini, Tessa Fardink, Laura Sutherland.
- WEYMOUTH: Aubree DeBerardinis, Whitney Farrell.
URBAN NUTCRACKER: A mix of classical ballet, hip-hop and tap, “Urban Nutcracker” is performed by more than 150 child and professional dancers. Performances are Dec. 18-23 at the Boch Center Shubert Theater, Boston; bochcenter.org.
Featuring South Shore children:
- MILTON: Sophia Callum, duckling; Farrah LeRay, tap dancer; Mae Anthony, soldier, sugar plum attendant, hoopette.
BRAINTREE BALLET: The talented young dancers celebrate the ballet studio’s 25th anniversary with a fantastical voyage to the Land of Sweets in the company’s full-length production at 6 p.m. Dec. 11 and 2 p.m. Dec. 12 at East Middle School, 305 River St., Braintree; 781-380-8856; braintreeballetcompany.com.
Dancers include:
- ABINGTON: Matthew Clark, Angeline Valliere, Jayson Walker, Sadie Walker, Sara Walker.
- BRAINTREE: Mia Cartullo, Alexandra Dodge, Ali Downing, Sean Downing, Matthew Gabriel, Jenna Hirtle, Kerry Keaney, Kathryn McDonald, Claire Mortimer, Eliza Padure, Rishik Renganathan, Shria Renganathan, Evangeline Retzos, Claire Sampson, Ella Sampson, Selena Sann, Ianna Tai, Niamh Thompson, Leila Turco, Abby Visser.
- BRIDGEWATER: Ella Jones.
- CAMBRIDGE: Kaely Ratcliffe
- DEDHAM: Rachel Santos.
- EAST BRIDGEWATER: Maddison Chelmo, Haley Diaz, Ricardo Machado.
- HALIFAX: Rachella Grzywna.
- HINGHAM: Harper Nickerson, Savannah Nickerson.
- MILTON: Lila Robert.
- NORWOOD: Gwendolynne Jenkins.
- PLYMPTON: Michaela Heath.
- QUINCY: Jared Lyons.
- RANDOLPH: Kimberly Panameno.
- WEST BRIDGEWATER: Emme Pimental, Lucy Pimental.
- WEYMOUTH: Gabrielle Cassidy, Connor Dilworth, Joseph Keaney, Kayla Keaney, Mia Manfredi, Abigail Nicholas, Emily Nicholas, Emily Ryan, Caroline Throne.
DANCE WORKSHOP OF HANOVER: Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy journey through The Palace of Sweets and Santa’s Workshop in Dance Workshop of Hanover’s “Holiday Spectacular.” Performances are at 4 p.m. Dec. 18 and 2 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School auditorium, 600 Franklin St., Hanson; $22-$25; 781-829-0390; tututix.com.
South Shore dancers include:
- ABINGTON: Alexis Bevilacqua, Morgan Harrington.
- BRAINTREE: Addelyn O’Donnell.
- COHASSET: Phoebe Fusco.
- DUXBURY: Elle Krebs.
- EAST BRIDGEWATER: Gabrielle Pearson, Kacey-Catherine Hilton.
- HANOVER: Addison Baldinelli, Claudia Casper, Alana Cole, Brianna Cole, Isla Craven, Leianna Craven, Sophia Craven, Evelyn Dagely, Madison Delaney, Daisy Delmonico, Addison Goitia, Sarah Grund, Kylie Handrahan, Faith Katilus, Madelyn King, Eva Mastrocola, Delaney McCormick, Riley McCormick, Ava Puglia, Bailey Regan, Emma Salamone, Emma Schlumper, Elizabeth Thibault, Clara Wipfler.
- HANSON: Olivia Tracey.
- KINGSTON: Kara Becker, Maragaret Fleenor.
- MARSHFIELD: Siena Healy, Kiley O’Keefe.
- NORWELL: Rose Danais, Isabel Hague, Avonlea Leahy, Sofia Mellor, Eloise Perniola.
- PEMBROKE: Ava Guilbeault, Sophia Guilbeault, Sydney Killham, Lara Costa.
- ROCKLAND: Eva Boothby, Emma Rhadbane.
- WEYMOUTH: Emelia Konchak.
INTERNATIONAL BALLET ACADEMY OF NORWELL: 4 p.m. Dec. 11 at Scituate Center for the Performing Arts, 606 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Scituate, 339-788-9670; ibanorwell.org. (The academy did not provide the names of its dancers.)
OTHER PRODUCTIONS
The Festival Ballet Providence: Dec. 17-24 at The Vets, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence; 401-421-2787, festivalballetprovidence.org.
The Hip Hop Nutcracker: Jan. 1 at Emerson Colonial Theatre, 106 Boylston St., Boston; emersoncolonialtheatre.com.
By Dana Barbuto
Editor’s Note: Every attempt has been made to print complete, accurate lists of these names. If we have missed any dancers or made any errors, email newsroom@patriotledger.com.
