Clara takes on The Grinch in Yellowstone Ballet's premiere
Yellowstone Ballet Company (YBC) celebrates its 25th annual Nutcracker season with the world premiere of “The Nutcracker vs. The Grinch,” 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, and Sunday, Dec. 20, at Willson Auditorium in Bozeman.
The shows will include a Cindy Lou Who costume contest during intermission, with prizes for best costume presented at each show. After the performances, the Nutcracker Prince, the Grinch, his “dog” Max, and Cindy Lou Who will be available for picture taking.
Kathleen Rakela, an award-winning choreographer, and YBC’s artistic director for 25 years, has overseen 62 performances of “The Nutcracker” in Livingston, Great Falls, Lewistown, Bozeman and Mammoth Hot Springs. She has staged the famous classic ballets “Swan Lake,” “Giselle,” “La Fille Mal Gardée,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella,” as well as creating seven world premiere productions: “Girls of the Golden West” (1998) “Romeo and Juliet of the Rockies” (1999), “Hiawatha” (2005), “Hansel and Gretel with a Twist” (2008), “Pinocchio” (2010), “Elves and the Shoemaker” (2013), and “The Little Mermaid” (2015).
For her eighth world premiere, “The Nutcracker vs. The Grinch,” Rakela creatively intertwines talented local and professional dancers in a production that melds the timeless tale of Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker Prince with excerpts from How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Arkadiy Orohovsky will perform as that mischievous interloper, the Grinch. Originally from Ukraine, he trained at the Kiev State Choreographic School and danced with the Kiev National Opera and Ballet as a soloist before emigrating to the United Stated to dance with the Houston Ballet. He is the recipient of a bronze medal from the Serge Lifar International Ballet competition
Performing the starring role of the Nutcracker Prince is Gold medalist Gleadson Hoffmann, who was born Gleadson Vasconcelos and grew up in poverty on the streets of Congonhas, Brazil. With assistance from a priest who helped him get into an orphanage and a local dance teacher with an eye for talent, Hoffmann worked his way up to win dance competitions, a scholarship to Harid Conservatory and a gold medal at the World Ballet Competition.
He subsequently earned jobs at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada and the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. The dancer was recently adopted as an adult by Thomas Hoffmann, vice-president of Comcast, and his wife, Tracy, a longtime volunteer with Pennsylvania charities, who were moved by his story.
Gleadson’s adopted sister, Cecilia, an accomplished dancer from Korea who was also brought into the Hoffmann clan, will dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Emelyse Rogers, who turns 13 on opening night, will dance the cherished role of Clara/Cindy Lou Who, the girl who saves the Nutcracker prince and in this case, pulls on the heartstrings of the loathsome Grinch until his heart grows three sizes. Rogers was one of 1,200 students chosen from an international pool of dancers to train at the American Ballet Theatre summer intensive last July.
A special feature of this year’s production is the inclusion of dancers from Main Street Dance Theatre with new choreography for Waltz of the Flowers by Erin Swietnicki and for Angels by Dana Sorg. Other notable performers are: break-dancer Mylan Zepeda in the Russian dance; and Fiona Lee as Shepherdess in the Sunday show.
Tickets are $18-$45 and available at Eckroth Music in Bozeman (on the corner of 7th and Mendenhall), or online at www.yellowstoneballet.org.
For more information or group rates call 406-223-4664 or email [email protected].