Sunday, November 13, 2011

FORT WAYNE BALLET WELCOMES NATIONAL ARTISTS JUSTIN MCMILLAN AND KENDALL TEAGUE AND CONTINUES PARTNERSHIP WITH FORT WAYNE ANIMAL CARE & CONTROL FOR 2011 PERFORMANCES OF THE NUTCRACKER

Fort Wayne Ballet, northern Indiana’s oldest and premier academy and performance dance organization, opens the 2011 holiday season with its classical rendition of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker for nine (9) evening and matinee performances from December 2 through December 11, 2011. This year, the Fort Wayne Ballet partners once again with Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control and expands upon a longtime collaboration with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, now featuring three weekend performances December 2 and 3 with the Philharmonic, Sameer Patel, Assistant Conductor, and the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, Pamela K. Pierson, Director, in musical accompaniment. All performances are held at Arts United Center, 303 East Main Street in downtown Fort Wayne. Performance dates and times are:

DECEMBER 2 @ 8 PM * (with Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Fort Wayne Children’s Choir)
DECEMBER 3 @ 2:30 PM* (with Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Fort Wayne Children’s Choir)
DECEMBER 3 @ 8 PM * (with Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Fort Wayne Children’s Choir)
DECEMBER 4 @ 2:30 PM
DECEMBER 6 @ 7 PM
DECEMBER 9 @ 8 PM
DECEMBER 10 @ 2:30 PM
DECEMBER 10 @ 8 PM
DECEMBER 11 @ 2:30 PM

Group and individual performance ticket information is available by calling Fort Wayne Ballet at 260- 484-9646. Tickets will also be available at the Arts United Center box office beginning November 28. Sugar Plum Parties will immediately follow all afternoon performances, and an Opening Night Champagne Reception will follow the December 2 performance. 

Partnering for the first time last year with Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control, Fort Wayne Ballet seamlessly incorporated adoption-eligible dogs in the Act I Party Scene, providing space in the lobby for FWACC to allow visits with the canine stars during intermission. Families interested in adoption could begin the process right there, but people were also encouraged to visit the wide array of other adoptable pets at the shelter located on Hillegas Road. Allison Miller, Adoption Supervisor of FWACC, reported increased foot traffic in the wake of The Nutcracker, and, most happily, all 14 of the dogs featured during the 2010 run of The Nutcracker found new homes in time for the holidays.

This year Karen Gibbons-Brown, Executive/Artistic Director of Fort Wayne Ballet, began contacting other ballet companies throughout the country in an effort to expand the project nationally, a project she hopes to continue in the years to come. To date, six other companies have committed to adding “Muttcrackers” to their own productions. Beyond the opportunity to better serve and partner with the Fort Wayne community, such additions offer new ways to interpret and experience a classic piece.

“We are pleased and honored to be such an integral part of our community’s holiday tradition,” says Ms. Gibbons-Brown. “As the story stays the same, we have always added some things to keep our production fresh. This year’s production will not disappoint!”