Nutcracker Ballet by Peninsula Youth Ballet November 26, 2011

The Peninsula Youth Ballet (PYB) will be presenting the holiday classic, the “Nutcracker”, with performances held on November 26th and 27th and December 3rd and 4th, 2011 at the Bayside Performing Arts Center at 2025 Kehoe Avenue in San Mateo. Performances are at 2pm, with a special night performance at 7pm on December 3rd.

The Nutcracker is a fairytale ballet composed in 1891-1892 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Marius Petipa choreographed the first ballet based on Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of the story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The first performance was held in December 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since then, the ballet became a Christmas tradition and one of the most popular ballets of all time. Its universal appeal has been attributed to the popularity of its timeless characters and its beautifully intricate choreography, costumes, and set design.

According to PYB president Frankie Briones, “I believe our rendition of the performance is so successful because of Ayako Takahashi’s amazing ability to choreograph all her dancers in a way that brings out their abilities and strengths as dancers. She mixes professional dancers with amateurs, fine tuning each scene in order to provide the audience with a captivating experience.

This year’s performance will also be excellent, especially with the amazing list of professional guest dancers: Jekyns Palaez from Diablo Ballet and Jeremy Kovitch from Ballet San Jose as the Cavalier; Mariko Takahashi from the Oakland Ballet and Menlowe Ballet and Amy Briones from Ballet San Jose as the Sugar Plum Fairy (both dancers are alumni of Ayako School of Ballet); Other male guest dancers are Joseph Copley, Jeff Wolfe as Prince, Akira Takahashi as Russian, Michael Lowe as Drosselmeyer, and Carlos Venturo as Mouse King. Little Clara are Mari Kojima, Elexi Kourtoglou and Kylie Chiu.

“For nearly 20 years, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of professional and amateur dancers,” said Ayako Takahashi, PYB’s artistic director. “I am always amazed at the immense talent here on the Peninsula. These performers come alive on stage and use their talents to keep audiences enthralled year after year.”

Shortly after each 2:00 pm matinee performance, children will be able to meet the characters from the “Sugar Plum Kingdom” at “Clara’s Tea Party”, which includes cookies, punch, a photo with a favorite character and a surprise gift.