ORLANDO — All fans of The Nutcracker, take note: The Chocolate Nutcracker is on its way back to Orlando in November.
Clare and The Chocolate Nutcracker, a variation on the 1892 two-act ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is returning to Orlando on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
Produced by Orlando Community Arts, the show will feature “175 dancers — primarily children and youth” who will “light up the stage with brilliance, hard work, dancing genius, discipline, and pure showmanship.”
Created and written by OCA’s Executive Producer Beverly Page, tickets are on sale at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts starting at $39.50 each.
What Is Clare and the Chocolate Nutcracker?
The show is a modern-day holiday production of the Nutcracker Ballet, but one that offers diverse representation, set against a backdrop of a 19th-century brownstone and modern high-rises in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
“Unlike the traditional Nutcracker opening scene inside Clare’s home, this modern holiday opening scene takes place in Clare’s Harlem neighborhood with a street party,” OCA notes on its website. “The scenes are filled with pageantry of dazzling costumes, choreographed dance scenes by professional dancers and choreographers, and local children from underserved communities.”
Dominiq Luckie, Principal dancer of Ballet Memphis, will be on hand to perform as the Chocolate Nutcracker Prince.
As OCA noted in a news release, “Last year, on a cultural, ecstatic, and global perspective, the dancers never stopped moving the entire show. If you were not there you missed a special treat, and it rocked downtown Orlando. The scenes were magnificent, and once the dancing started you were under the spell of the show.”
This production will feature a cast of 175 dancers and a large production crew.
Where Are Tickets Available?
The tickets are now on sale at Dr. Phillips Center, with a group discount for the purchase of 10 or more tickets.
Orlando Community Arts, Inc. is a 501©3 organization with a mission to give arts access to the underserved communities, and it has maintained a commitment to presenting a memorable and magical production.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book “Bloody Rabbit”. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
