Photo Credit – Kellie Walgreen
The snow has started to fall North of Boston and Drosselmeyer and the Mouse King will soon be at it again. For the last few months, The Greater Salem Ballet Company has been hard at work preparing for its 6th annual production of The Nutcracker, which will be staged at the historic Lynn Auditorium this upcoming Saturday, December 7th at 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm.
For this production, Alan Alberto and Eugenia Zinovieva, soloists of The Festival Ballet of Providence, will be returning in the cherished roles of Cavalier and the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Eugenia Zinovieva
Photo by Kellie Walgreen
The Greater Salem Ballet Company is a non-profit organization formed in 2013 by Artistic Directors Seanna Chmura and Susan Byrne, along with Assistant Director Katie Machado. It’s a part of a larger studio called A Performing Arts Academy, which offers other styles of dance including jazz, hip hop, and contemporary.
Chmura and Byrne have been directing the Nutcracker for 26 years, and over the course of the last three decades have helped to build and connect a local community of cross-generational dancers. For the past six years, they’ve been hosting the Nutcracker North of Boston, providing the opportunity for people to see the Nutcracker without having to schlep all the way into the city.
This year, with 105 participating children and half a dozen adults, it’s the largest cast in the production’s history, and it’s comprised of students from the studio and from other studios in the area as well.
“It’s a community production, and any dance student is welcome to participate no matter what studio they dance in,” says Artistic Director Seanna Chmura.
This year, the role of Clara will be played by Salem native Emma Losolfo. Emma’s Mother also danced with Chmura and Byrne many years ago.
Photo by Vicki Hendrix
“Most of our dance instructors at our studio are former students or people that we [Seanna and Susan] danced with,” explains Chmura. “That’s the culture of our studio, we’re very family-oriented, and a lot of the instructors have children who also dance at our studio.”
The company is also excited to welcome this year a new teacher, Ruth Fentroy, a former soloist with the Cairo Opera Ballet, Egypt and the mother of Chyrstyn Fentroy, a current soloist with the Boston Ballet. Ruth has collaborated with the company’s directors to help create new choreography for this year’s production.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly and get your tickets to this year’s The Greater Salem Ballet Company’s production of The Nutcracker this Saturday, December 7th at 12:00 pm and 4:00 pm.
About the Greater Salem Ballet Company: Our mission at The Greater Salem Ballet Company is to give dance students an opportunity to perform locally in a professional quality ballet production while learning in a warm, encouraging and nurturing environment! Join us this year for our 5th Anniversary Production of ~ THE NUTCRACKER! December 7th, 2019 www.TheGSBC.com
Things to do in Lynn
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