Local performers in 2023 Nutcracker

Cass County dancers will be participating in the performance of the Nutcracker again this year for the Community Ballet of Texarkana, “returning for its 56th year of entertaining and educating.” The Nutcracker is a fantasy of childhood, a young girl’s dream of magic, based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s “Nutcracker and the Mouse King.”

Community Ballet of Texarkana will present four performances of the beloved Nutcracker Ballet on December 1, 2, and 3 at the historic Perot Theatre in downtown Texarkana.

This marks the 31st year of The Nutcracker by Community Ballet Of Texarkana. Other ballets have included Peter and the Wolf, Coppelia, Les Patineurs, Les Sylphide, Salute to Gershwin, and Cinderella. Set to the beautiful music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with choreography by TCB member teachers and directors, and with new costumes and scenery, the 2023 Nutcracker continues the holiday tradition of Community Ballet of Texarkana presentations of classical ballets.

Company auditions were held in August, with 220 dancers ages 8-18 cast in the performance. Each season, the company brings a professional dancer or teacher to Texarkana to audition students and to cast the ballet. Dancers are selected on four levels of advancement.

The following dancers were chosen for soloist and featured dancer roles: Sugar Plum Fairy: Zoe Potter Nutcracker Prince: Will Porterfield Clara: Norah Jordan Fritz: Evan Stewart Dew Drop Fairy: Charly McNiel Snow Queen: Maggie Thomas Ballerina Doll: Chloe Vess Harlequin Doll: Natalie Robinson Mother Ginger: Taylor Harding-Black Reed Flutes soloist: Aimee Womack Michael Skotnik will perform as Herr Drosselmeyer, the mysterious dollmaker who gifts Clara with her nutcracker, setting the stage for her magical journey.

Richard and Vicki Hornok will reprise their roles as the Town Council President and his wife.

The story follows a young girl, Clara, who is thrilled with the party hosted by her parents on Christmas Eve and with the gift she receives ~ then finds herself transported in her dreams through battles between terrifying rats and transformed toy soldiers, through a forest filled with elegant dancing trees and snowflakes, and into a kingdom where her favorite sweets and her beloved Nutcracker perform variations and a pas de deux for her pleasure.

Community Ballet of Texarkana is a cooperative effort of the following dance schools: Judith McCarty School of Dancing, All Stars Dance Center, Lana LaVoice Grounds School of Dance, Tammie Duncan School of Dance, Patti Smith’s Dancing Unlimited, Joni’s Gymnastics and Dance Centré, and Red Door Dance Academy.

Performances are Friday, December 1 at 7 pm; Saturday, December 2 at 2 pm and 7 pm; and Sunday, December 3 at 2 pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the Perot Theatre Box Office 221 Main Street Texarkana, at (903) 792-4992, and at www.perottheatre. org.