There are many productions of The Nutcracker this time of year. The Nutcracker presented by The Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley is celebrating its 50th Anniversary production. Three performances were given at Zoellner Arts Center on the campus of Lehigh University. The full orchestra that accompanied the dancers was conducted by Eugene Albulescu. The company’s artistic director is Karen Kroninger Knerr.
Before the performance began they announced that this special anniversary brought back many of the performers from previous years.
Even though I was in the audience, I am one of them. In 1984 I appeared as the father in the first act and Mother Ginger in the second act.
The company at that time was called The Bethlehem Ballet and the artistic director was Alexi Ramov. I had previously performed the role of Herr Drosselmeyer for the Ft. Lauderdale Ballet. He told me he already had a Drosselmeyer but offered me the role of the father and Mother Ginger. He was an excellent coach and taught me how to do the make-up for Mother Ginger. His portrait hangs on the wall of the new set of the Stahlbaum home in Act One.
The new set in the first act was beautifully designed by Carl Sprague.I shall always remember him with fondness.
Mr. Sprague added many details that were missing in the previous set. The father was danced by Ian Lovell and the mother by Joyce Pencek Yoder. Her elegant gown was red and gold and was one of the more beautiful costumes than usually seen in other productions.
Their children were danced by Brianna Dougherty as Clara and her brother, Fritz, was danced by Zander Ritchey.
The large cast of adults and children were moved around the stage with great precision.
The magical Herr Drosselmeyer, bringer of the Nutcracker, was performed by Kristopher Yoder.
The second scene, The Battle, was also busy with many of the students as the mice and toy soldiers.
Again, the direction was flawless in maneuvering the large cast around the stage.
In the Land of Snow Elisabeth Lee, a 12th grader at Liberty High School, executed a perfect Snow Queen.
Her Cavalier, Malcom Burton, is an alumnus of the company and now studies dance at Butler University.
The company of female dancers as the snowflakes created a wonderful finale to the first act.
The Emmaus High School Woman’s Choir, under the direction of Rita Cortez, performed the vocals for the Snow music.
The second act called The Kingdom of Sweets continued the performance with a collection of short dances called divertissements.
At this point the older students of the company performed in various dances from around the world.
Tevin Johnson, a guest with the company, did the solo work in the Russian Trepak, but in this production was listed as the Candy Canes. Mr. Johnson studied on a scholarship with the Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive. His high leaps were a delight to the audience.
Lillian DiPiazza and Ian Hussey danced the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. They are both principle dancers with the Pennsylvania Ballet. The audience completely approved of their Grand Pas de Deux.
Many new costumes were created for this anniversary production. The colors used in The Waltz of the Flowers were pleasing to the eye.
Most regional companies copy the designs used by the New York City Ballet. In their production the flowers have green bodices and pink skirts. These new costumes were a solid pink for the flowers and Dew Drop wore a soft pale green.
Congratulations to this local school and ballet company on their impressive 50th Anniversary.