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Mary W. Sommervold Hall at Washington Pavilion
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Sioux Falls Area Student Dancers Joined Moscow Ballet Russians on Stage in November!Sioux Falls area youth were selected to perform alongside 40 Moscow Ballet professionals in the 20th Anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker at Mary W. Sommervold Hall in November. Star Performance Complex was the host studio for Moscow Ballet’s Student Program in Sioux Falls, and a Moscow Ballet soloist serves as Audition and Rehearsal Director. Pictured here: Student dancers in a past performance of the Great Russian Nutcracker. 
Selected student dancers are: Party Guests: Mineya Afa, Macey Oppelt, Avari Hill, Chantalle Galbavy, Payton Steffensen, Maddie Rausch, Saige Erickson, Kelsey Frost. Snowflakes: Lilly Fenicle, Briley Steffensen, Macey Wigg, Emerald Jensen, Alivia Hovdestad, Gabby Micheel, Audrey Goon, Syda Afa, Tessa VanPelt, Emma Yellowbird, Raeya Allen, Lilly Witte. Angels: Mackinzie Wethor, Macey Oppelt, Brooklyn Cheppenko, Courtney Hanson, Lilly Aikman, Pearl Wigg, Hannah Frost, Mineya Afa, Maddie Rausch, Suzanna Sejnoha, Saige Erickson, Alexes Hovdestad. Every year since 1993, Moscow Ballet has engaged local ballet students and host studios in cities on the North American tour, offering them the most unusual opportunity of auditioning, rehearsing, and performing in a professional setting. Children ages 7 to 16, under 5”2” and with some ballet training are eligible to audition. Pictured: Students in cities across the country auditioned for a part in the Great Russian Nutcracker. 
Moscow Ballet’s 20th anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker celebrates the 50,000+ student dancers (an average of 50 students in 50 cities over 20 years time) who have performed along-side the Russian cast of 40 on annual North American tours. The commitment to deliver children’s programming, in tandem with acclaimed ballet performances, began 20 years earlier when Moscow Ballet producers, then working with Connecticut Dance Theatre, invited Dance Theater of Harlem directors to work with their Hartford students. Among those dedicated students was Charmaine Hunter who went on to become star of Arthur Mitchell’s Fire Bird. Other children’s programming includes 1984 “Cynthia Gregory Celebration Tour” with the “Just Say No” campaign as it’s official message and chaired by First Lady Nancy Reagan; Russian-Cultural Ballet program produced in museums and art institutions; “Cinderella Around the World” dance and literacy program; and “First International Glasnost Festival Tours” included symposiums, screenings, poetry readings, and more for students and public at Dartmouth, Yale, and other colleges. Today Moscow Ballet offers all children New Horizons: A Children’s Program for Life, addressing diet, exercise and creative expression through interactive experiences with Moscow Ballet dancers. www.nutcracker.com/education. |
Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker is
Coming to Sioux Falls with 20th Anniversary Production!
The special 20th Anniversary production of Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker in 2012 overflows with a spectacular new "Dove of Peace," where 2 dancers become one stunning bird, inspired by the early works of Stanislov Vlasov, original choreographer and director of Moscow Ballet's inaugural Great Russian Nutcracker. The production also features a Christmas tree that grows to 7 stories tall; falling snow and Troika-styled sleigh escorted by Russian folk characters Ded Moroz (Father Christmas) and Snegurochka (Snow Maiden); towering hand-made silk puppets; 200 all new, lavish costumes; and 9 hand-painted backdrops, all set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky's complete Nutcracker Suite score.
For 20 years, Great Russian Nutcracker performances have featured the finest Russian ballerinas and danseurs. From former Bolshoi soloist Stanislov Vlasov and partner Lilia Sabitova (People's Artist of Russia) in 1993 to the classic Marina Alexandrova and Vitaly Zabelin in 1996; danseur and upstart choreographer Anatolie Emelianov and Honored Artist of Russia Tatiana Predenia in 2002; Varna IBC Gold Medalists Cristina and Alexei Terentiev in 2006; and award winning partners Karyna Shatkovskaya and Vladimir Tkachenko in 2011. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker celebrates 20 years of soaring holiday spirit!
"Experience the combination of strength, grace, elegance."
Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Mary W. Sommervold Hall is located at the Washington Pavilion. The building began as a renovation of Washington High School; the school was eventually relocated to another area of Sioux Falls. The building then became a venue for the performing arts, visual arts, interactive science, and educational opportunities. In addition to Sommervold Hall, the Pavilion features the Kirby Science Discovery Center and the Husby Performing Arts Center, and is home to cultural partners such as the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, the Sioux Falls Arts Council, and the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
