Tucson area youth were selected to perform alongside 40 Moscow Ballet professionals in the 20th Anniversary Great Russian Nutcracker at Fox Tucson Theatre in December. Breakout Studios was the host studio for Moscow Ballet’s Student Program in Tucson. 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 in Act I are: Party Guests: Ricky Diaz, Marissa Diaz, Mariana Dorame, Annika Eckert, Callista Gamboa, Kelsi Heim, Katherine Kanter, Isabella Lochowitz, Gabi Martinez, Emily Perrotta, Arielle Sare, Mikayla Sarnacki, Kali Schmeltzer, Danielle Wing, Cassidy Zuna. Snowflakes: Savannah Diaz, Arhysa Gamboa, Kelsi Heim, Emily Perrotta, Julia Pratti, Jaylene Sanchez, Arielle Sare, Mikayla Sarnacki. Angels: Marissa Diaz, Mariana Dorame, Katherine Kanter, Isabella Lochowitz, Gabi Martinez, Lauren Real, Danielle Wing, Cassidy Zuna. Butterflies: Carly Bennett, Karli Heim, Maya Ohana, Kali Schmeltzer. Dancers in Act II's variations are: Spanish: Carly Bennett, Karli Heim, Emily Perrotta, Mikayla Sarnacki. Russian: Ricky Diaz, Marissa Diaz, Callista Gamboa, Ariana Ruiz. Chinese: Annika Eckert, Kelsi Heim, Isabella Lochowitz, Kali Schmeltzer. French: Arhysa Gamboa, Jaylene Sanchez. Arabian: Sarah Bjorndahl, Ariann Foley.

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.