Local auditions for Moscow Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” held Sept. 17

PRESS RELEASE FROM EVENT ORGANIZERS:

Calling local student dancers to audition to perform side-by-side with the professional company in Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker in Asheville! The selected children will perform in the Great Russian Nutcracker December 4 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium at the US Cellular Center. Moscow Ballet Soloist and Audition Director Lana Popova will conduct auditions Saturday, September 17, 10 a.m., at Moscow Ballet’s local Host Dance Studio Center Stage Dance Studio at 38 L Rosscraggon Road, Asheville, NC 28803, for dance students from the area. Student dancers, boys and girls, ages 7 to 17 years, and who have at least one year of ballet training, may audition for ancillary roles such as Party Children, Mice, Snowflakes, Angels and more. The auditions are free, there may be a casting fee. Moscow Ballet’s “Dance with Us” program brings 6,000 student dancers on stage to perform in a professional environment annually for 24 years – a once in a lifetime experience for many children! “It really brought the idea home that the Great Russian Nutcracker is a wonderful chance for children to be in a full-length production and experience first-hand an authentic classical ballet from this uniquely Russian company of remarkable performers.” Calgary Herald, Stephan Bonfield, 2014.Sign up to audition today at www.nutcracker.com/youth-auditions . Performance tickets are at www.nutcracker.com.

Lana Popova is new to Moscow Ballet in 2016. The multi-talented Lana is a very experienced ballerina, teacher and artist. Lana performed on ballet tours to New Zealand, Australia and China, Mexico, Europe; including Spain, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden; India, and more countries. She was the Head Assistant of the Delegation of the North-East of Moscow to the Para-Olympic Winter Games in Sochi 2014. Click for more

Host Dance Studio Center Stage Dance Studio has been ‘dancing” since 1979 and offers classes in a variety of styles for children ages 3 to 18. It is Western North Carolina’s top rated dance facility and is unique among dance studios in the area; all faculty hold degrees in dance or early childhood education, have danced with a professional company or maintain membership in Dance Masters of America. Founder Michele Lee remains committed to offering the highest quality dance education to students. The success of Center Stage lies in maintaining positive relationships with students and forming a life-long love of dance. Many former students now bring their children to Center Stage!

Dance with Us brings a professional, live ballet performance experience to over 5,000 student dancers in the US and Canada each year since 1994. Local student dancers ages 7 to 17 audition and rehearse with Moscow Ballet Audition directors who travel to each town eight weeks before the performance. The auditions are open to student dancers from all studios and they are free. (There is a casting fee for participation). Julia Zhmutski of Julia’s Dance Academy in Oklahoma City said, “It was such an amazing opportunity for our young dancers to learn and grow and see how a professional company works. We loved the fact that the original Nutcracker was used and the costumes were breathtaking.” Dance with UsAudition Directors travel to 100+ North American cities in September and October auditioning and rehearsing local. Dance with Usis underwritten by Moscow Ballet. Partnerships with local dance studios in performance cities are developed by co-producer Mary Gianonne Talmi who also developed “Dance with Us” program.Click for more.

Moscow Ballet – 2016 is the company’s 24th consecutive year touring North America. In addition to the popular Great Russian Nutcracker, company repertory includes classic ballets Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella and more. The company features award-winning and rising star dancers, from Lilia Sabitova in 1994 to Alisa Voronova in 2014. The company performs 100+ engagements annually across Canada and in most of the United States’ largest cities consistently receiving critical acclaim. In addition to public performances, Moscow Ballet dedicates resources to community engagement programs. The 23 year Dance with Us program shares the Russian Vaganova ballet training with over 5,000 American dance students annually bringing them on stage in ancillary roles to perform side-by-side with the professionals. Underwritten by Moscow Ballet, the program was developed by choreographer and co-producer Mary Gianonne Talmi. The intensive cultural immersion project “New Horizons – A Children’s Program for Life” benefits thousands of school children in tour cities and programs Musical Wunderkind and Summer Intensives also touch the lives of many children and young adults. Moscow Ballet’s partnerships with corporations and not-for-profit organizations such as the President’s Challenge Program and Children’s Hospitals, has raised significant revenue. www.moscowballet.com.