Murphy and Hallberg to Lead ABT's THE NUTCRACKER 12/23

American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancers Gillian Murphy and David Hallberg will lead the cast of the World Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky's all-new production of The Nutcracker, Thursday, December 23, 2010 at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Advance tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 25, 2010.

American Ballet Theatre's World Premiere production of the Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky classic The Nutcracker, with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, scenery and costumes by Richard Hudson and lighting by Jennifer Tipton, will be given 16 performances during the Company's two-week engagement at BAM with preview performances on Wednesday evening, December 22 and Thursday matinee,

December 23.

Veronika Part and Marcelo Gomes will debut in the leading roles of Clara and The Nutcracker Prince for the first preview performance of The Nutcracker on Wednesday evening, December 22 at 7:00pm, and Hee Seo and Alexandre Hammoudi will dance the roles at the second preview performance on Thursday matinee,

December 23 at 2:00pm. Additional lead casting includes Yuriko Kajiya and Daniil Simkin at the 11:00am matinee on Friday, December 24, and Paloma Herrera and Cory Stearns at the 3:30pm matinee performance. Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo will debut in the leading roles on Thursday evening, December 30 at 5:30pm.

TICKETS ON SALE

The Brooklyn Academy Of Music box office opens Wednesday, August 25 for advance ticket sales. Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's all-new production of

The Nutcracker, priced from $15-$135, can be purchased in person at the BAM box office, by phone at 718-636-4100 or online at www.bam.org. The BAM box office is located at 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. For more information, please visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

Principal casting follows.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of American Ballet Theatre's

The Nutcracker. Linda Allard is the Original Underwriting Sponsor of costumes for The Nutcracker. Joan Taub Ades and Alan M. Ades, the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, and Brian and Darlene Heidtke are Co-Underwriting Sponsors of The Nutcracker. A gift as Co-Underwriting Sponsor of costumes for The Nutcracker has been provided in loving memory of Ellen Everett Kimiatek. Lisa and Dick Cashin, Linda and Martin Fell, and Ruth and Harold Newman are Co-Underwriting Partners of The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

American Airlines is ABT's Official Airline. Northern Trust is the Official Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the Official Sponsor of ABT II. ABT's 2010 World Premiere season of The Nutcracker is also made possible with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.