THE NUTCRACKER Comes to the Ballet Theatre of Maryland

This holiday season, the Ballet Theatre of Maryland will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Dianna Cuatto’s production of The Nutcracker with performances in Annapolis and Hampstead, MD. This yearly tradition from Maryland’s premier ballet company will delight audiences with its whimsical story, entertaining characters, and festive sets and costumes. To extend the joy of the holidays, BTM offers a family-friendly Sugar Plum Party before every Sunday show.

Choreographed by Artistic Director Emeritus Dianna Cuatto, BTM’s Nutcracker follows Clara’s timeless adventure to rescue her beloved Nutcracker from the Rat Queen’s evil spell. Audiences will travel with her through the whirling Kingdom of Snow to the Land of the Sweets, capturing the spirit of the holiday season in the language of dance and theatre.

Says Artistic Director Nicole Kelsch, “We look back on the past 20 years of Dianna’s Nutcracker with gratitude for all the ways our community has embraced the Ballet Theatre of Maryland. This includes our audience members here in Annapolis, but also the wider community we’ve found through the state. We are happy to be sharing The Nutcracker with our audience in Hampstead again this season.”

Audiences in Hampstead will kick off the holidays with a performance at Coppermine Pantherplex on Sunday, November 24 at 2pm. December 14-22, the company will perform in Annapolis at its home venue, Maryland Hall. Here, BTM invites audiences to create memories together at a Sugar Plum Party. Ticket holders to this festive event will mingle, enjoy light refreshments, and take pictures with their favorite characters the hour before each Sunday performance.

Take in Ballet Theatre of Maryland’s performances of The Nutcracker on Sunday, November 24 in Hampstead and December 14, 15, 21, and 22 in Annapolis. In-person tickets are on sale now with discounts for seniors, military, students, and children. For virtual audiences, tickets are $36 per household. 

Ballet Theatre of Maryland, founded in 1978, is designated as Maryland’s premier professional ballet company and conservatory. The company, comprised of 43 professional dancers and 14 trainees, produces high-caliber ballet performances that engage the mind and spirit and express Maryland’s unique voice through movement. BTM seeks to make ballet accessible to all audiences while attaining ever-higher levels of artistic excellence. Professional faculty members of the Conservatory of Dance are current in their field and hold degrees or certifications in dance education. The conservatory offers a full curriculum of classes and provides students with professional performance opportunities. For more information about BTM, please visit www.balletmaryland.org or call (410) 224-5644.

Nicole Kelsch received her early training from Peter and Kristin Degnan at Ballet Northeast in Pennsylvania. She also received training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Austin, Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts, and Princeton Ballet. Nicole graduated from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Ballet Performance in three years. Upon graduation, she danced professionally with Columbia City Ballet, Atlanta Festival Ballet, and Connecticut Ballet.  

In 2006, Nicole joined The Ballet Theatre of Maryland as an apprentice under the direction of Dianna Cuatto. She was promoted to Principal Dancer in 2008 and throughout her career was featured as Clara and The Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, the Firebird in The Firebird, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, as a Principal in Antony Tudor’s Continuo, the Principal Couple in Italian Symphonette, Titania and Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Magdalena in An American Southwest Carmen, Cinderella in Cinderella, Guinevere in Excalibur, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Pearl in The Little Mermaid, and has performed the Don Quixote Pas de Deux. 

In 2008, after having served on the faculty for two years, Nicole became the School Principal for The Ballet Theatre of Maryland Conservatory. She was named the Ballet Mistress for the company in 2015. Nicole retired from performing in March 2020 and became the Artistic Director in July 2020. She successfully led the company through a full 2020-2021 performing season at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, staging performances of Edward Stewart’s Dracula, Dianna Cuatto’s The Nutcracker, An American Southwest Carmen, and The Little Mermaid.  

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