Texas Ballet Theater Presents Ben Stevenson's THE NUTCRACKER

Texas Ballet Theater (TBT) ushers in the holiday season with one of North Texas' most acclaimed productions, Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker, at Bass Performance Hall December 9-24, and returning this year to the Winspear Opera House in Dallas November 25-27 and December 2-4.

"When Christmas comes around, to me, it is always a family celebration," said Stevenson. "There's the tree, gifts, turkey and what could be more appropriate than The Nutcracker. It's an American tradition that we all treasure."

In this holiday tradition, Clara receives a mysterious Nutcracker from her godfather and it becomes the center theme for an astonishing dream. She travels to The Kingdom of Sweets where she is treated to a celebration of delicacies from around the world. Along with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's classic score, flying carpets, snow, and TBT's dancers make this show unforgettable.

With 25 Nutcracker performances this season, there's some staggering behind-the-scenes numbers: 400,000 watts of electricity for each performance, a $10,000 cost for the Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy's tutus, 200 costumes in the production, 50 pounds of dry ice per performance, 45 stagehands, 17 loads of laundry after each performance, five crew members required to make the Angel, Swan and Carpet magically fly, four snow machines on the rooftop and at least three pairs of shoes per dancer used each week of performances.

TBT has more than 40 professional dancers performing five to six roles each in The Nutcracker. Dancers rehearse up to six hours per day in preparation for this annual production. The wardrobe department stays busy preparing too, beginning their costume refurbishing and repair onJune 1 each year. They can spend 200-300 hours to stitch one tutu.

The Nutcracker opens Friday, November 25 at Winspear Opera House, and runs through December 24 at Bass Performance Hall. Tickets range in price from $20 to $180 and can be purchased at www.texasballettheater.org or by calling the TBT ticketing office at 877.828.9200option 1.

Texas Ballet Theater Presents: Ben Stevenson's The Nutcracker

Winspear Opera House

2403 Flora St, Dallas, TX 75201

Friday, November 25, 8PM

Saturday, November 26, 2PM and 8PM

Sunday, November 27, 2PM

Friday, December 2, 8PM

Saturday, December 3, 2PM and 8PM

Sunday, December 4, 2PM

Bass Performance Hall

525 Commerce St, Fort Worth, TX 76102

Friday, December 9, 8PM

Saturday, December 10, 2PM and 8PM

Sunday, December 11, 2PM and 7PM

Thursday, December 15, 7PM

Saturday, December 17, 2PM and 8PM

Sunday, December 18, 2PM and 7PM

Wednesday, December 21, 2PM and 7PM

Thursday, December 22, 2PM and 7PM

Friday, December 23, 2PM and 8PM

Saturday, December 24, 2PM

About Texas Ballet Theater

Texas Ballet Theater is the only fully professional classical ballet company in North Texas and is honored to serve as resident company for Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas. TBT is an internationally recognized company built on a rich 55-year history; it boasts a repertoire that is creative, expressive and collaborative.

About Ben Stevenson

Ben Stevenson, O.B.E., a native of Portsmouth, England, began his dance training at the Arts Educational School in London and became a principal dancer with the English National Ballet. An internationally renowned choreographer, his works include full-length versions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty and original productions such as Three Preludes, Mozart Requiemand Four Last Songs.

Prior to joining TBT as Artistic Director, Stevenson worked with some of the nation's premier companies, including the National and Houston Ballets, and his works have been staged across the world. For his contribution to the arts, Queen Elizabeth II named Mr. Stevenson an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.). He also was awarded the Texas Medal of Arts in 2005.

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