Houston Ballet Presents THE NUTCRACKER

Tickets are now on sale for Stanton Welch AM's beloved holiday classic, The Nutcracker, opening November 23 at the Wortham Theater as Houston Ballet make its triumphant return home for the holidays. Performance tickets and VIP experiences are on sale now at HoustonBallet.org or 713.227.ARTS(2787).

"We are very excited to be able to return to the Wortham Theater for our wonderful Nutcracker," says The Harris Masterson III Artistic Director Stanton Welch. "We've been on the road for a while now, and to get to be home and to bring that ballet back to its full glory on that wonderful Wortham stage is something that I can't even begin to tell you how exciting that is for all of us."

As the crown jewel of Houston Ballet's upcoming season and a beloved tradition for the city of Houston, The Nutcracker brings the holiday magic to life on stage with each performance through Welch's dazzling choreography set to Pyotr Tchaikovsky's iconic score. More than 250 spectacular costumes will be donned by Houston Ballet's talented company dancers and Houston Ballet Academy's vibrant students while larger-than-life scenery captivates audiences' imaginations, thanks to the work of acclaimed British Designer Tim Goodchild. With 34 performances this holiday season, there are plenty of opportunities for audiences of all ages to experience the whimsy and wonder that this glittering production delivers time and time again.

Houston Ballet's production of The Nutcracker is generously Presented by Houston Methodist and sponsored in part ConocoPhillips, KPRC, Tenenbaum Jewelers, United Airlines, Baker Botts L.L.P. Bank of America, Shell Oil Company, H-E-B, Apache Corporation, and Macy's.

For the first time ever, Houston Ballet will hold an open audition for the lively young cast of The Nutcracker. The open audition will be held at Houston Ballet's Center For Dance from 2:00-3:30 PM on Sunday, August 26, 2018. This exciting opportunity allows young dancers to be part of one of the city's grandest holiday traditions while working alongside talented professional dancers and instructors. Further details and audition pre-registration can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/HoustonBalletNutcracker.

Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 60 dancers with a budget of $33 million, making it the country's fifth largest ballet company. With a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company-also the largest professional dance facility in America-Houston Ballet's $46.6 million Center for Dance opened in April 2011, with an endowment of just over $74.1 million (as of July 2017).

Australian choreographer Stanton Welch AM has served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the company's classical technique and commissioning works from dance makers such as Christopher Bruce, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, Ji?í Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Julia Adam, Edwaard Liang, and George Balanchine. Executive Director James Nelson serves as the administrative leader of the company, a position he assumed in February 2012 after serving as the company's General Manager for more than a decade.

Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Over the past fifteen years, the company has appeared in renowned theaters in London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montréal, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and in cities large and small across the United States.

Houston Ballet's Education and Community Engagement Program reaches more than 60,000 individuals in the Houston area annually. Houston Ballet Academy teaches more than one thousand students every year, and approximately 50 percent of the current company was trained by the Academy.

For more information on Houston Ballet, visit www.houstonballet.org.

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