THE NUTCRACKER Dances Into Rockland This December

With Christmas around the corner, families are sure to be looking for Holiday events for themselves and for children. Fortunately, they don't have travel far to experience a special holiday tradition; The Rockland Youth Dance Ensemble (RYDE) will once again perform the Nutcracker with a junior company and a senior company early in December.

The Junior company will perform at North Rockland High School on December 2nd and 3rd and the Senior Company will perform at Rockland Community College December 8th, 9th and 10th. Tickets for every performance are reserved seating for $22 and can be purchased online www.Showtix4u.com, beginning October 22, 2017 at 9:00 p.m.

"Every year we hear from people who say our performances rival those they have attended in New York City. We have hundreds of talented students from Rockland, Orange, Bergen, Westchester and Manhattan who participate in the Nutcracker each year and it is a wonderful opportunity for families to partake in a family favorite, stay close to home and experience local talent," stated Artistic Director Diane Coupé Frankel.

RYDE is a nonprofit organization, founded over 30 years ago to offer a forum for students and emerging artists, in dance and theatre, to develop their talents in a fully integrated environment of education and performance. RYDE performers are students ages 7 through 18 who have accomplished high quality performance ability through their studies in the performing arts. Many go on to dance on Broadway and with prestigious national companies throughout the United States.

RYDE offers an opportunity for children from across the region to participate in the Nutcracker and other performances throughout the year. While many of the students train at Coupé, anyone may audition. In addition to putting on full theatre productions for the public to enjoy, RYDE supports qualified artists in their development of new projects and original performance works and offers Arts in Education workshops and residencies in schools for grades K through 12 and a Master class series for post-high school students.

One of their goals is to provide opportunities for underserved students as well as nurture creativity, expand skills toward creative problem solving, explore multi-cultural environments and generate confidence and high self-esteem. More information can be found at their website at http://rocklandyouthdanceensemble.org/

At the helm of RYDE is the famed Diane Coupé Frankel, founder of Coupé Theatre Studio based in Nanuet. Coupé performed on Broadway with some of the world's greatest talents including Barbara Streisand, Angela Lansbury, and Zero Mostel. She founded Coupé Theatre Studio nearly 50 years ago and, along with her staff, has trained thousands of children and adults from around the New York region. Coupé Frankel believes dancers must be versatile to be successful, so her studio offers everything from ballet, pointe, jazz and tap to musical theatre, hip hop, voice and drama.

Nutcracker Performance Dates and Times:

December 2nd at 1:00 p.m. (narrated) and 4:00 p.m.

December 3rd at 1:00 p.m. (narrated) and 4:00 p.m.

at North Rockland High School

and

December 8th at 7:00 p.m. (narrated)

December 9th at 1:00 p.m. (narrated) and 4:00 p.m.

December 10th at 1:00 p.m. (narrated) and 4:00 p.m.

at SUNY Rockland Community College - Cultural Arts Theater

Tickets for every performance are reserved seating and can be purchased online www.Showtix4u.com, or by calling 866-967-8167 beginning October 22, 2017 at 9:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the theatre for $25 cash if the performances are not sold out.

Discounted Tickets for Girl Scouts

RYDE is offering discounted group tickets ($18) for registered Girl Scouts. Tickets must be pre-ordered. To order, download and complete the Girl Scout ticket order form, and return with payment to Coupé Theatre Studio, 430 Market Street, Nanuet, NY, 10965. For more information, call 845-623-2808. Discounts apply only for registered Girl Scouts. Non-registered adults and others accompanying the troop pay full price.

To post a comment, you must register and login.