Children in Performance: A Free Community Production of The Nutcracker

Dixon Hall, Tulane University

Sunday, December 12th @ 4PM

The NORD/NOBA Center for Dance, a cultural community partnership between the New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) and the New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA) offering free dance programming to local youth, invites the community to a FREE Performance of The Nutcracker, Sunday, December 12, 4:00pm at Dixon Hall, Tulane University. The production features students from the NORD/NOBA Center For Dance Pre-Professional Program; After-School Dance Programs at all NORD sites, Trinity Christian Community, Wilson Charter School, St. Benilde School and St. Jerome Church, as well as the NORD/NOBA Center For Dance programs for seniors.

Each year, the NORD/NOBA Center For Dance brings together more than 200 students and 20 senior citizens from ten programs throughout the greater metropolitan area for a free community performance of The Nutcracker at Tulane University’s Dixon Hall. Each center is assigned a part, such as angels, mice, and soldiers, and, during the fall, students learn choreography from their instructors at each of the centers where they study. All the parts come together for the first time only the day before the performance, when the students begin production rehearsals in the studios at Tulane University.

“NOBA’s production of The Nutcracker is important because it’s about involving everyone in the community.  Even though it’s a big performance at Dixon Hall, it’s not just about technique and what is being presented. It’s about affecting everyone positively, and it’s significant because it really showcases what all of the students do,” said Raven Ross, a student with the Center For Dance’s Pre-Professional Program. “There’s such a large mix of people involved, and so many of them may not normally have the opportunity to participate in or see a dance performance. That makes it inspirational.”

Costumes and choreography for The Nutcracker are created by Center for Dance faculty, and the sets are generously donated by Strike It Green Props, an environmentally aware prop, set and wardrobe rental warehouse, located in the heart of the New Orleans’ film district. Immediately following the concert, each child in the audience is invited on stage to meet the characters and receive a holiday treat! This fall, more than 348 students are studying dance tuition-free at 10 sites in Orleans and Jefferson parishes.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA); the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans (ACNO); a Community Arts Grant made possible through the City of New Orleans as administered by ACNO; a grant from the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the NEA.

The after-school dance classes at St. Jerome Church are made possible by Compliance Technology Group.