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Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance Education's Kids In Step Student Matinée Series for School Groups

The Centre for Dance Education's Kids In Step student matinée series is designed to bring dance to the school-age child. For more information on weekday performances for accredited school groups and registered home schools, please visit our Kids In Step page.

Atlanta Ballet’s world-class “The Nutcracker” makes inspired return

Cynthia Bond Perry, ArtsATL, 2021.12.10

Books are not often featured in The Nutcracker — Balanchine’s version of the holiday ballet, for example, seems more fixated on sweets. But in Yuri Possokhov’s version, created for Atlanta Ballet, a leather-bound book etched with gold plays a key role as a gateway into imaginary worlds. The young protagonist Marie is a shy bookworm, and Drosselmeier relates to her through a book, which grows with Marie’s outsize imagination.The Nutcracker is perennially Atlanta Ballet’s most popular production and this three-year-old version is likely the company’s most elaborate. It made a stunning entrée last Saturday evening, marking the company’s return to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre after nearly two years. It also marked the production’s move from the Fox Theatre, where it debuted in 2018, to the newer venue where the company has presented most of its repertory since 2008.In a curtain speech, artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin and the company’s new executive director Tom West welcomed audiences to the return to the theater. The gesture signified not only The Nutcracker’s venue change, but also a five-year transition since Nedvigin became artistic director in 2016. To date, Nedvigin’s vision seems one of big ambitions, international ties and a Kennedy Center triumph, but a still-undefined identity. For those who are curious about where this is all going, Possokhov’s Nutcracker may offer clues.In the battle scene, size and scale shift so rapidly that they upend Marie’s world. Airi Igarashi appears as Marie on a giant armchair, its oblique proportions hinting at the surreal: Its size makes Igarashi look as small as a toy doll. Life-sized toys descend from a three-story cabinet onto the battleground.Scale again shifts in the ensuing snow scene. Partnered by Guilherme Maciel as the prince, Igarashi spins effortlessly center stage while a map of the stars rotates behind them, as if the couple is at the center of Drosselmeier’s universe.Possokhov’s choreography is never static — the spiral seems the key to fluidity and a metaphor for transformation. It’s apparent as Igarashi wraps her body around Maciel’s, then shifts to the front of his body, outstretching her limbs as in flight, then forms a shallow spiral around his turning vertical axis, all while ensemble dancers sweep around them as one body.Amid this activity, Marie halts, covers her ears as if reliving the trauma of her encounter with Drosselmeier and the battle scene. As a harp trills and woodwinds hum, Maciel holds her off the floor while she runs in slow motion, as if in a nightmare more than a dream. He flips her, inverted, over his shoulders in a dizzying series of revolving lifts amid swirls of dancers in white organza.All is resolved in Act II, which goes deeper into Drosselmeier’s world. White-clad flowers dance, and he blows them away like drifting mist. The book, now enormous, opens to reveal different variations — a Spanish dance filled with bold character flourishes, a Chinese fan dance.In the Arabian dance, Georgia Dalton rises from a snake charmer’s basket and engages with three men in a sinuous quartet. It’s unclear whether the men worship her or control her, until they flip her upside down and stuff her into the basket. Newcomer Spencer Wetherington brought a youthful vigor to the Russian dance. Dancers strutting like chickens add a humorous twist on a French country dance, its barnyard scene perhaps recalling the ballet La Fille Mal Gardée.Possokhov has replaced the matriarch Mother Ginger, who appears in many Nutcrackers, with Drosselmeier, who appears atop a 3D metal version of his galactic map, celestial harlequins hanging from its crossbars.The “Waltz of the Flowers” is perhaps Possokhov’s most inspired divertissement. With a gently rippling curtain of emerald green aurora borealis behind them, the book opens to vivid botanical prints of poppies and passion flowers. Lines of white-clad dancers lilt through waltz steps, upper bodies blossoming as they interlace with three couples — the men as roses, the women as dragonflies — in vivid tones of violet, purple and magenta. Jessica He and Anderson Souza partnered together Saturday with a palpable sense of joy.During Marie’s and the Nutcracker Prince’s grand pas de deux, time feels suspended, as it is in the joy of love. Their movement stabilizes in classicism, its verticality and clarity of line projecting order and harmony. Even when Maciel flips Igarashi over his head, she gracefully regains balance. Courtliness and classicism triumph. Order is restored.Perhaps that’s the message we seek in these pandemic days where the future remains uncertain. Can we escape reality through imaginary worlds like this and perhaps find some semblance of equilibrium in turbulent times? It’s a good question. This Nutcracker seems to offer one clear answer, however, about Atlanta Ballet’s identity — classicism is here to stay.

Atlanta Ballet’s high-tech ‘Nutcracker’ at Kennedy Center is one of the most entertaining out there

Sarah L. Kaufman, The Washington Post, 2019.11.28

You know it’s not your typical, fancy-schmancy “Nutcracker” Christmas party when the maid drunkenly hurtles by on the cocktail cart, helped along by a dashing Herr Drosselmeier who’s a cross between a steampunk bad boy and the craziest, coolest uncle ever.In the Atlanta Ballet’s “Nutcracker,” which opened at the Kennedy Center Opera House on Wednesday, just about every detail of the standard holiday ballet is whomped up, rethought and mined for either laughs or meaning or both. I have seen a lot of “Nutcrackers,” and this one, created by Yuri Possokhov, resident choreographer at San Francisco Ballet, tops them all as the most entertaining as well as the smartest.The first moments are like being shot out of a cannon, as video images projected across the stage spin us rapidly through a snowy night to a German city in the early 19th century. The sense of speed in this flying, swooping perspective is intense, especially if you’re prone to vertigo, and it’s a relief when the focus finally settles on the dancer who plays Drosselmeier, the clockmaker and gift-bearing godfather who sets the story in motion. Through an alchemy of video projection and action on the stage, Drosselmeier appears to be bounding through his own fantastical movie, which whirls us from his magical shop to the doorstep of the Stahlbaum household.The scrim lifts, the video images vanish, and the familiar story begins, told through dancing and lively stage action. But the feeling of freedom and high spirits never leaves. Ice skaters and skiers glide past the house, a couple smooches and giddy young women cease waltzing for a moment to stare at them with longing. This opening montage sets up the theme of discovery in this “Nutcracker,” where all the traditional events happen, but nothing is as you expect.Drosselmeier is not a remote, mysterious figure, as in most versions of the ballet. Instead, he’s the embodiment of pizazz, running about in his satin breeches, orchestrating all the fun with his gleaming hair flying. He gets on the floor to play with the children, and he conjures a lively show-within-a-show in the swanky parlor, full of music-hall touches and Old World details that plunge us into a bygone age that still feels as fresh and current as today. This is a party, after all, and so the adults, all hopped up on champagne, try a formal maypole dance but make a mess of it and end in a heap, all perfectly in time with Tchaikovsky’s stately music.It’s all in the spirit of merrymaking. The whimsy is enhanced by the graceful Empire silhouettes of Sandra Woodall’s costumes, the clever tricks of dimension in Tom Pye’s set designs and the warmth of David Finn’s lighting.But the decor and special effects never outshine the cheerful dance energy of this ballet, and that is a testament to Possokhov’s exceptionally fluid and musical choreography. Longtime dancegoers may recall, back in 2007, when the Bolshoi Ballet performed his “Cinderella,” set on the moon. Courage and creativity mark his work as well as seamless construction. He’s willing to upend convention to get at the heart of the story.Marie, the Stahlbaum child (delightfully portrayed by Remi Nakano) whose dream of ad­ven­ture and romance whisks us from reality to fantasy, faces invading mice who roll into her parlor on their bellies, like kids on sleds. The ballerina dolls battle alongside the wooden soldiers (yay, female power). Marie dreams of herself as a grownup, and the Waltz of the Snowflakes features a tender pas de deux between the adult Marie, danced by the notably musical Airi Igarashi, and Vitor Luiz’s handsome Nutcracker Prince. In a surprising but effective use of contemporary dance, Possokhov includes floor work throughout this ballet, always in keeping with the overall flowing, spiraling quality of movement.On evidence of Wednesday’s performance, fluidity is also a hallmark of the Atlanta Ballet dancers, all of whom acquitted themselves beautifully. Of special note were Lucas Labrador, Emma Guertin and Ashley Wegmann in the ebulllient Spanish dance. Jackie Nash and Jacob Bush added terrific comic flair to a French dance that parodied every 19th-century ballet mannerism in good fun.Technological effects continued, with huge storybooks suspended in midair and pages flipping wondrously to announce the next scene. But the most remarkable, even magical, feature of this “Nutcracker” is that nothing is what you expect, and yet through its innovations and creativity, it finds fresh ways to illuminate the age-old themes of love, play and endless possibility.

Review: Atlanta Ballet’s new “Nutcracker” captivates with layered effects, simple story

Cynthia Bond Perry, ArtsATL, 2018.12.11

On stage, the real and fantastical mingled with everyday things — an armchair and a glass-front cabinet, or a puppet theater and its marionettes that suddenly grew tenfold then collapsed into nothing just as quickly. In this storybook world, Marie’s living room turned surreal, throwing her environment off-kilter. The mysterious uncle or godfather Drosselmeier — whom Nikolas Gaifullin portrayed with a youngish, gentlemanly grace — took a central role. He orchestrated the transformation of everything around Marie, including a wooden-headed Nutcracker that turned into a handsome prince. In both of the pas de deux with Marie and the Prince, Possokhov’s choreography looped and dove around the space like a roving, dream-like imagination, liberated from the constraints of rational thought and physicalized. Within the nucleus of their duets, their movement stirred and whirled, then soared, dipped and opened outward toward the audience. Igarashi projected warmth and vivacity.

“The Nutcracker” Embraces High Tech in Atlanta

Laura Jacobs, Vanity Fair, 2018.11.26

Lest anyone think that a high-tech approach is inappropriate for this classic, be reminded that at its premiere in 1892, Tchaikovsky’s fantasy ballet left Russian critics perplexed. His colleague Mikhail Ivanov, however, saw that with this brilliant score, ballet as a medium had “started out along a completely different path from before.” So “The Nutcracker” itself was progressive. That said, Possokhov is following the traditional American story line as laid out by the Christensen brothers in San Francisco (1944) and George Balanchine in New York (1954), though his iteration will be more mystical, celestial, and spooky.

Atlanta Ballet enchants and stuns in new ‘Nutcracker’

Allison Gupton, Dance Informa, 2018.12.09

A talented team of artists and designers assembled over the past two years to create an incredibly magical theatrical experience. The hard work, creativity and commitment to this world premiere was evident in the scale of all aspects of the design and in the small details seen throughout the show.

High tech, holiday traditions meet in Atlanta Ballet’s new ‘Nutcracker’

Curt Holman, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2018.12.04

The production team includes Tony Award-winning video/projection designer Finn Ross, Tony-nominated set designer Tom Pye and lighting designer David Finn. The $3.7 million production promises to enhance the dance with projected imagery and other state-of-the-art technological effects. “As technology moves on, artists develop new skills. Technology inspires creatives to explore new borders of their imagination onstage. Yuri is a master of this. The projections and visual enhancements will only help him bring the dancers up front,” says Nedvigin.

The Atlanta Ballet Presents “The Nutcracker” at Fox Theatre

O'Brian Gunn, GA Voice, 2018.11.20

When you hear mention of “The Nutcracker,” your mind may instantly conjure up the new “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” movie. Rather than take a risk on what’s (so far) shaping up to be a rather lackluster movie, treat yourself and your family to a new, transcendent onstage performance of the classic production from the talented Atlanta Ballet at the historic Fox Theatre this December.

The Nutcracker from Atlanta Ballet gets new-age makeover in its 24th year

Natisha Lance, 11Alive, 2018.12.21

It’s a challenge Atlanta Ballet dancer Emily Carrico, who plays Marie in the production, said the dancers are up for.“The scale of everything in this theater and the choreography is just out of this world,” she said. “It's like nothing I’ve ever experienced before, and pretty much, I would say, it's safe to say any dancer in the company has danced before.”