DAYTON BALLET INVITES YOUNG DANCERS TO AUDITION FOR THE NUTCRACKER

DAYTON OH (August 20, 2012) - Dayton Ballet is looking for talented young performers to be a part of the December 2012 production of The Nutcracker, Dayton’s premier holiday event, on Saturday, September 29 at the Downtown Dayton Studio on the 4th floor of the Victoria Theatre, 140 North Main St. Dancers age 5 and up as of September 1, 2012 are invited to audition.

“Giving young dancers the chance to dance with professionals in Dayton’s greatest holiday tradition The Nutcracker makes for lifetime memories,” said Dayton Ballet’s Artist Director Karen Russo Burke. “It’s a perfect way to involve children from the Dayton area and make ballet accessible to the community.

This season, for the first time, the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will provide live music for The Nutcracker with Maestro Neal Gittleman conducting at all 8 performances.

For the auditions, dancers must wear dance attire: leotard and tights for girls; t-shirt and black tights for boys. Audition times are 2-3 p.m. for 11 and 12 year olds, 3-4 p.m. for 8 to 10 year olds, and 4-5 p.m. for 5 to 7 years old. There is no charge for audition and pointe shoes, headshots or resumes are not required. Please arrive one half hour before audition time to register. Dancers must be able to leave their parents for extended periods of time.

Dancers will be notified of casting via mail by October 17. A mandatory meeting will be held Sunday, October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at Dayton Ballet and one parent and the dancer are required to attend.
 
The Nutcracker is a family-favorite ballet -- under 2 hours in length --featuring 175 dancers and 200 costumes. Dancers will perform in 5 of the following 8 performances: Friday, December 14 at 8 p.m., Saturday, December 15 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., Sunday, December 16 at 2:30 p.m., Friday, December 21, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 22 at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 23 at 2:30 p.m., all in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center.

For more information, visit www.daytonballet.org.

The Dayton Ballet is a member of the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance along with Dayton Opera and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Dayton Ballet performances are made possible in part by Vectren, Kettering Health Network, Miriam Rosenthal Memorial Trust Fund, Culture Works, Ohio Arts Council and Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District.
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