This marks the 40th year of the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater producing “The Nutcracker” here in New Canaan.
Shows will run this weekend at 7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday (tickets here).
We put some questions to NEAD’s Ginna Ortiz ahead of the show.
Here’s our exchange.
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New Canaanite: For readers who may not know, what are the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater?
From “The Nutcracker” produced by the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater. Contributed
Ginna Ortiz: New England Academy of Dance is a pre-professional ballet school for ages 3 thru 18 that focuses on high-quality, disciplined training within a nurturing and elite environment. Following the American Ballet Theatre curriculum, NEAD offers a full progression of levels; from early childhood classes through advanced junior and senior pre-professional divisions, covering ballet technique, pointe, variations, partnering, contemporary, character, and conditioning. Advanced students can join the Enrichment Program or Studio Company, which provides intensive training, wellness education, and performance preparation. Students perform in major annual productions such as The Nutcracker and a spring showcase, while outreach programs help bring dance to broader audiences.
New England Dance Theater is the non-profit partner to NEAD. NEDT’s mission is to create greater access, awareness and appreciation of the performing arts through dance by supporting high quality productions, community outreach, and dancer enrichment opportunities. NEDT sponsors programs both within the ballet school and out in the community such as performances at the New Canaan Library, free tickets to NEAD performances given to community partners and dance classes within the community.
How long have NEAD and NEDT been producing “The Nutcracker” for the holidays? How did the tradition start? Tell us a little bit about this year’s production.
From “The Nutcracker” produced by the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater. Contributed
NEAD and NEDT have been producing The Nutcracker for 40 years, beginning in 1985. The tradition started when the school—founded in 1968 by Doris Driver—decided to create a full-length holiday production that would give its young dancers a meaningful performance opportunity and bring the community together each December. What began as a modest studio production quickly grew into a cherished annual event, eventually incorporating professional guest artists, elaborate staging, and live orchestral accompaniment. Over the decades, The Nutcracker has become a signature part of NEAD and NEDT’s identity, continuing under the artistic leadership of Frances Ortiz, Ginna Ortiz, and Ted Thomas, who first joined the production as professional dancers in the 1990s before becoming directors in 2003.
This year’s production is even more special because we are celebrating our 40th anniversary with some new costumes, new sets and scenery and a few other surprises for the audience! Again this year, we will do 4 full length performances the weekend of Dec12th – 14th and a special one hour, interactive version we call the Children’s’ Show on Sunday at 1pm. NEDT annually provides over 200 free tickets to our production to local non-profit organizations such as Horizons, Building One Community, Staying Put in New Canal, Starfish, and Intempo along with others.
Tickets are still available at our website and we also offer a livestream for those not able to join us in the theater.
How does “The Nutcracker” fit into everything else that NEAD does year-round? Do all of the student dancers participate?
From “The Nutcracker” produced by the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater. Contributed
The Nutcracker ballet is a central part of NEAD’s year round training and performance schedule, giving dancers ages 7–18 a chance to grow up on stage with a different challenging role each year and develop as performers. Out of our 400+ students, about 200 participate in the production each year, making it our favorite performance opportunity of the season! Our youngest ballerinas, ages 3–7, do not perform in The Nutcracker but shine in our annual Spring Show, which is designed especially for early-training dancers as well as the pre-professional level who perform their own show.
In addition to our two major productions each year, some of our NEAD dancers participate in professional dance competitions preparing throughout the year for these performances. NEAD dancers also partner with NEDT on other community events such as the New Canaan Holiday Stroll, our Sugar Plum Tea Party and our series of performances with local organizations such as Waveny Care, New Canaan Inn, Atria, Day Care Center of New Canaan to name a few.
Dance is a performing art, and we take pride in sharing our students’ training, growth, and artistry with the community all year long.
What would you tell someone who has never seen your production of “The Nutcracker”?
I would tell someone who has never seen our Nutcracker that it’s a magical, high quality production, featuring over 200 dedicated young dancers, professional guest artists, and the added excitement of live music performed by the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra. With beautiful choreography, vibrant storytelling, and stunning costumes, it’s a joyful holiday tradition that brings the community together and delights audiences of all ages. So don’t miss it.