Festival Ballet Theatre of Fountain Valley's Production of The Nutcracker Set to Open Saturday

Fountain Valley's resident ballet company, Festival Ballet Theatre welcomes American Ballet Theatre guest artists for its opening performances of The Nutcracker at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Saturday afternoon. 

Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky will dance the signature roles of Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, performing with Festival Ballet Theatre's company members and local accomplished ballet students. The appearance of these dance stars gives Orange County audiences a special opportunity to experience the excitement of seeing ballet at its best, and a few good seats are still available.

Future Performances will feature ABT stars Gillian Murphy  and Gennadi Saveliev from December 16-18, and Joffrey's principles Carla Körbes and Fabrice Calmels from December 20 -24.

FBT's dancers have been extremely busy this season. In addition to the shows at the Barclay, the company has been presenting local elementary school children with special presentations of The Nutcracker. These feature an abridged version of the story, and narration to explain the action to the students. The school shows at the Barclay allowed teachers to bring their classes at a special rate of $8 per child, and the shows sold out. Other performances included a free performance at the Fountain Valley Tree-Lighting Ceremony, and FBT will perform with Pacific Symphony at Segerstrom Center in a show for children on Saturday.

Next week the company will "deliver The Nutcracker" to selected elementary schools in Orange County, in conjunction with ARTS Teach and via a grant from the City of Newport Beach.

FBT resides at Southland Ballet Academy in Fountain Valley, where dancers have been rehearsing for this ballet since October.  he company includes several Fountain Valley residents, including Alana Kircher and Skye Schmidt, who will dance a variety of very challenging roles, including Snow, Russian, Merliton and Petals. 

Ticket prices for the spectacular, full-length ballet range between $30 and $40, and are available at thebarclay.org.