Ballet Society’s Petite Nutcracker Performances Benefit Hope & Home
Colorado Ballet Society is coordinating with The Pikes Peak Library District to provide eight performances of the Petite Nutcracker for the Colorado Springs community at 10 am, 11 am, & 1 pm on Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30, 2019, with two additional performance on Friday, November 29 and Saturday, November 30 at 2pm since the first six performances have sold out, at Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Dr. in Colorado Springs, to benefit Hope & Home.
“The Pikes Peak Library District’s mission is to provide resources and opportunities that impact individual lives and build community,” explains Elyse Jones, PPLD’s Community Partnership Coordinator. “The Petite Nutcracker brings people together to appreciate performing arts through ballet. Not everyone has the opportunity to attend cultural experiences like going to the ballet, and PPLD is happy to collaborate with the Colorado Ballet Society to provide events like this to the Pikes Peak Region.”
“Petite Nutcracker is a fun, fresh way to experience the magic of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic,” shares Hillary Moseley, Ballet Society instructor and choreographer. “Our audience gets to enjoy all the highlights from The Nutcracker in a condensed amount of time that makes this performance ideal for children of all ages!”
Twenty dancers from the Colorado Youth Ballet and Connexus Dance Collective will present a thirty-minute performance. Connexus will open the show with two new holiday-themed contemporary pieces, choreographed by Laci Landry and Daniel Prewitt, to music selections with a fun and unique twist on Christmas classics. The Colorado Youth Ballet will follow with their Petite Nutcracker, an introduction to the Nutcracker ballet, which includes shortened versions of the Party Scene, the Battle Scene, and the Land of the Sweets.
“It’s exciting that younger kids will experience classical ballet and contemporary dance in the same show,” says Laci Landry, choreographer and Connexus Manager. “I hope the audience is intrigued by the different style and interpretation of the music contemporary dance can present and that the works bring them joy, peace, and excitement in this Christmas season.”
“This event is a perfect way to introduce the Nutcracker to your young children and a great way to give back to the Colorado Springs community,” adds Mia Otto, Ballet Society Studio Manager.
Proceeds from Petite Nutcracker will go to Hope & Home, a foster care agency headquartered in Colorado Springs serving over 175 families and over 200 kids all across Colorado. Abused and neglected children who’ve been removed from their birth homes get a stable and nurturing family to live with until it’s safe to go home again, or — when that safety isn’t possible — a family to give them a “forever home” through adoption.
“Having worked with Hope & Home in the past, we wanted to give back to a non-profit organization that we feel would be best served from the proceeds,” explains Otto.
“It means so much for Hope & Home to have a community fundraiser like the Petite Nutcracker performance,” shares Hope & Home’s Director of Marketing and Development, Jenna Opperman. “Foster care is truly a community-based endeavor. It is not an exaggeration to say that each and every ounce of support from the community matters to our families and the kids in our care.”
“The Petite Nutcracker performance is a beautiful way to kick off the holiday season that can be enjoyed by all ages,” says, Jones.
If you’d like to further aid Hope & Home, Opperman says, “There are many ways that people can help. Hope & Home is a non-profit organization so your donations matter to us! You can give a gift to help kids in foster care at www.HopeAndHome.org/give. We also have lots of volunteer opportunities – helping with child care activities, sorting donations, and assisting with special events. Visit www.HopeAndHome.org/getinvolved to learn more about volunteering.”
“Colorado is facing a shortage of foster parents. Every day, we receive calls from DHS looking for homes for even more kids in crisis. If you have ever thought about becoming a foster parent, now is the time to take the next step towards helping these kids who need a safe place to call home,” explains Opperman. “If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent, call Hope & Home at 719-575-9887. At Hope & Home, we give kids in foster care more than just a roof over their heads. We give them a home.”
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Who: Colorado Youth Ballet & Connexus Dance Collective of Colorado Ballet Society What: Petite Nutcracker - Enjoy a special holiday performance from Connexus Dance Collective and a condensed, 20-minute version of The Nutcracker, a perfect introduction to the story for children of all ages, performed at the Library 21c Venue. When: 10 am, 11 am, & 1 pm on Friday, Nov. 29 & Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019 SOLD OUT
Tickets are still available for Friday, Nov. 29 & Saturday, Nov. 30, at 2 pm Where: Library 21c | 1175 Chapel Hills Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80920 Tickets: $3 are available online Proceeds go to Hope & Home
Figure 1: Isabel Harris as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Petite Nutcracker | PC: Kayla Coburn Figure 2: Chinese Cookies in the Land of Sweets Scene | PC: Kayla Coburn Figure 3: Party Scene in Petite Nutcracker | PC: Kayla Coburn
Figure 4: Elizabeth Worf as a Candy Cane in Petite Nutcracker |PC: Kayla Coburn
Figure 5: Arabian Coffee in Petite Nutcracker | PC: Kayla Coburn
Figure 6: Spanish Chocolate in Petite Nutcracker | PC: Kayla Coburn
Clara, the Nutcracker Prince, and fellow characters | PC: Kayla Coburn