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Tri-Valley ballet fans are in for an entertaining month, as the Bankhead Theater brings back “The Nutcracker” and the Firehouse Arts Center hosts a new Christmas showcase.
Presented by Valley Dance Theatre, its 44th season of “The Nutcracker” boasts live accompaniment by the Valley Dance Theatre Pit Orchestra which will play Tchaikovsky’s classical music.
“It’s a fun, festive way to start the season off,” said Karin Bunnell, retired board chair of the Valley Dance Theatre.
In “The Nutcracker”, the daughter of a San Francisco family falls asleep at a Christmas party. She dreams of dancing mice, a sugar plum fairy and the show’s namesake — a magical nutcracker.
“(It’s about) the joy of dancing and music and using your imagination, all in the Christmas spirit,” Bunnell said.
Once you leave that first scene, the rest of the show is more of a general holiday production than a Christmas show, she said. So it can be enjoyable for people that don’t celebrate the holiday too.
The performance can also serve as an inspiration to children who may be interested in ballet or playing a musical instrument, since the Bankhead allows for relatively close proximity to the performers, Bunnell noted.
In addition to the public shows, Valley Dance Theatre is scheduled to give two exclusive performances for school groups.
Elsewhere in the Tri-Valley, the Ballet Roots Dance Company — Pleasanton’s only professional ballet group — will perform its first Christmas show this month at the Firehouse Arts Center.
The intimate performances called “Christmas with Ballet Roots” will showcase classical and contemporary ballet, set to a variety of Christmas tunes.
“We are incredibly excited to offer the local community a fun and festive show as an alternative (or addition!) to the Nutcracker this holiday season,” said Talia Fallis, artistic director of the Ballet Roots.
The shows will also feature a guest performance by The Academy of Danse Libre, a vintage dance group that revives 19th and early 20th century dances wearing period dress.
“The Nutcracker” is set to run this weekend (Dec. 14-15) and Dec. 20-22 at the Bankhead in downtown Livermore. For more information about the performances, visit the Livermore Valley Arts website at livermorearts.org. Showings for students, including those who are homeschooled, are scheduled for Dec. 17 and interested groups can contact office@valleydancetheatre.com for more information.
Showtimes for “Christmas with Ballet Roots” are 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. this Sunday (Dec. 15) at the Firehouse in downtown Pleasanton. Tickets are available at the venue website at firehousearts.org.
