Health & Fitness
Artistry in Motion Performs “The Nutcracker... with a Twist”
Artistry in Motion will present their 9th annual Winter Spectacular, "The Nutcracker...With a Twist," on December 14 and 15 at the Prairie Lakes Theatre.
Artistry in Motion, the resident dance company of the Des Plaines Park District, will present their 9th annual Winter Spectacular, “The Nutcracker...With a Twist,” on Dec. 14 and 15 at the Prairie Lakes Theatre. The two-act dance concert is a joyous interpretation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score from the traditional holiday ballet, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King.
The first act features classical ballet pieces set to the original music, opening with a March Medley choreographed by Laura Chiuve and performed by the entire company. It is followed by Snow, Cecilia Ferguson-Bell, choreographer; Reed Pipes, also choreographed by Ferguson-Bell; Chinese Tea, Anne Gollenberg, choreographer; Candy Canes, Chiuve, choreographer; and Spanish Chocolate, Ferguson-Bell, choreographer.
The second act is the twist. The music selected includes remixes and covers of the traditional music with jazz, tap, and hip-hop numbers choreographed by Chiuve, Gollenberg, and Mary Williams. New School of Dance instructor, David Ingram set the closing, which incorporates different styles of hip-hop, such as whaackin and krumping. “Whaackin draws its inspiration from modern jazz, funk, and soul, and krumping is a street dance that is characterized by free, expressive, exaggerated, and highly energetic movement of the arms, head, legs, chest, and feet,” said Ingram. “It’s a flamboyant style that takes confidence and practice to perform,” Ingram said.
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Joining the Spectacular for the second year will be dancers from the Tots in Motion program performing Little Snowflakes, choreographed by Jaime Salas, on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tots in Motion is a preschool dance program for children ages three through five years designed to introduce budding dancers to technique and terminology.
Winter Spectacular 2012, Prairie Lakes Theater, 515 E. Thacker St., Des Plaines, Dec. 14, 7 p.m. and Dec. 15, 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Leisure Center, 2222 Birch St. or at the door, adults $8 and dancers and students $5. For more information, about purchasing tickets and group pricing call (847) 391-5711 or visit www.DPParks.org.
