By Stephanie Froese

Local dancers on their toes for Christmas

Jun 26, 2011 | 12:10 PM

It may be June but the announcement that the Great Russian Nutcracker Ballet will be coming back to Prince Albert is bound to have some people starting to think ahead to the Christmas season.

The 150 year old ballet will have two shows in Prince Albert on Nov 27.

Sally Michael Keyes, director of public relations with the Moscow Ballet, said the company travels with 40 professional Ballet Dancers.

While they are in Prince Albert there will be an opportunity for local aspiring ballet dancers to join the company on stage.

“When we go to a town we invite local children to participate in the performance and they get added roles,” Michael Keys said.

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“The young children from about eight to about 16 dance added parts that support the major professional parts.”

The Moscow Ballet will be holding a public audition process with one of the local dance studios. Michael Keys said that audition will take place in either August or September but has not been set up yet.

In the Nutcracker a little girl, in the Russian version is named Masha, travels to a magical land and falls in love with a Nutcracker Prince. In the Moscow Ballet’s version of the classical ballet, the magical land is called “the Land of Peace and Harmony” where emissaries representing cultures from around the world dance and celebrate together.

“We have taken the story and added Russian attributes to it like the Dove of Peace which takes the place of the sugar plum fairy.”

Still Michael Keys said the version is very traditional and fits in well with the holidays.

She said the music alone puts people in the Christmas mood as the score by composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky has become synonymous with the season.

“I think it’s more popular now than when it first came out and I think that’s because it helps us all celebrate the holiday season,” Michael Keys said.

sfroese@panow.com