Ballet Minnesota

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Ballet Minnesota Classical Ballet Academy

Art. Director Andrew Rist 651-290-0513
Classical Restagings Cheryl Rist
BMN Company Dancers

Photographer Dave Trayers
. Production . Jim Arnold, Cynthia Betz, Lisa Gray

Executive Dir. Cynthia Betz 651-222-7919
Grant Writer Art Penfield
Marketing Heather Rist Haley Kurtz
Graphic Design Jennifer Haas
Board of Directors

Ticketmaster 800-982-2787
. Fitzgerald . 651-290-1221
O'Shaughnessy 651-690-6700

23rd MN Dance Festival .... April 15-17 Fitzgerald

Pas de Quatre
Sleepiing Beauty Prologue & Acts 1-3
Swan Lake Acts 1-4

Director Andrew Rist
Executive Dir. Cynthia Betz
Classics Cheryl Rist
Production Manager: Jim Arnold

FALL Concert November 5-6, 2010

FALL Concert Homepage
...... 4th ...... Fall Concert Nov 6-7, 2009
...... 3rd ...... Fall Concert Oct 17-18, 2008
...... 2nd ...... Fall Concert Oct 19-20, 2007
. 1st Annual . Fall Concert Oct 13-14, 2006

NUTCRACKER Dec 15-19, 2010 O'Shaughnessy

BMN Schools Group Ticket Sales

Directions to O'Shaughnessy

MIinnesota Dance Festival April 15-17, 2011

BMN Schools group ticket sales

Ballet Minnesota 249 E. 4th St, St Paul, MN 55101

249 E. 4th St, St Paul 55101
7650 Currell Blvd, Woodbury 55125

249 E 4th St, St Paul 55101

Classical Restagings by Cheryl Rist
.. Coppelia .. Acts 1-2

Black Dog Cafe
Mendelssohn's Itailan Symphony
Mozart's 40th Symphony

Sorcerer's Apprentice (CBA)

PRE-BALLET (ages4-6)
BEGINNING Levels 1-3 (ages 7+)
INTERMEDIATE Levels 4-6 (ages 11+)
ADVANCED Levels 7-8

Fall Open House
School Year Registration Form

Director Teachers Graduates

Click on the Level you are interested in for Class Info.

'Classic Nutcracker' is rich, vibrant, entertaining

"Ballet Minnesota's Classic Nutcracker" wraps the stage of the O'Shaughnessy like a homemade afghan with intricate patterns and rich, vibrant colors. It offers warmth and family feeling. And if it occasionally drops a few stitches, the overall effect is spirited and highly entertaining.

The first act Christmas party in the 19th century Silberhaus drawing room bristles with celebration as elegant adults, adorable children, bustling maids and dancing boys (sometimes in ragged unison) swirl about in lively, looping patterns. Godfather Drosselmeyer, played with sinister jollity by Robert Cleary, distributes toys to the delighted children, including a spiffy Nutcracker for Clara Silberhaus.

Freezing the action at various times during the festivities and adding pulsating strobe lights is a terrific way to foreshadow the menacing scene that takes place after midnight, when Clara sneaks downstairs to play with her beloved Nutcracker. She is soon surrounded by frolicsome little mice and red-eyed rats, who are quickly dispatched by the Nutcracker and his crack regiment in a battle scene marked by carefully orchestrated mayhem. The victorious Nutcracker, transformed into a handsome young officer, whisks Clara off to the Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy with help from swirling snowflakes and a whole cadre of vivacous little angels.

December 15-19, 2010 O'Shaughnessy

Andrew Rist's choreography for the snowflakes is fast and brittle - more a blizzard than a soft, lyrical snowfall - and the ensemble often seems to be racing to keep up with the deluge of steps. More successful is his ravishing waltz of the Flowers in Act II, where lithe blossoms melt in and out of kaleidoscopic patterns with unaffected ease, led by Erin Warn as a prize-winning rose.

Once in the castle of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara and the Nutcracker (danced with vitality and elan by Kathleen Schaefer and Allen Gregory) are entertained by dances from many lands. These include a saucy "Carmen"-flavored Spanish; a robust Russian; and a piquant Chinese variation with spinning parasols, a dragon, and a smoke-belching demon.

Most satisfying of all is the pas de deux between the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, performed with regal eplomb by former Bolshoe soloist Oksana Konobeyeva and Alexey Agudin of American Ballet Theater. Aside from dazzling dancing, the two exhibit an ardent warmth and generosity of spirit that could serve as a model for the budding Clara and her faithful Nutcracker.

Cheryl Rist's imaginative costumes and Mary Novodvorsky's richly inventive sets enhanced this animated production.

Featured Ballet Minnesota Company Dancer

Photo Galleries & 2010 Cast.
2010 Cast: Sleeping Beauty: Prologue, Acts 1-3
22nd Minnesota Dance Festival,

Fitzgerald Theater, St Paul, Minnesota

Restaged by & Costumes by: Cheryl Rist
Photography: Dave Trayers

AT THE MUSEUM Now Available in Paperback

Previous Ballet Minnesota Seasons

BALLET MINNESOTA / Classical Ballet Academy of Minnesota
Company Dancers, Mission, Staff, Board of Directors