Butler Ballet’s 33rd annual production of The Nutcracker will take place December 3-6 at Clowes Memorial Hall.
Show times are: December 3 at 7:30 PM; December 4 at 8:00 PM; December 5 at 2:00 and 8:00 PM; and December 6 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $21.50-$28.50 for adults; $17-$23 for children, students, and seniors; and $14-$20 for groups of 10 or more (plus $3 restoration fee per ticket).
For more information, call the box office, 317-940-6444, or purchase tickets at Cloweshall.org.
At Butler, The Nutcracker has truly become a community affair.
The choreography? All created by Butler dance faculty. The music? Performed by the Butler Symphony Orchestra and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir under the direction of School of Music Professor Richard Auldon Clark. And the dancers? Students of the Butler Department of Dance and children from all across the city.
In its 33rd year, this holiday tradition keeps getting better and better, Larry Attaway, Executive Director of the Butler Ballet, said.
“I think Butler’s is one of the best, to be honest,” Attaway said. “It is the premiere Nutcracker presentation in Indiana, to be sure. There’s a wonderfulness in watching our students perform at such a high quality.”
The scenery also adds a hefty dose of holiday spirit. It was gifted to the Butler Ballet by the Ruth Page Foundation and comes complete with magical flashes and a cannon that booms!
It’s the immense attention to detail and tradition that keep audiences coming back year after year. After the whirlwind weekend of performances, 15,000 people will have seen The Nutcracker in seven performances total, including two performances for local schools.
“When you come to a performance of the Butler Ballet you may not realize it, but you just might be seeing the next big stars,” Attaway said.
Because the choreography differs from year to year, and the dancers are always changing, Attaway says it’s well worth coming back every year, even if you’ve seen it just the previous year. “The story may not change, the music certainly doesn’t change, but every year is different and new, and fresh,” he said.
But though details change, one thing about this timeless tradition doesn’t.
“Every year, it’s magical,” Attaway said.
That’s what keeps this Indianapolis mainstay a family favorite.
“You get that wonderful moment when people came to see the Butler Ballet Nutcracker as children, and now they’re bringing their own children,” he said. “It’s a tradition. It’s supposed to go on and on and on.”
