Swampscott will be represented heavily in this year’s Greater Salem Ballet Company production of The Nutcracker.
The dance troupe will present The Nutcracker on Saturday, December 20, at noon and again at 4 p.m. The performances will be held at the Lynn Auditorium, at 3 City Hall Square.
The ballet’s music was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and is based on a story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, adapted for the stage by Alexandre Dumas.
The Nutcracker is a classic holiday ballet about a young girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve that magically comes to life. After defeating the Mouse King, the Nutcracker transforms into a prince and takes Clara on a journey through the Land of Sweets, where they encounter a series of dances and celebrations.
The two performances on December 20 mark the Greater Salem Ballet Company’s 12th production of The Nutcracker.
“We made it through 2020 with a world-wide pandemic and produced a virtual Nutcracker that year, which gave our students an opportunity to perform The Nutcracker in a time when everything was so unsure! Dance is a constant in their lives,” founder Seanna Chmura said. “Now several years later we are still going strong, back in full swing at the theater again with the dancers on stage where they belong.”
The Greater Salem Ballet Company was founded by Chmura and Susan Faulkner. Faulkner now serves as an advisor, while the company continues under the direction of Chmura and Katie Machado, from A Performing Arts Academy in Salem.
Chmura’s great aunt and grandmother, Georgia Deane Young and Helen Deane Bassett, formed the original dance company in 1974. The Greater Salem Ballet Company continues that legacy by providing dance students with opportunities to perform locally in professional-quality productions.
The Swampscott contingency includes:
- Mackenzie Cahill, as party boy, soldier and angel attendant
- Vivian Ciarletta, as party girl, angel attendant and Russian group dancer
- Charlotte Cogliano, as party girl, soldier and angel attendant
- Cecelia Colella, as party boy and angel attendant
- Guiliana Gazzolari, as snowflake, Chinese tea lead and waltz attendant
- Maia Hains, as party guest, snowflake, Arabian coffee lead and waltz attendant
- Thomas Hains, who is Maia’s father, as a party guest with his daughter
- Elizabeth Ingemi, as little angel and peppermint
- Cordelia Johns, as polichinelle and solider
- Maeve Kimball, as soldier and Chinese tea group dancer
- Nola Lima, as jester and Russian group dancer
- Grace McCormick, as party girl and Marzipan Corps.
- Riley McCormick, as little lamb
- Sophia Mereu, as little lamb
- Ruby Millea, as party boy, angel attendant and Marzipan Corps.
- Maribelle Pope Dahlberg, as soldier and little angel
- Solana Pope Dahlberg, as vendor, soldier and angel attendant
- Alexandra Reames, as party guest, snowflake and Dew Drop Fairy
- Eve Reames, as gift doll and waltz of the flowers
- Aaron Reames, who is Alexandra and Eve’s father, as a party guest with his daughter
- Rose Reis, as vendor, dream fairy and vendor
- Grace Ruka, as little lamb
- Grace Stanchfield, as little lamb
- Lucy Strazzulo, as mouse, peppermint and polichinelle
- Scarlett Valcourt, as little angel
- Isabella Van Straden, as Chinese tea group and polichinelle
- Teagan Williams, as Drosselmeyer’s assistant, soldier and angel attendant
“We invite you to join us on this dance journey,” said Chmura. “There is definitely something near and dear to our hearts to produce this Holiday Classic!”
Tickets are on sale at lynnauditorium.com. Prices start at $25, or $20 for students. One ticket for every 10 sold will be donated to local community outreach programs.
There will also be a raffle in the lobby, which will help to raise money for The Salem Pantry and My Brother’s Table. Last year, the group was able to raise $3,000 to donate for food security over the holidays.
