At a party in her home on Christmas Eve, Clara receives a special wooden Nutcracker from her beloved godfather, Drosselmeyer. After the party, Clara falls asleep under the Christmas tree and audiences watch as the tree grows higher and higher and the Nutcracker comes to life. Is it Drosselmeyer’s magic at work? Toy soldiers and mice are now as big as Clara and they battle until Clara saves the Nutcracker by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King. With the Mouse King dead, the Nutcracker is transformed into a Prince and he and Clara continue their journey to a magical land.
After traveling through the snow forest, Clara and the Prince arrive at the Land of Sweets, where they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy. Everyone dances for the pair, including Mother Ginger and the Polichinelles hiding under her enormous skirt. After they exit, Clara and the Prince are treated to dancing flowers led by a Dew Drop Fairy. The Sugar Plum Fairy returns to dance with her Cavalier in one of the most recognized pieces of music from the ballet.
All too soon, the dancing ends and Clara finds herself back under the Christmas tree with her wooden Nutcracker in her arms. Was it just a dream?
The Nutcracker at Mayo Civic Center
- Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 3:00 pm
- Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 7:00 pm
- Saturday, December 15, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Guest Artists:
Julie Blumfiel
Julie Blumfiel began her early ballet training at the age of ten in Seattle, WA, at the Washington Academy of Performing Arts under the direction of Deborah Hadley and Vera Altunina. In high school she studied on scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School and had multiple opportunities to perform and rehearse with the company in ballets such as Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements, La Bayadère, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. Julie attended Indiana University’s School of Music and graduated with a B.S. in Ballet Performance and a B.A. in Biology. While she was there, she was fortunate to study with Violette Verdy and many guest teachers including Julie Kent, Susan Jaffe, Susan Pilarre, Guoping Wang, and Glenda Lucena. Some of her favorite roles include Melancholic in Four Temperaments, the Principal Female in Valse Fantaisie, and The Chosen One in John Clifford’s Rite of Spring.
Julie Blumfiel began her early ballet training at the age of ten in Seattle, WA, at the Washington Academy of Performing Arts under the direction of Deborah Hadley and Vera Altunina. In high school she studied on scholarship at San Francisco Ballet School and had multiple opportunities to perform and rehearse with the company in ballets such as Balanchine’s Symphony in Three Movements, La Bayadère, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. Julie attended Indiana University’s School of Music and graduated with a B.S. in Ballet Performance and a B.A. in Biology. While she was there, she was fortunate to study with Violette Verdy and many guest teachers including Julie Kent, Susan Jaffe, Susan Pilarre, Guoping Wang, and Glenda Lucena. Some of her favorite roles include Melancholic in Four Temperaments, the Principal Female in Valse Fantaisie, and The Chosen One in John Clifford’s Rite of Spring.Upon graduation, Julie went on to dance professionally with Louisville Ballet and Los Angeles Dance Theater, and was invited to tour to China with John Clifford’s production of Casablanca.
She moved to Rochester, MN, in 2005 and began teaching ballet to students of all ages at Janet Lang Dance Studio. She danced as a guest artist for Rochester Dance Company where she also served as Ballet Mistress for several years.
Julie moved away to Peoria, IL, in 2012 and began teaching and dancing with Cornerstone Academy of Performing Arts and their company Central Illinois Ballet, getting to perform lead roles in Dracula, The Nutcracker, and various outreach performances.
Julie is now in the Chicago area and stays busy teaching and freelancing in various dance projects and operas. Julie is so excited to be returning this year to dance with RDC in their Nutcracker, reprising the role of Sugar Plum Fairy, which she performed from 2005-2010 and 2016 and 2017!
Photo Credit: Tracy Frugoli Photography
Mr. Herrera began his studies at the Chicago academy for the arts in 1994-98, where he studied under the direction of Anna Paskevska, Claire Bataille and Randy Duncan. He was also trained at the School of American Ballet and San Francisco Ballet school. Mr. Herrera has been in several competitions and has received many awards including the prestigious Princess Grace award. He was a member of the Joffrey ballet from 1999-01 and danced with Houston ballet as a Principal dancer for nine years. Currently, Mr. Herrera is a guest artist both national and international.