Brooklyn Ballet's Nutcracker: A Diverse, NYC-Inspired Holiday Tradition

A City-Inspired Nutcracker

• 🩰 The Brooklyn Ballet presents a unique, city-inspired twist on the classic "The Nutcracker" this holiday season.
• 🏙️ The production celebrates the borough's rich traditions and incorporates diverse cultural elements.

Evolution of Ballet

• 💡 Tristan Granham, Director of Community Engagement, believes in evolving the art form beyond classical ballet.
• 🌟 Granham's own journey began with a field trip to the ballet in public school, inspiring him to pursue a career in dance.
• 🎭 He reprises his role as the Snow King in "The Brooklyn Nutcracker."

Diverse Cultural Representation

• 🌍 This rendition is noted as the city's most diverse production of the holiday classic.
• 💃 It features a range of cultural dances, including Native American hoop techniques, Middle Eastern belly dance, and Brooklyn-inspired street style.
• 🎶 The production incorporates traditional music while making space for other styles like flamenco and Ukrainian hoop dance.

Outreach and Accessibility

• 🤝 Founder and Director Lynn Parkerson aims to keep ballet traditions alive while making the art form more accessible.
• 🚀 The Brooklyn Ballet's outreach program, Elevate, provides students with hands-on instruction and exposure to ballet.
• 💖 Granham emphasizes the importance of giving back to students who may not have had access to arts education, aiming to diversify ballet.
• 🎓 The program offers in-classroom training, subsidized tickets, and scholarship opportunities, inspired by Granham's own life-changing experience with public school outreach.

Performance Details

• 📍 The Brooklyn Nutcracker runs at the Theater at City Tech from December 6th to 14th.