THE NUTCRACKER
December 13-15 & 20-22, 2024 at DeVos Performance Hall
In our 2024-25 Season we ring in the holidays with the 10th anniversary of The Nutcracker. Celebrate a decade of Grand Rapids Ballet’s beloved Nutcracker at DeVos Performance Hall with live accompaniment from the Grand Rapids Symphony to Tchaikovsky’s renowned score. Enjoy your favorite holiday performance with immersive sets imagined by Chris Van Allsburg and designed by Eugene Lee, gorgeous choreography by Val Caniparoli, and memorable dancing by Grand Rapids Ballet’s company dancers. Follow Clara as she receives a magical nutcracker doll from her mysterious godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer. At night, the nutcracker comes to life and leads Clara into a grand battle against an army of mice. After helping the Nutcracker defeat the Mouse King, Clara is guided on a magical adventure by the elegant Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier through the Land of the Sweets where she befriends confections and enjoys a festive celebration.
Friday, December 13, 2024
Evening performance at 7:30 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
- Matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
- Evening performance at 7:30 p.m. |Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Matinee performance at 2 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Clara’s Nutcracker Party | Sunday, December 15, 2024
Grand Rapids Ballet is thrilled to host a one-of-a-kind holiday celebration, made just for kids! Clara’s Nutcracker Party, taking place Sunday, December 15, 2024, is a joyous event where your child can meet their favorite characters from Grand Rapids Ballet’s The Nutcracker in a fun and festive fantasy land!
Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Friday, December 20, 2024
- Evening performance at 7:30 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Saturday, December 21, 2024
- Matinee performance at 2 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
- Evening performance at 7:30 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
Sunday, December 22, 2024
- Matinee performance at 2 p.m. | Tickets Available Starting July 22. Click here to purchase a subscription now.
THE NUTCRACKER | SNEAK PEEK
THE NUTCRACKER | CREATORS
Val Caniparoli
Biography
Val Caniparoli’s versatility has made him one of the most sought-after American choreographers internationally.
He has contributed to the repertoires of more than 50 dance companies, including Finnish National Ballet, BalletMet, BalletX, Kansas City Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Boston Ballet, Northern Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Ballet West (resident choreographer 1993-97), Washington Ballet, Israel Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, State Theatre Ballet of South Africa, and Tulsa Ballet, (resident choreographer 2001-06). One of his most popular ballets, Lambarena, was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse in 1997 for Best Choreography and was also featured on Sesame Street with dancers Lorena Feijoo and Lorna Feijoo.
Chris Van Allsburg
Biography
Chris Van Allsburg, a Grand Rapids native, is an American illustrator and writer of children’s books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanji and The Polar Express, both of which he also wrote; both were later adapted as successful motion pictures.
Eugene Lee
Biography
Eugene Lee is a Tony Award-winning set designer who was born and raised in Wisconsin. He received BFA degrees from Carnegie Mellon and the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Yale School of Drama. His famed set designs include The Nutcracker, Sweeney Todd, Candide, Showboat, Ragtime, Wicked, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Glengarry Glen Ross, among others.
Peter Tchaikovsky
Biography
Peter (Pyotr) Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was a Russian composer whose works included symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, and chamber music. Tchaikovsky was born on May 7th, 1840 in Votkinsk, a small town in the Russian Empire. He displayed exceptional musical ability from an early age, improvising at the piano and composing his first song in 1844, aged four. Tchaikovsky persuaded his father that music was his future and he began composition lessons with Anton Rubinstein in 1861. Between 1871 and 1876 he produced a series of great works, including Swan Lake (1876) and the First Piano Concerto (1875), which established him as Russia’s leading composer. By 1887, he was conducting his own music to great acclaim and producing such works as the Sixth Symphony, the ‘Pathetique’ in 1893 (the year of his death), and the ballets The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and The Nutcracker (1892).
Patricia Barker
Biography
Patricia Barker was born in Richland, Washington, USA, where she received her early ballet training. She later studied on scholarship at Boston Ballet School and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. At age 17, she joined Pacific Northwest Ballet, under the directorship of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, and quickly rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. Barker became Artistic Director of Grand Rapids Ballet and Director of the Grand Rapids Ballet School in 2010. She curated a compelling and dynamic repertoire ranging from full length classical ballets such as Petipa’s Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty, to neo-classical masterworks including Balanchine’s Serenade and Four Temperaments, Tharp’s Nine Sinatra Songs and Taylor’s Company B. Barker was appointed as the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Artistic Director in June 2017.
Shawn Boyle
Biography
Shawn Boyle is a projection and lighting designer with experience in theater, musical theater, opera, dance, installation, and architectural projects. He has designed for the Berkshire Theatre Group, Yale Repertory Theatre, Cork Opera House (Ireland), Grand Rapids Ballet, Merry Go Round Playhouse, Ogunquit Playouse, Goodspeed Opera House, The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, as well as several other theaters and theme parks across the United States. Shawn has worked as an Associate Projection Designer for Elaine J. McCarthy. As Elaine’s associate, Shawn has mounted productions of Wicked in the United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Holland, and the United Kingdom. Shawn also had the pleasure of serving as the Associate Projection Designer on three Broadway Shows: Thurgood, Impressionism, and The People in the Picture. Shawn has exhibited installation work at Yale Art Gallery and created mapped architectural pieces for display on Yale’s Beinecke Library. Shawn was recently recognized by the Connecticut Critics Circle for his projection design of the world premiere of Sheila Callaghan’s Elevada. Shawn is a member of United Scenic Artists, I.A.T.S.E local 829, as a Projection Designer and Lighting Designer. Lecturer in Design (Projection) – The Yale School of Drama.
Paul Miller
Biography
Broadway: Legally Blonde, Freshly Squeezed, Laughing Room Only; Irma La Duce, Where’s Charley?, Lost in the Stars, Of Thee I Sing, and Music in the Air (Encores). Off-‐Broadway: Lucky Guy, Nunsense, Vanities -‐ the Musical, Waiting for Godot, Addicted, Balancing Act. Regional: 3 Seasons Stratford Shakespeare, Cleveland Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Bay Street, Lookingglass, Chicago Shakespeare, Paper Mill, and Goodspeed. Tours: Shrek, Storytime Live, Wizard of Oz, Sweeney Todd, Legally Blonde, Nunsense, Scooby Doo, The Sound of Music. Television: “Camelot” (Lincoln Center); the internationally televised “New Year’s Eve Celebration in Times Square”.
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