Roxey Ballet presents holiday classic “The Nutcracker”

Roxey Ballet welcomes the holiday season with its long-standing community tradition, the American Holiday Classic, “The Nutcracker.”

Roxey Ballet’s 28th annual “Nutcracker” celebrates the values that lift us up during the season of giving with community participation and support. Each year Roxey Ballet welcomes community members to participate in the production through dance, crew, costumes, front of house, and backstage participation.

Audiences are filled with families and supporters of the arts who include “The Nutcracker” in their holiday traditions, schools that enjoy a matinee performance, and the special needs community which has the option of a sensory-friendly adapted performance.

Roxey’s Nutcracker features young dancers from throughout the region who are given the opportunity to dance alongside Roxey Ballet’s roster of professional dancers. This year, the dancers cast in the lead role of Clara, Charlotte Liddell and Katie Schied, are both students from New Hope.

The remainder of the cast is a blend of international professional dancers, students from Mill Ballet School, and local towns throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania including Hunterdon, Mercer, Somerset, Middlesex, and Bucks counties.

Roxey Ballet’s “Nutcracker” is directed by Mark Roxey, co-founder of the professional company, and features over 200 costumes designed by Alicia Worden and Nilda Roxey with lighting by Jeffrey Goldstein. Roxey’s “Nutcracker” provides the perfect introduction to ballet for children of all ages and is a timeless holiday performance enjoyed by adults. It is a magical spectacle created by Mark and Melissa Roxey, founders of The Roxey Ballet Company and The Mill Ballet School.

Beginning Thanksgiving weekend and continuing into December, The Nutcracker will be performed at Villa Victoria Theater, 376 W. Upper Ferry Road in Ewing, N.J. Four weekend performances at 2 p.m. will occur on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 25 and 26 and Dec. 2 and 3, and a school/child matinee is offered at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 1. Tickets are available at roxeyballet.org/nutcracker and virtual tickets are also available.

Making the arts accessible to all is the mission of Roxey Ballet. A sensory-friendly performance of “The Nutcracker” will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Mill Ballet, 46 N. Sugan Road, New Hope. This performance is suitable for children and adults with ASD and other special needs or sensitivities.

Adaptations to the performance include decreased sound levels, elimination of special effects, reduced length of performance, and increased house lighting. It is also a great option for very young children, providing a relaxed atmosphere with the freedom to move around. Tickets are available at roxeyballet.org/sensory-friendly-nutcracker and virtual tickets are also available.

For the youngest fans of The Nutcracker, Roxey Ballet will offer three free Sugar Plum Story Times at public libraries in New Jersey during the month of December. Join the Sugar Plum Fairy as she takes you on a journey through the magical Land of the Sweets with a reading, performance, and dance class given by professional dancers from Roxey Ballet. Details can be found at roxeyballet.org/events.

Virtual tickets are available for all performances.

Visit roxeyballet.org/nutcracker for tickets and information.

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