A BRAND-NEW, LIVE, IMMERSIVE, REIMAGINING OF THE HOLIDAY CLASSIC FOR SAFE FAMILY VIEWING
EXPERIENCE THE NUTCRACKER LIKE NEVER BEFORE
ARRIVE AS A GUEST AT THE BALLET’S FAMOUS PARTY SCENE TO TOUR A HISTORIC MANSION IN THE HUDSON VALLEY
WITNESS A SNOW BALLET IN A WORLD FAMOUS GARDEN
VISIT THE LAND OF SWEETS
Created and directed by Troy Schumacher
Creative direction by Elizabeth Mayhew, The Dutchy
Special music created and performed by Metropolis Ensemble artists Darian Donovan Thomas (Violin/Composer), also with Lauren Cauley (Solo Violin)
December 4-23, 2020
About Ballet Collective
BalletCollective is a New York based non-profit arts collective that connects artists, composers, and choreographers to create new, ballet-based works. Through its unique collaborative process, BalletCollective expands the boundaries of artistic disciplines in a way that resonates with a wide audience.
Each BalletCollective project takes as its source a contemporary work of art in any medium chosen or commissioned by its choreographer and composer. From this starting point, the choreographer and composer collaborate to create a work that interprets, explores, or responds to its source. The result of the collaboration is performed live. By its nature, BalletCollective consists of a rotating group of artists and collaborators, and with each new collective there are new ideas, new challenges, and, ultimately, new forms of expression emerge.
Founded in 2010 by choreographer Troy Schumacher, BalletCollective has collaborated with a roster of over 50 acclaimed artists, choreographers, composers, musicians, designers, and dancers, including Zaria Forman, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Karen Russell, James Ramsey, Ken Liu, Julianna Barwick, David Salle, Dafy Hagai, Judd Greenstein, and Cynthia Zarin, and produced fourteen new ballets. Recently, BalletCollective has been presented by the Joyce Theater, NYU Skirball Center, Guggenheim Works & Process, Guggenheim Bilbao, the Fire Island Dance Festival, and the Savannah Music Festival.
About Troy Schumacher, Director And Choreographer
Troy Schumacher Is An American Choreographer, Dancer, And Director Living In New York, NY. His Athletic Aesthetic Draws Upon The Artists He Collaborates With To Produce Fresh, Unexpected Results. He Is A Soloist Dancer With New York City Ballet And The Founder Of BalletCollective. He Has Been Dubbed A “Visionary Artist” By T Magazine And Is “One Of His Generation’s Most Acclaimed Choreographers” (PBS).
Schumacher’s Work Has Been Presented By New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Performa, Danspace Project, Guggenheim Works & Process, Guggenheim Bilbao, Peak Performances, The Joyce Theater, The Savannah Music Festival, And NYU Skirball Center, Among Others. He Has Collaborated With Many Artists Including Jeff Koons, Karen Rusell, Zaria Forman, Thom Browne, Ken Liu, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Maddie Ziegler, And David Salle. In Addition To Live Performances, Schumacher Has Choreographed Numerous Art, Fashion And Commercial Shoots, Including Works For Google, Sony PlayStation, Capezio, HP, Aritzia, CR Fashion Book, Tom Ford, And The New York Times.
The Cast
Sara Mearns, Tyler Angle, Ashley Laracey, Taylor Stanley, Mira Nadon, Erica Pereira, Ralph Ippolito, Eliza Blutt, Gabriella Domini, Savannah Durham, Claire Von Enck, Emma Von Enck, Malorie Lundgren, Mary Thomas MacKinnon, Miriam Miller, Davide Riccardo, Kristen Segin, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Mimi Staker, KJ Takahashi, & Cainan Weber
*All dancers are from New York City Ballet
About Wethersfield
The Wethersfield Estate, an acclaimed historical site situated in beautiful Dutchess County in New York’s Hudson Valley, encompasses a neo-Georgian manor house, formal garden, and carriage house museum. The Estate was the home property of Chauncey Stillman, grandson of James Stillman, Chairman of the National Bank, now known as CitiBank. The Wethersfield Foundation, which maintains and manages the Estate, focuses on access to the arts, culture and land conservation. The Wethersfield Foundation is pleased to partner with the BalletCollective to make The Nutcracker at Wethersfield possible.
A portion of donations will go to support Wethersfield and its mission as a community resource.
COVID-19 Safety
The Nutcracker At Wethersfield Will Provide A Safe And Full Holiday Experience That Otherwise Could Not Take Place During The Pandemic.
All dancers and staff will be quarantined for 4 weeks prior to any events and will live and work in a quarantine pod.
Timed invitations, limited to 7-8 groups of 2-6 people per show, will ensure the house and garden remains at 25% capacity, making social distancing possible and potential COVID-19 exposure limited. Everyone will be masked inside the ventilated house at all times during the first act and the rest of the ballet takes place in a mix of outdoor and tented locations.
A group of medical professionals has consulted on Covid-19 safety protocols to ensure audience and performer safety. Additional audience and performer safety guidelines will be released prior to the performances.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
