Dusty Button, principal dancer with the Boston Ballet, performs Saturday in Space Coast Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”
By PAM HARBAUGH
The Space Coast Ballet presents its 11th production of “The Nutcracker” ballet Saturday afternoon and evening at the King Center.
This is arguably the area’s most beautifully staged and danced production of this holiday favorite. It is filled to the rafters (literally) with sumptuous visuals designed and constructed at the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Moreover, the featured dancers are professionals with international acclaim. This year’s featured dancers include principal dancers Dusty Button and Roddy Doble from Boston Ballet. They join more than 80 dancers from Russia, Ukraine and professionally trained area students. BTW: some of SCB’s former students have gone on to become professional dancers — Emily Slawski dances with the Royal Swedish Ballet, Megan Amanda Ehrlich dances with the San Francisco Ballet and Ashley Lunn dances with the Slovac National Ballet Company.
All this has come about thanks to two professionals who started the Space Coast Ballet Academy — Boris Chepelev and Janna Kirova. The married couple are from St. Petersburg, Russia, where they trained with the acclaimed Vaganov Ballet Academy and then went on to dance in the world-renowned Kirov Ballet. They are smart, artistic, have terrific professional connections and treat it all as big theater.
To that end, they bring in a professional stage manager and lighting designer to make the production completely polished.
This is a must-see. Bring your children, your grandchildren, your neighbor’s children. Bring your wife, your husband, your mom, your dad. Or just bring yourself. You will be delighted by it.
The Space Coast Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” begins 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the King Center, 3865 N. Wickham Rd. Melbourne. Tickets are $10.50 to $40.50. Handling charges may apply. Call the King Center box office at 321-242-2219 or visit www.KingCenter.com. To reach the Space Coast Ballet, call 321-684-7390 or visit http://www.spacecoastballet.com.
