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The Nutcracker
Donetsk Ballet Company
(Donetsk Website)
&
L’École de la Dance
School of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company
www.mountlaurelballet.com
856.866.8166
Vadim Pisarev, Premier Danseur Emeritus and
Artistic Director, Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre
Irina Dorofeyeva, Prima Ballerina Emeritus
Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre
Viktor Yeliohin, Soloist and Choreographer
Donetsk Ballet Company
Fern K. Helfond, Founder and Director,
L’École de la Dance
School of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company
Tour Producer: US Intron, Inc., Alexander Kershentsev, Pres.
Lighting Design, Stage & Prod. Mgr: Viktor Yeliohin
Wardrobe Coordinators: Gitla Kershentseva/Natasha Timofeyva
Photographers: Steve Soult, Mr. Frassetto, Steve Greer
Videographer: Stonewall Video
Cast of Donetsk Ballet Company:
Mr. Stahlbaum: Miroslav Grabovsky
Mrs. Stahlbaum: Tatyana Gazizova
Dr. Drosselmeyer: Vadim Pisarev
Columbine: Elena Volkova/Mia Nagasawa, Valeria Popova
Harlequin: Vladislav Stepanov, Alexi Kuznyetsov
African: Alexi Kuznyetsov
Nutcracker Doll: Sergei Ignatov
The Mouse King: Miroslav Grabovsky
Nutcracker Prince: Andrey Pisarev,
Maxim Valchik, Evgeniy Svetletsa
Maria, His Princess:
Elena Volkova/Mia Nagasawa, Anastasia Esupova
The Company Ensemble Dancers as:
Spanish, Arabian, French, Chinese,
Russian, and Waltz of the Flowers
Presented at Rancocas Valley Regional High School
Performing Arts Center
Mt. Holly, New Jersey
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
December 10, 2009
The Nutcracker (1892): Music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, choreographed for this production by Viktor Yeliohin, Performed by the Donetsk Ballet Company and children from L’École de la Dance of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company. Children’s Cast: Emily DeMichele and Amanda Goen as Clara, Kaely Todd and Hayley Boenecke as Fritz, Mia Scott and Olivia Frassetto as Nutcracker Doll, Hayley Boenecke as Mother Ginger, and the children’s ensemble as Party Scene Dancers, Big Dolls, Little Dolls, Mice, Miniature Snowflakes, Snowflakes, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Marzipan Dancers, Polichinelles, and Cooks.
I had the pleasure of traveling recently from midtown Manhattan to Mt. Holly, New Jersey, by Dial 7 Select Service, to see my niece, Camille, who is six, dance the roles of Little Doll and Miniature Snowflake in the Donetsk Ballet’s choreography of The Nutcracker. I was cordially invited by Ms. Fern Helfond, Founder and Director of L’École de la Dance, the School of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company. Camille loves her ballet school, and Ms. Helfond is genuinely warm, supportive, and quite resourceful in her annual production. I arrived in time to see the children being prepared for the Party Scene, with party dresses, tights, ballet slippers, and hair pieces that added bouncy curls. Family and friends assisted the little ones, while the Donetsk Ballet Company, from the Ukraine, used a separate dressing room in this high school theater extension.
Vadim Pisarev, Artistic Director of the Donetsk Ballet Company and Founder of the Vadim Pisarev Choreographic Mastery School, along with Viktor Yeliohin, Soloist and Choreographer of the Donetsk Ballet, worked very closely with Ms. Helfond to prepare today’s two performances (matinee and evening) of this two-act ballet. The Party Scene included Mr. Pisarev as a dryly humorous, Dr. Drosselmeyer and Andrey Pisarev, Vadim’s son, as the Nutcracker Prince. Andrey is currently Soloist and Principal Dancer at the National Theater in Kiev, Ukraine, coincidentally the same city where Camille’s great-grandmother was born. Elena Volkova, Principal Dancer at the Donetsk Ballet, was Maria, the Princess. Together they magnetized the sold-out audience with their elevation, balance, poise, stage presence, and chemistry. Their partnered lifts were enthralling.
The Donetsk Ballet cast was extremely well rehearsed and tightly timed, moving freely among all the little children that joined them onstage. Miroslav Grabovsky, as The Mouse King, was energized and dramatic, while Vladislav Stepanov, as Harlequin, performed some stunning leaps en air. Sergei Ignatov, as the Nutcracker Doll, added the iconic storybook dimension so requisite to this E.T.A. Hoffmann tale. Miroslav Grabovsky and Tatyana Gazizova, as Mr. and Mrs. Stahlbaum, were elegant and refined in their choreography. Alexi Kuznyetsov was riveting in his role as the African, and the Company used lush gestures and authentic mime as Spanish, Arabian, French, Chinese, and Russian dancers. In “Waltz of the Flowers”, six couples moved with eloquent mastery of the renowned Tchaikovsky score.
The children in the School of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company, trained by Ms. Helfond, were maturely focused on their roles and stage direction. Of course there were smiles and joy on their faces, to be sharing the stage with The Donetsk, but they never wandered or wavered from the choreography. I saw both performances, and both Emily DeMichele and Amanda Goen caught my eye as Clara, with perfectly positioned pointe work and an ethereal quality to their interpretation. Kaely Todd and Hayley Boenecke were adorable as Fritz, so chivalrous and proud. Mia Scott and Olivia Frassetto, as the Nutcracker Doll, spun about with steady confidence, while Hayley Boenecke kept seven Polichinelles under her big skirt, always smiling and sure.
The remaining children in the Mt. Laurel Ballet School danced on and off the stage, left, right, rear, front, and center, with boundless exhilaration, in the initial Party Scene, and then as Big Dolls, Little Dolls, Mice, Miniature Snowflakes, Snowflakes, Polichinelles, Cooks, and Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and Marzipan dancers. During today’s intermission, the Donetsk Ballet cast and the Mt. Laurel children’s cast shared a lovely lunch and conversation in the cafeteria. After lunch, the children had fun rehearsing on their own, onstage and offstage, on this very big day. Kudos to the Donetsk Ballet Company, and kudos to L’École de la Dance, the School of the Mt. Laurel Ballet Company.
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Children from Mount Laurel Ballet
Prepare for "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Camille with Her Long-Stem Rose
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Company Dancers at Lunch
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Fern Helfond, Founder and Director,
L'École de la Dance of the
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
www.mountlaurelballet.com
with Victor Yeliohin, Soloist/Choreographer,
Donetsk Ballet Co.
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Anastasia Esupova and Evgeniy Svetletsa,
Stars of the Donetsk Ballet Co., at Leisure
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Andrey Pisarev Dances En Air
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Mount Laurel Ballet Children
Bow at Intermission
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Donetsk Ballet Co. and
Mount Laurel Ballet Co.
in "The Nutcracker"
Courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
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