The Charlotte Youth Ballet presents the holiday classic The Nutcracker! Tickets are on sale now for this classic. Your kids will love seeing local dancers in The Nutcracker. Performances start Friday December 3 and run through Sunday December 5th, so make sure you get tickets soon! Performances will be held at Halton Theater at CPCC's main campus. Tickets start at $12 and can be purchased at this link
1 lucky Macaroni Kid subscriber can enter to win 2 tickets to the show! If you would like to enter to win you can send an email to rebeccap@macaronikid.com
The dancers in the Charlotte Youth Ballet have wonderful experiences to share. Below is an essay written by Katrina, a dancer with the ballet
I can smile in front of thousands of people while my toes bleed, bunions throb, and blisters tear. As I force my pointe shoes onto my battered feet, there is no pain or misery . . . only the dazzling spotlight, the awareness of an expectant audience, and me – empowered, capable, and confident.
I love the physical and mental power of ballet. I think of the performance process as a long, elegant mathematical problem that incorporates physics and anatomy. Spatial awareness is essential when dancing with other dancers, gravity and friction limit the force of movements, and physical strength aligns the dancer with the body’s natural movements.
Ballet is a universal language that unites dancers of all ethnic backgrounds, races, and nationalities. I have been privileged to dance with guest artists from Japan, Russia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. who hold vastly different backgrounds than mine. Once inside the studio or on stage, we rally together behind our common goal: to assemble the complex math-like combinations, music, and choreography to produce one fluid ballet . . . Some performances carry special meaning and it is during these shows that I am no longer dancing for myself. I have performed at fundraisers and outreach events for groups such as the Foundation for Disabled Children, Easter Seals Children’s Center, Pregnant with Cancer Foundation, South Park’s Evening of Giving, and Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Even though the spotlight is following me across the stage, I realize my individual performance is focused on a greater cause. Unlike typical shows, the audience is not there to watch the performance, but to support a charity, and I am there in gratitude to share my health and blessings with the community. This “pro-humanitate” vision propels the audience and dancers into a broader, universal mission.
Off-stage, at school, I am somewhat reserved, and the thought of public speaking makes my stomach flip. However, ask me to perform the Lilac Fairy solo variation from The Sleeping Beauty and I would leap at the offer -- literally. Ballet has taught me how to become fearless, even in the face of failure. Now, ingrained in me, is the ability to enter a room and take command. Dancing in general has taught me how to feel comfortable expressing myself, and performing has trained me to capture people’s attention whether on stage, or during an AP U.S. History presentation.
