Tickets still available for Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite by Ballet Afrique Jan. 6 and 7

Sam Stark
·2 min read
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AUSTIN (KXAN) –  Not quite ready for the holiday season to end? Austinites have one final festive opportunity with the fifth annual production of “Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite” on Saturday and Sunday at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin.

The 2024 production will be Ballet Afrique’s fifth annual show, which “transports the audience into the vibrant world of Duke Ellington’s Harlem. Set against the backdrop of jazz-filled streets and a candy land below a Harlem apartment, this production offers a unique and enchanting experience,” according to a press release.

“We want all families in Austin to see themselves reflected in art,” said China Smith, Ballet Afrique’s founding artistic director. “We’re realizing that we’re becoming a part of a holiday tradition, which is really heartwarming.”

  • Dancers highlight the joy, athleticism and sophistication of Swing in the Harlem Renaissance in this scene from Ballet Afrique’s Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
    Dancers highlight the joy, athleticism and sophistication of Swing in the Harlem Renaissance in this scene from Ballet Afrique’s Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
  • Mother Ginger becomes Mother Ginger Snaps as the scene stealer in the second act of Ballet Afrique’s Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
    Mother Ginger becomes Mother Ginger Snaps as the scene stealer in the second act of Ballet Afrique’s Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
  • Dancer shows poise as he brings to life the nutcracker in Ballet Afrique’s production of Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
    Dancer shows poise as he brings to life the nutcracker in Ballet Afrique’s production of Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
  • Ballet Afrique’s most dedicated youth performers get an opportunity to perform as emerging, and pre-professional dancers in the production of Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)
    Ballet Afrique’s most dedicated youth performers get an opportunity to perform as emerging, and pre-professional dancers in the production of Duke Ellington’s The Nutcracker Suite. (Photo Credit: Gregory Taylor, Taylored Eye Photography)

“We are so excited to share the beauty of this culture and the liveliness of the [1920s],”she added.

Several prominent Black Austin figures will make appearances throughout the show. Woman Magazine CEO Shuronda Robinson will play Mother Giner; Chas Moore, executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, is taking on the Rat King role; and Eric Byrd of Austin’s Black Professional Alliance will appear as Trombone Charles, the family patriarch.

“We have a wide range of dancers – we have classically trained dancers, we have traditional African dancers and hip hop dancers,” Smith said. “[It’s] exciting to be a little kid growing up, and being able to see a Nutcracker that looks that reflects who they are.”

Ballet Afrique is also partnering with Carrying Hope — a nonprofit which helps provide necessities to foster children — to hand out 100 tickets to children in foster homes.

“[We] have a significant amount of professional dancers that were in foster care or adopted,” Smith said. “We believe that arts is for everybody, and we believe that it only takes just a little bit of exposure to change a life and know that it’s something that you can do.”

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