Christine
Announcing Casting for The Nutcracker
Casting for The Nutcracker has arrived!
It’s the most magical time of the year as Marie and her Nutcracker prince journey to the Land of Enchantment. Along the way, they encounter the Snow Queen and King, The Rat King, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and a whole cast of memorable characters! All of the roles are performed by the talented artists of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School.
The Nutcracker returns to the Benedum Center December 9-28, 2022
EXPLORE THE NUTCRACKER
Programs and performance dates: View Nutcracker enrichment experiences and the performance schedule here.
Sensory-friendly: Information on sensory-friendly performances and workshops can be found here.
Guidance for young attendees: Learn about The Nutcracker story and its characters in the Children’s Activity Guide.
Casting for Season Premiere is Announced!
Casting has been announced for our Season Premiere with the PBT Orchestra, featuring four distinct works that capture the essence and evolution of the art form – echoing voices of four internationally-acclaimed choreographers.
Get your tickets today and join us for PBT’s triumphant return to the Benedum!
Casting for Season Premiere with the PBT Orchestra
Learn about our company dancers and read their bios here.
Petal
Choreography and Concept: Helen Pickett
Music: Philip Glass, Thomas Montgomery Newman
Friday and Saturday, October 22 & 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Jessica McCann, Grace Rookstool, Victoria Watford, Diana Yohe
Corey Bourbonniere, Lucius Kirst, William Moore, Yoshiaki Nakano
Sunday, October 24 – 2 p.m.
Marisa Grywalski, Tommie Kesten, Jessica McCann, Gabrielle Thurlow
Sam DerGregorian, Masahiro Haneji, Josiah Kauffman, Kurtis Sprowls
Grand Pas Classique
Choreography: Victor Gsovsky
Music: Daniel-Francois Auber
Friday and Sunday, October 22 & 24 – 7:30 p.m. & 2 p.m.
Amanda Cochrane and Yoshiaki Nakano
Saturday, October 23 – 7:30pm
Gabrielle Thurlow and Masahiro Haneji
Through the Window
Choreography: Jennifer Archibald
Music: Uno Helmersson, Frans Bak, Tokio Myers, Peter Gregson
Friday and Saturday, October 22 & 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Amanda Morgan, Jessica McCann, JoAnna Schmidt, Victoria Watford, Diana Yohe
Corey Bourbonniere, Masahiro Haneji, Josiah Kauffman, Kurtis Sprowls, Cooper Verona
Sunday, October 24 – 2 p.m.
Erin Casale, Tommie Kesten, Alexandra Kochis, Grace Rookstool, Gabrielle Thurlow
Jonathan Breight, Lucius Kirst, William Moore, Yoshiaki Nakano, Joseph Parr
Diamonds
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: P. I. Tchaikovsky
Friday and Saturday, October 22 & 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Marisa Grywalski, Lucius Kirst
Sunday, October 24 – 2:00 p.m.
Alexandra Kochis, William Moore
Jessica McCann
JoAnna Schmidt
Gabrielle Thurlow 10/22 & 10/23, Marisa Grywalski 10/24
Diana Yohe
Corey Bourbonniere
Masahiro Haneji
William Moore 10/22 & 23, Lucius Kirst 10/24
Joseph Parr
Erin Casale
Elizabeth Devanney
Christian Garcia Campos
Madeline Gradle
Kara Hunter
Corabelle Kennedy
Tommie Kesten
Caitlyn Mendicino
Amanda Morgan
Grace Rookstool
Victoria Watford
Andres Angel
Nathan Bender
Jonathan Breight
Sam DerGregorian
Jack Hawn
Jesse Joiner
Josiah Kauffman
Jacob Miller
Colin McCaslin
Luke Mosher
Kurtis Sprowls
Cooper Verona
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Wins Telly Awards for “Fireside Nutcracker”
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre (PBT) has received three Telly Awards for its Fireside Nutcracker, a virtual adaptation of Terrence S. Orr’s The Nutcracker made available to stream online during December, 2020. The company was awarded a Gold Telly for Branded Content General – Virtual Events & Experiences, and Silver Tellys for Branded Content General-Not-for-profit and Branded Content Craft – Editing.
“Fireside Nutcracker kept the holiday tradition of The Nutcracker alive during theater closures due to the pandemic,” PBT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe said. “We were excited to share the program – which reached nearly 50,000 viewers in over 30 countries – with our audience and we’re honored that it has been recognized by the Tellys.”
PBT began work on Fireside Nutcracker in the summer of 2020, anticipating that the company would not be able to return to the Benedum Center for its annual run of over 20 Nutcracker performances. Alongside a team of producers and videographers from LOOK Creative Guild, PBT artists, crew, staff and 25 PBT School students filmed Fireside Nutcracker at the award-winning Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University and the historic Hartwood Acres Mansion.
To accommodate safety regulations while filming during the COVID pandemic, adjustments were made to choreography to ensure social distancing and masking. Lead couples, like Marie and the Nutcracker, were cast using pairs of cohabitating dancers, to limit close contact between dancers outside of a single household. Many of The Nutcracker’s most iconic scenes feature PBT’s corps de ballet in close formation. To adhere to social distancing protocols, these scenes were filmed with fewer dancers interacting at once and were seamlessly stitched together to recreate classic dances for the audience to experience from a new perspective.
“The reformatting of storytelling, choreography and filming of this ballet was complex, but a wonderful process for everyone,” Jaffe said, “and we all felt good about the work. But, the people who shined the most were our dancers and our children who took part in the filming.”
Fireside Nutcracker was sponsored by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Giant Eagle and Clearview Federal Credit Union.
Casting for The Nutcracker Has Arrived
Casting for The Nutcracker has been announced! It’s the most magical time of the year as Marie and her Nutcracker prince journey to the Land of Enchantment encountering the Snow Queen and King, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, and the cast of memorable characters, performed by the talented artists of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School.
The Nutcracker runs Dec. 6-29 at the Benedum Center.
Explore The Nutcracker
- Watch: View the trailer here.
- For Kids: Download The Nutcracker Children’s Guide for a kid-friendly synopsis and games.
- Synopsis & More: Read the story of the ballet, the history of the music and costumes, and more here.