Several Wilton dancers will appear onstage with professional dancers from the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre this season in the Ballet Etudes Company (BEC) production of The Nutcracker at the Westport Country Playhouse. Tickets are on sale now for BEC’s full-length performance on Saturdays, Dec. 6 and 13, and Sunday, Dec. 7, with show times of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m..

Wilton dancers performing include (pictured above, L to R) front row:  Megan Case, Charlotte Stapkowski; back row: Alexandra Fordsman, Sasha Sypher, Nicole Case, Meryl Kaduboski, Grace Stapkowski and Sarah Case.

This year’s performance of The Nutcracker promises to deliver it’s usual magic with a cast of over ninety dancers — all of whom are members of the Ballet Etudes Company or students at The Studio Ballet School, with the exception of the visiting, special artists. Visiting guests dancing the principal roles include Georgina Pazcoguin, Adrian Danchig-Waring and Charles Askegard of New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre’s Sterling Baca, who returns to the Ballet Etudes production as the Sugar Plum Fairy’s Cavalier, after having danced the role of the young Prince as a 15-year old student from New York’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onansis School (JKO).

“We aspire for our Nutcracker to be exceptional — to truly capture the beauty of both ballet and the season. Ballet Etudes Company is proud to bring local students and professionals back to the Westport Country Playhouse to celebrate this holiday tradition,” Nanette Vallas, director of the company and ballet school, says.

A non-profit, the Norwalk-based Ballet Etudes Company has presented their Nutcracker production for fifteen years at the Playhouse. “We aim to bring a variety cultural experiences to local ballet enthusiasts and beyond,” Vallas says. Ballet Etudes usually presents two, distinct productions annually.

Tickets for The Nutcracker ($40 for adults/$20 for children 15 & under) can be purchased through the Westport Country Playhouse’s box office at 203.227.4177 or ordered online.

Photo credit:  Beth Shepherd Peters