Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre cancels season; offers virtual ‘Fireside Nutcracker’ for free
For those yearning for the Christmas tradition of 鈥淭he Nutcracker,鈥� Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is offering a free, virtual performance this holiday season.
鈥淔ireside Nutcracker鈥� is based on Terrence S. Orr蘑菇视频 鈥淭he Nutcracker,鈥� adapting the ballet for film. It will feature Tchaikovsky蘑菇视频 score, and will be performed by PBT. The show will available to stream at no cost to patrons between Dec. 17 and Dec. 31.
鈥淲hen we started the process of adapting Terrence S. Orr蘑菇视频 鈥楴utcracker鈥� to be viewed as a film, none of us had ever created a ballet for film before,鈥� PBT Artistic Director Susan Jaffe said. 鈥淎nd during these unprecedented times, we had the extra complication of adjusting the choreography to make it safe for our dancers and socially distant where needed.鈥�
Adjustments to choreography were made to accommodate safety restrictions like social distancing and masking. Lead couples were cast using pairs of cohabitating dancers, to limit close contact between dancers outside of a single household.
Many of 鈥淭he Nutcracker蘑菇视频鈥� most iconic scenes feature PBT蘑菇视频 corps de ballet in close formation. To adhere to social distancing protocols, these scenes were filmed with fewer dancers interacting at once and will be seamlessly stitched together to recreate classic dances for the audience to experience from a new perspective.
Filming began in October at the Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University.
鈥淚t was a wonderful month-long process of discovery for everyone,鈥� Jaffe said, 鈥渁nd 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.鈥�
The theatre蘑菇视频 education department has created more than a dozen Nutcracker-themed programs, available to the public for $5 each.
News of the streaming holiday classic came as PBT canceled the remainder of its 2020-21 season, including performances of 鈥淐inderella鈥� and 鈥淎lice in Wonderland.鈥�
The theater plans to present an Open Air Series in the spring.
Registration for the 鈥淔ireside Nutcracker鈥� performance and more information on the educational programs can be found at pbt.org/nutcracker.