DANCE
HOLIDAY FAVORITE
SPREADS ITS MAGIC
BY WILLI MILLER
Reese Hvizdo as the Nutcracker in this performance by Vero Classical Ballet leads his soldiers into battle with the Mouse King.
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SEASON OF THE ARTS
Ballet troupes bring The Nutcracker
to life along the Treasure Coast
Remembering childhood dreams of sugar plum fairies
or dreaming up a new holiday tradition to treasure,
The Nutcracker, with the familiar score by Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky, very likely is on the list. For
generations of kids and former kids, it wouldn’t be Christmas
without at least one performance of that magical ballet. On
the Treasure Coast, there’s no shortage of performances, all
telling in dance the well-known story that began with The
Nutcracker and the Mouse King by 3russian writer (.T.A. +oͿ-
mann. It’s taken many forms through the centuries.
ST. LUCIE BALLET/TREASURE COAST YOUTH BALLET
The ballet, as we know it, didn’t become a staple in holiday
celebrations until 50 years ago, according to Lydia Oquendo
Corrales who, with her husband, Rogelio, directs the St. Lucie
Ballet in Port St. Lucie. “It’s performed by almost all the major
American ballet companies and has become a tradition in
most major cities.”
This is season 12 for its Nutcracker. From the outset, ballet
was an inevitable choice. “It is the most popular ballet,”
Corrales said. “The music is famous and the characters are >>