Tickets: $40 for adults and $30 for 12 and under. Cash or Check only.
Advance tickets for adults are $35, and $25 for children. Purchase them at:
TIB Bank of the Keys branches, Community Bank branches, Down to Earth in Islamorada, Cover to Cover Books and On Your Toes Dance Studio in Tavernier

Noted Russian Ballet Company Performs ‘The Nutcracker’
50 Local Student Dancers Join the Performance

ISLAMORADA, Florida Keys – Performances of “The Nutcracker” can be found in virtually every corner of the country – from small towns to big cities – during the Yuletide season. Yet very few will be performed by Russian ballerinas from a world renowned ballet company.

But Upper Keys residents and visitors are fortunate this holiday season for they can see a real Russian version of this dazzling holiday spectacle. The Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet Theatre of Marina Medvetskaya brings the most famous and extravagant ballet adventure in the world to Coral Shores Performing Arts Center on Monday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m.

The 12 principal dancers from the noted Saint Petersburg ballet troupe will be joined by some 50 local student dancers, ranging in age from three to 18, from Upper Keys dance studios.

“Students dancers will be party children, toy soldiers, cavaliers, clowns, mice, and snowflakes in this magical ballet,” said Stephanie Zlockie, co-director of On Your Toes Dance Studio in Tavernier, and the local dance instructor for the student dancers’ parts in the ballet. “Our local students have a unique opportunity to perform on the same stage as these world class ballet dancers from Russia.”

The Nutcracker is the story of mysterious toymaker Herr Drosselmeier's gift of a Nutcracker doll to a young girl, which sets her off flying to The Land of Toys and Sweets with her beloved Nutcracker Prince. Performed to Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous score, the delightful choreography will transport the audience into an enthralling world where dreams come true.

Marlis Miller, age 12, from Key Largo, and a student at On Your Toes Dance Studio, is one of the young Keys dancers who will appear on stage as a cavalier and a clown with the Russian ballerinas. “It's a privilege to be dancing with them,” said Miller. “They are role models and I hope I can be a great dancer like one of them. They are an example of what can happen if I keep working hard at my dancing.”

The company founder and director, Marina Medvetskaya, is the former Prima Ballerina of the Tbilisi State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, where she danced all the leading roles in the classical and contemporary ballet repertoire, as well as working with the Bolshoi Ballet’s Mikhail Lavrovsky.  Her company was awarded the Amber Necklace, the equivalent of the Gold Medal in Russia, at the National Ballet Competition. 

Tickets at the door are $40 for adults and $30 for ages 12 and under. Advance tickets for adults are $35, and $25 for children and can be purchased at TIB Bank of the Keys branches, Community Bank branches, Down to Earth in Islamorada, Cover to Cover Books and On Your Toes Dance Studio in Tavernier. For more information about this concert or other ICE events, go to www.keysice.com.

ICE is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing quality entertainment and cultural events to Upper Keys residents and visitors, and provides musical and arts scholarships to local students.