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Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2007

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Metropolitan Classical Ballet’s ever-popular production of The Nutcracker will brighten the holidays for yet another season (the eleventh) at Texas Hall in Arlington. Performances will be held on the campus of the University of Texas in Arlington on Friday, December 21st at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, December 22nd at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 23rd at 2:00 p.m.

Choreographed by Company Artistic Director Alexander Vetrov, the delightful two act classical ballet is set to the musical score by Peter Iliych Tchaikovsky, and features the entire Metropolitan Classical Ballet Company. Principal roles will be danced by Olga Pavlova and Andrey Prikhodko with Yevgeni Anfinogenov as Drosselmeyer.Youth Company members and students from the Metropolitan Ballet Academy will also perform. The academy is the official school of the Company. Music for The Nutcracker will be performed live at all four productions by the Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra under the direction of distinguished guest conductor, Bernard Rubenstein.

Mr. Rubenstein is the Music Director of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony in Minnesota. He has held many important conducting posts, including Music Director of the Tulsa Philharmonic. Mr. Rubenstein has conducted orchestras for the Tulsa Ballet Theater, BalletMet, Columbus, Ohio, Paris Opera Ballet on tour with Rudolph Nureyev and for the Ruth Page Television Documentary, WTTW, Chicago.

Critics and audiences alike have always reacted most favorably to Mr. Vetrov’s unique version influenced by the Bolshoi. This staging of the holiday standard The Nutcracker gets a big dose of Russian flavor from its Bolshoi-like choreography. . . . . . . . Enough fine dancing & technical skill to impress the adults, and enough magic and dazzle to keep the little ones wide-eyed and involved. By Punch Shaw: Special to the Star-Telegram - Sat, Dec. 09, 2006.

Special performances of a condensed version of The Nutcracker will be presented for students of the Arlington Independent School District and other area private schools. Part of the Company’s Children's Cultural Enrichment Program, these performances will be held on December 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, and are not open to the public.

Casting and programming are subject to change.

Tickets for The Nutcracker range in price from $10 - $30, and are available only through Metropolitan Classical Ballet. Call (817) 275-0598 or order online at mcballet.org. Tickets are also available at the administrative office at 500 W. Abram, Arlington, Texas. Season sponsors include American Airlines, the University of Texas at Arlington, and the law firm of Hill Gilstrap.

In addition to its annual production of The Nutcracker at Texas Hall, at the University of Texas at Arlington, the Metropolitan Classical Ballet performs a season of ballet at the prestigious Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. Considered to be one of the leading dance companies in Texas, the Company is led by Artistic directors Paul Mejia and Alexander Vetrov. Mr. Mejia, former dancer with the New York City Ballet who danced principal roles in many Balanchine ballets, carries on Balanchine’s style and artistic vision though his acclaimed choreography. Mr. Vetrov, former leading male principal dancer with the prestigious Bolshoi still maintains close connections with the Bolshoi today. The Company administrative office and spacious state of the arts studios, unsurpassed in the North Texas area, are located in Arlington, Texas.

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Media Note: Further information may be obtained by contacting Maria Kudyakova at (817) 465-4644. Information can also be found on Metropolitan Classical Ballet's website www.mcballet.org.

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