It’s become a Fresno Thanksgiving Weekend tradition: First you stuff yourself with turkey on Thursday, then you shop on Friday, and then you go to “The Nutcracker” on Saturday or Sunday.
Fresno Ballet Theatre, under the umbrella of the Valley Performing Arts Council, once again partners with the Sacramento Ballet for two full-scale performances of the holiday tradition. The show features 37 professional dancers and more than 100 student dancers.
I know it can be expensive to go to the ballet, especially when you have children. That’s why I’m excited to give away four “family packs” of tickets to readers of The Munro Review. (Thanks, VPAC!) Each pack consists of four tickets. For details on how to enter, go to the end of this post.
This year’s “Nutcracker” performance features Campbell Nearn, 12, of Fresno, dancing the role of Clara. Some details:
Campbell is a seventh grader at Granite Ridge Intermediate School and is performing in the ballet for the third time. Her previous roles were “Baby Blue” in the party scene and a “Ginger child.” Campbell began dancing at age 9 and has trained at The Dance Studio 2 and Northwest Studio. She has also performed in Fresno Ballet Theatre’s “Don Quixote” and competed at the Youth American Grand Prix. She has attended the School of American Ballet California Summer Workshop 2016 and the Boston Ballet School Summer Intensive 2017.
Another major role is Fritz:
Seventh grader Devyn Sasai, a four-time veteran of “The Nutcracker,” will dance the role of “Fritz.” Devyn started dancing at age 3 and has taken lessons at Kingsburg’s The Dance Company, Kingsburg Ballet and Northwest Studio in Fresno. She’s previously appeared as a “Party Boy,” “Party Girl” and an angel in “The Nutcracker.” She’s also had roles in Fresno Ballet Theatre’s productions of “Don Quixote” and “Cinderella.”
Performances are 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26, at the Saroyan Theatre. Tickets are $31.50-$71.50 adults, $34.25 children.
The Nutcracker Tea will be held at 2:45 p.m. following the Saturday performance. Tickets are $25.
Win tickets to “The Nutcracker”
To win a four-pack of tickets to “The Nutcracker,” leave a comment on this post telling us your favorite “Nutcracker” memory. (If you don’t have one yet, just say why you’d like to go to the show.) Be sure to include which performance you’d like to attend. You’ll be able to pick up your tickets at Will Call. Please don’t enter if you won’t be able to use the tickets. I’ll select four winners at random. Deadline to enter is 6 p.m. Wednesday. I’ll inform the winners on Wednesday evening (so be sure to check your email).
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