The students of the University Dance Company will be joined by special guests from Kansas City Aerial Arts for their spring concert, coming up Friday through Sunday.
By Kevin Hart
Dec 9, 2020 2:58 PM
This year in the absence of a production of Tchaikovskyâs Nutcracker Ballet, The Springfield Ballet Company has teamed up with Storyteller Studios to create a truly wonderful documentary about the history of the Nutcracker in Springfield, and its impact on the community. Through Claraâs Eyes takes the viewer through decades of local history interviewing women who have danced the part of Clara (the main character in The Nutcracker) locally and what the experience meant for them.
The documentary opens with several dancers in masks dancing part of the ballet while the women featured talk about the experience. Then we see footage of some productions from years past while Artistic Director Julie Ratz, Director Emeritus Grace Luttrell Nanavati, and Ballet Mistress Gina DeCroix Russell talk about the history of the ballet itself, the beginnings of the Springfield Ballet Company, and their own personal experiences with The Nutcracker. If