'Nutcracker' added to River Campus schedule

A late addition to the River Campus events schedule will bring "The Great Russian Nutcracker" back to Cape Girardeau on Dec. 12 and 13, after two seasons when the ballet didn't visit the city.

The concert was booked in May, said Robert Cerchio, assistant director of the Holland School of Visual and Performing Arts based at the new Southeast Missouri State University River Campus. Though no formal announcement of the booking has been made, Cerchio said there has been some advertising on local radio stations.

"The Great Russian Nutcracker" uses Russian performers to tell the "Nutcracker" story through ballet, but some local talent will be used as well. The ballet company will hold open auditions for children Sept. 28 at Dance Extensions in Jackson. Slight changes are made to Tchaikovsky's original ballet, with second-act action taking place in the Land of Peace and Harmony instead of the Land of Sweets.

When "The Great Russian Nutcracker" hits the stage at the 950-seat Bedell Performance Hall, it will mark the first time the ballet company has visited Southeast Missouri since November 2004. Between 2002 and 2004 the touring company performed every Christmas season at the Show Me Center, drawing 1,965 people in 2002, 1,697 in 2003 and 1,577 in 2004, according to Show Me Center records.

Cerchio said the booking was purposefully made to fill a space in the River Campus schedule near the holidays.

"We were looking for a seasonal program," he said.

Setting up the performance was assisted by Cerchio's long-standing professional relationship with Moscow Ballet producer Akiva Talmi, a relationship going back 25 years.

"I knew he had a proven product," Cerchio said. "His 'Nutcracker' is one of the best out there."