Falmouth, Maine –Maine State Ballet rings in the season with the holiday classic, The Nutcracker, beginning Thanksgiving weekend at Merrill Auditorium in Portland. This seasonal favorite tells the traditional story of Clara and the Nutcracker Prince as they journey through a snow covered forest and into the Palace of the Sweets where they are greeted by the Sugar Plum Fairy and her spectacular court.  

Tchaikovsky’s popular score will be brought to life again this year by the Maine State Ballet Orchestra conducted by Karla Kelley and the voices of two singing groups during the snow scene, the Musica de Filia Girlchoir and the Wescustago Youth Chorale. Both groups are from the greater Portland area. The Musica de Filia Girlchoir is directed by Jaye Churchill; they will perform on November 28 and 29. The Wescustago Youth Chorale, directed by Ann Dillon, will sing during the second weekend of shows, December 4 - 6.

Over the course of the seven Nutcracker shows, 205 local Maine dancers will perform onstage plus over 50 pre-school children dressed as reindeer.  All Maine State Ballet dancers live in southern Maine, coming from 35 different towns from Wells up to Litchfield and west to Lovell.

Performance times are Saturday, November 28 at 2pm and 7pm; Sunday, November 29 at 2pm; Friday, December 4 at 7pm; Saturday, December 5 at 2pm and 7pm; Sunday, December 6 at 2pm.

Tickets for The Nutcracker are on sale now through Porttix at 842-0800 or www.porttix.com. Tickets are priced from $15 - $45. Senior and child discounts are available. For more information, call (207) 781-7672 or visit www.mainestateballet.org

Maine State Ballet’s The Nutcracker will feature the following dancers from:

Auburn: Sara Spellman
  
Biddeford: Emily Belanger
  
Bridgton: Madison Perkins
  
Brunswick: Bridget Horan, Erin Rutherford, Mark Thrall, Alesa Yuodsnukis

Buxton: Laura Moskevich

Cape Elizabeth: Faith Buckley, Lily Mackenzie, Michael MacKenzie, Hannah McGill, Madeline Miele, Johanna Power, Maria Schelasin

Cumberland:  Lillian Black, Jill Cass, Isabella Chandler, Jillian Bougie, Mia Fisher, Kallee Gallant,  Rebecca Hamlen, Abby Hutnak, Rowan Joyce, Erin Libby, Kate Libby, Greg Nevens, Maia Nevens, Tory Nevens, Anyssa Pollak, Betsy Rosenblum, Caroline Routh, Sara Sheldon, Marina Stam, Emily Stinneford, Alexandra Swaney, Carolyn Todd, Kalei Volk, Amber Yarn

Falmouth: Sara Alpert, Brooke Bazarian, Elise Bickford, Sophia Blier, Cloe Dilworth, Chloe Fisher, Hannah Hays, Michael Hays, Abigail Hooper, Michael Holden, Emily Jackson, Hannah Kiely, Claire Longcope, Sophia Marcotte, Sophia McCluskey, Elizabeth McIntosh,  Kendra Murray, Eleanor Nash, Hillary Nash, Katya Nash, Devon Noble, Hadley Noble, Ainnir O’Regan, Ellen Parkinson, Molly Patton, Jane Pryzant,   Casey Ryan, Abby Ryer, Claudia Spelman, Sophia Spelman, Meredith Stanhope, Maggie Sullivan, Maya Turndorf, Emma van Wickler, Isabel Wolfe

Freeport: Maya Dowling-Wolfe, Caroline Doyle, Emmanuelle Greene, Emily Jennings, Alston Lybolt, Lauren Moore, Michaela Shannon, Grace Zachau, Lucy Zachau

Gorham: Celia Begonia, Annmarie Dellasala, Nathaniel Dombek, Charlotte Feinberg, Meaghan Gilbert, Kate Larkin, Delaney Patten-Harris, Marissa Patten-Harris, Nicholas Reynolds 

Gray: Samantha Maristany  

Harrison: Sarah Douglas, Breanna Jenkins, Clare Kramer, Miranda Murphy, Madison Perkins, Lauren Ruby

Kennebunk: Katie Charlton, Janet Ottman

Limington: Kristy Roy

Lisbon: Paige D’Amboise

Litchfield: Stephanie Paradis

Lovell: Zoe Ward

Naples: Errol Kurtz, Grace Kurtz, Patrick Murphy

New Gloucester: Ann Marie Connolly

North Yarmouth: Samantha Belaire, Holly Perkins, Ksenia Smart, Rachel St. Pierre

North Waterboro: Alyssa Bryan, Kate Hamilton

Portland: Caitlin Bernard, Mariza Budri, Natalia Budri, Cecelia Carey-Snow, Matt Chase, Caroline Chittum, Hannah Clifford, Lucy Denton, Nicole Dixon, Shannon Dunbar, Molly Dutton, Katie Farwell, Kristin Francoeur, Laura Lee Frank, Ethan Hatt, Grace Haynes, Kirby Johnson, Julia Lancia, Julia Lopez, Julia McGettigan, Margaret Meserve, Olivia Morgan, Rachel Morrell, Sophia Olore, Rebecca Purser, Rebecca Ruesch, Katie Skog, Ariana Solodar-Wincele, Callie Sturgeon, Tyler Winslow

Pownal: Olivia Smith

Raymond:  Adrienne Pelletier, Rhiannon Pelletier

Saco: Michaela Courtney, Elizabeth Lester, Lindsay Stack

Scarborough: Hannah Anderson, Nicholas Anderson, Keisha Christopher, Katherine Connolly, Elizabeth Dragoni, Emma Greenwich, Diane Saito, Maiki Saito, Dominic Spina, Sophia Spina

South Portland: Kira Babcock, Frederick Bernier, Owen Crowley, Morgyn Crowley, Christine Marshall Dow, Emma Rose Schwartz, Brooke Sowerby, Alysia Williams, Christina Williams, Zsuzsa Williams

Standish: Boomer Druchniak, Veronica Druchniak, Kelsey Hasty

Topsham: Ron Trell

Turner: Sydney Olberding

Waterford: Elise Dekutoski, Hannah Leonard, Nikki Moore, Jasmine Rondeau

Wells: Brittany DiCapua

Westbrook: Rayne Chase, Candace Morong, Abigail Tompkins, Emma Tompkins

Windham: Emma Davis, Glenn Davis, Janet Davis, Brianna Doerfler, Camilla Grosso, Juliette Lauzier, Eri Martin, Jonathan Miele, Dorrie Pinchbeck, Taylor Smith, Kiara Tringali, Courtney True, Corinne Ulmer

Yarmouth: Lucy Alexander, Roya Best, Sophie Bray, Emilie Estabrook, Georgia Giese, William Giese, Elizabeth Hyde, Mary Cate Hyde, Isabelle Murray

Musica de Filia Girlchoir, appearing November 28-29:
Lucy Bauer, Silvia Baxter, Lydia  Belden, Ciara Bethel, Olivia Blom, Michaela Boissonnealt, Camille Braun, Hannah Brock, Charlotte Brooks, Molly  Brown,
Sydney Browne, Lily Bruenjes, Fiona Cagney, Laura Catsos, Juliette Cavanaugh, Ania Chandler, Rachel Chaney, Sophie Chaney, Leah Churchill, Kristen Coleman, Lily August-Brown, Hope Correia, Emma Dadmun, Julia Dearden, Kiersten Dyhrberg, Allie Eaton, Harriet Edwardsen, Alexandra Ertman, Melissa Ertman, Brooke Estes, Grace Fan, Hannah Frey, Rosalind Gray-Bauer, Sarah Hagos, Eileen Hanley, Lynnea Harding, Maggie Harnois, Caitlin Harrison, Natalie Hauptman, Zoe Helmick, Madison Hynes, Julia Ingrisano, Stella Keck, Clare Kenny, Kaitlin Knaus, Kelsey Krull, Sydney Kucine, Quinn Lavigne, Andrea Levinsky, Rachel Lloyd, Danielle Loiselle, Louisa Mahoney, Abigail Mahoney, Quinn Malter, Ellie Marston, Meredith McLoon, Lillian McMullin, Kailina Mills, Abbie Morgan, Lena Needelman, Faye Perry, Sarah Pier, Katherine Reynolds, Emily Rich, Sarah Rinaldi, Elizabeth Robinson, Savannah Ruhlin, Bridget Russell, Julia Russell, Hannah Saturley, Maria Sepulveda, Elizabeth Sepulveda, Hattie Simon, Anya Siviski, Hannah Somes, Grace Sparks, Anna Sullivan, McKenzie Swift, Emily Trafton, Amelia Walz, Julia Warnock, Mariah Weisman, Abby Whitmore, Abigail Williams, Emily Wrobleski, Amara Young, Ava Zwolinski

Wescustago Youth Chorale Members, appearing December 4-6:
DeAnna Barry, Kayla Barry, Laura Bither, Noah Brown, Sarah Cartmell, Madeline Curtis, Lindsey Dealaman, Peter Dutton, Siana Emery, Grace Gilbert, Maddy Guild, Hannah Martin, Acadia Martin-Weinberg, Addie Morang, Karl Munroe, Josiah Otis, Naomi Otis, Rachel Rivera, Lucy Sandin, Gwen Sawyer, Marny Stivers, Sophia Sturtevant, Liz Washington, Lauren Weickert

Contact: Eliza Miller - 207-781-7672