Yellowstone Ballet Company presents a dynamic, full-length Nutcracker Ballet on Saturday, November 29th 4:00 p.m at The Emerson Crawford Theater. This timeless tale of Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker Prince will delight young and old as YBC’s Artistic Director and award-winning choreographer, Kathleen Rakela, creatively intertwines talented local and professional dancers in the production.
 
YBC’s The Nutcracker features principal dancers from the Colorado Ballet, Dmitry Trubchanov and Sharon Wehner. Mr. Trubchanov will perform the starring roles of the Nutcracker Prince and Cavelier. He trained at the Vaganova Academy, school of the Kirov Ballet, St. Petersburg, Russia. Trubchanov was then accepted into the Kirov Company upon graduation. After immigrating to America in 1998 he joined Cincinnati Ballet as a principal dancer and in 2009 became principal dancer with the Colorado Ballet. He has performed leading roles in Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Pacquita, Le Corsaire, Faust, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadere and Hamlet and in works by Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Trye LMcIntrye and ChooSan Goh.

Sharon Wehner will perfrom the delicate role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Ms. Wehner trained with Jody White, San Jose Dance Theatre, San Francisco Ballet and San Jose/Cleveland Ballet. She joined Colorado Ballet in 1996 and was promoted to Principal in 1999, and in the last 17 years, has performed many lead roles with the Company. These include Kitri in Don Quixote, Giselle in Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Medora in Le Corsaire, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Swanilda in Coppelia, Mina in Dracula, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, the Principal couple in Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes and Rubies, Antony Tudor’s Leaves are Fading, and Twyla Tharpe’s In The Upper Room. She has been honored to have solos and pas de deux created on her by choreographers Edwaard Liang, Mathew Neenan, Christopher Wheeldon, Darrel Grand Moultrie, Dwight Rhoden, Jessica Lang, Brian Reeder and Toru Shimazaki.  In addition to Colorado Ballet, Ms. Wehner has also performed with The Washington Ballet, Oakland Ballet and Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. She has also been a guest artist at the Vail International Dance Festival, and in Japan in the Aoyama Ballet Festival, and the National Ballet of Japan’s Golden Ballet Co-star.
 
Twelve-year-old Abigail Rodi will dance the cherished role of Clara, the girl who breaks the spell that the wicked Rat King (Sterling Moss of Great Falls) has placed upon the Prince encasing him in the form of a wooded nutcracker. Other featured performers are Hunter Lynch as the Snow Queen, Elizabeth Salacinski as the Queen of the Flowers and break dancers from Energy Outlet performing in the Russian dance. They have some surprises in store for sports fans and dance lovers alike.
 
YBC’s family friendly production has delighted thousands with over fifty performances in Great Falls, Lewistown, Bozeman, Yellowstone National Park and Livingston.  All ages will enjoy the magical and colorful characters and enchanting story. YBC’s production of The Nutcracker is produced in collaboration with Yellowstone Ballet School, Main Street Dance.
 
 Tickets for YBC's The Nutcracker are available at Eckroth Music and in Bozeman (on the corner of 7th and Mendenhall), Books & Music and in Livingston, or online at www.yellowstoneballet.org.  Adult $18, $25, $35. Child only $10. A service fee of $2 will be added to tickets sold at the door.
 
For more information or group rates call 223-4664 or 222-0430.