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Limited Tickets Remain for this Weekend's Nutcracker Ballet

Southwest Virginia Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” features guest artist and 150 other dancers

By press release December 10, 2019

For the 27th production of Southwest Virginia Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” Phillip Skaggs, a former Richmond Ballet dancer, takes the stage as Cavalier.  Skaggs has danced in London, Beijing, New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. throughout a ballet career spanning nearly two decades.

SVB’s Nutcracker at the Berglund Center will also feature a cast of 150 performers that represent more than 15 dance schools and community members who shine in roles from party parents to mischievous mice. Southwest Virginia Ballet’s Nutcracker, a Virginia’s Blue Ridge Holiday Tradition, is the largest and the longest running in the Roanoke region. It is also beloved by its community, receiving a Platinum Award for Best Arts Performance in 2018 by The Roanoker magazine.

Tickets are on sale now for three performances, Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 3 p.m. In addition, two VIP experiences are available, one before each Saturday performance. For these, audience members can take the stage with ballerina Clara, dance at artistic director Szalay’s instruction, see the secrets of Herr Drosselmeyer’s dolls, tour backstage and obtain cast autographs.

The world’s best-known ballet, “The Nutcracker” is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It’s the story of a celebration of yore, where dolls come to life, Christmas trees magically grow, mice and soldiers battle, sweets from exotic lands surprise and the Sugar Plum Fairy delights with her intricate footwork and romantic pairing with her Cavalier.

Pytor Tchaikovsky’s orchestral score is as familiar as it is acclaimed — a near soundtrack to the holidays. SVB’s Nutcracker presents original choreography by artistic director Pedro Szalay and lighting design by award-winning lighting and production manager Dirk Kuyk. Several of the lead roles are performed by SVB dancers who traveled to the New Prague Dance Festival in the Czech Republic in 2019 and earned a prestigious Grishko Award.




Southwest Virginia Ballet is in its 29th year, with four dozen company members, ages 10 to 18. Company members commute from Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Henry County, Galax and beyond, dancing together in a newly renovated studio in the Roanoke Industrial Center each Saturday from August through May. Company membership, instruction and costumes are provided free of charge.

Even more than an opportunity for the region’s dancers, SVB is a community cultural asset. The nonprofit organization offers free dance performances for school children, special needs students and adults, hospital patients at Carilion Clinic and at arts events throughout the year.

Purchase tickets to the Nutcracker ballet at the Berglund Center box office or 540-853-5483.