Nutcracker productions for the holiday season
by Leilani Polk
- The Royal Nutcracker
A Nutcracker production can be found in virtually every corner of the greater Tampa Bay area during the Yuletide season, and this weekend is no exception.
For those interesting in a break from tradition, the nonprofit Bay Area Dance (BAD) Company stages Goin' Nuts, a humorous, satirical update of the Nutcracker that's set against the music of Duke Ellington and features tap, jazz, hip-hop and modern dance styles in addition to ballet. Proceeds go toward the medical expenses of the teen who was attacked outside Bloomingdale Library several months ago.
Bay City Ballet brings a traditional production of The Nutcracker to the Largo Cultural Center; expect the usual -- toy soldiers and mice at war, dancing snowflakes and waltzing flowers, and Tchaikovsky's beloved score.
Finally Royal Academy of Fine Arts & Dance presents The Royal Nutcracker, a production "By Young People For Young People" that comprises a range of dance styles -- ballet, Irish riverdance, African, hip-hop, lyrical and pointe -- and is presented by more than 100 Bay area performers.
Goin' Nuts, 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Dec. 12-13, USF College of Visual and Performing Arts Theatre II, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, $10-$20, collectivesoles.org; Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, 7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 12-14, Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive, Largo, $22 adults/$18 students, largoarts.com; and The Royal Nutcracker, 7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13-14, James B. White Performing Arts Center, at Clearwater Central Catholic High School, 2750 Haines Bayshore Blvd., Clearwater, $15, rafafl.com.
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