Ballet Jorgen returning to Guelph

GUELPH - Ballet Jorgen  is holding auditions Sept. 12 for local dancers ages eight to 17 who want to perform alongside the professional dance company in its version of The Nutcracker – A Canadian Tradition when it performs in Guelph in December.

Last year, 19 students from dance schools in Guelph and surrounding communities were selected to join the company’s professional cast for performances in Guelph.

Interested young dancers are asked to register online at jorgendance.ca. Registration has been brisk, but limited audition space remains available, according to Ballet Jörgen.

In the weeks leading up to the performance, selected dancers will rehearse regularly at Royal City School of Ballet and Theatre Jazz Inc. in downtown Guelph.

Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker – A Canadian Tradition reimagines the classic ballet through a distinctly Canadian lens, combining Bengt Jörgen’s choreography with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous score and backdrops inspired by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.

The production features works by Canadian landscape painters including Tom Thomson’s Snow in the Woods (1916), L.L. Fitzgerald’s Trees and Wildflowers (1922) and Franklin Carmichael’s Church and Houses at Bisset (1931).

Alongside protagonists Klara and the Nutcracker Prince, audiences encounter snowflakes, trilliums and woodland creatures. Roles including Beaver, Frog, Dragonfly, Squirrel and Bear Cub will be filled by young dancers selected during the Sept. 12 auditions.

Tickets are also on sale now for the December show.

All seats are reserved. Regular tickets are $65/$60, senior tickets are $61/$56 and student tickets are $44/$39. Premier seating is $88. Prices include HST.

Tickets are available through the River Run Centre box office at (519) 763-3000, 1-877-520-2408 or riverrun.ca.