BRATTLEBORO — The New England Center for Circus Arts has presented their annual reimagining of the classic Nutcracker ballet since 2009. This year marks the eighth annual extravaganza, and the first production in NECCA's new custom-built circus facility.
The annual production is an evening of “high-flying aerials, stunning acrobatics, and astonishing feats of the human body” featuring performers from NECCA's youth performance troupes and adult professional programs, with special guest artists in character roles, according to a news release.
This year, the new building will be an added feature with a trampoline and tramp wall act that have never before been seen at NECCA, as well as German wheel, aerial silks, contortion, trapeze, and unicycling.
The Flying Nut Express offers five shows only, Dec. 15-17 in Brattleboro at the school's new building at 10 Town Crier Drive.
Special guest performers are Ernesto Lea Place and Caitlin Quinn, professional ballet dancers turned aerial straps artists.
Quinn hails from Georgia and won a spot in the New York finals of the Youth American Grand Prix in dance.
Lea Place is originally from Buenos Aires and alongside his solo work has paired with Quinn for a professional career that has included the Nashville Ballet, Minnesota Ballet, Ballet San Antonio, and Fort Wayne Ballet.
According to the news release, this year's contemporary re-imagining of the classic Nutcracker story experiences a circus of mix-ups in a “fun-for-the-whole-family adventure.” A holiday sleepover turns into a trip to the North Pole on the Circus Express and favorite holiday characters join the shenanigans to share in the gift of giving.