Three years ago an idea was born to take a holiday classic and open it up to the masses.
The Creole Nutcracker is a spin off of the 19th century ballet, The Nutcracker, and features a gumbo style of dancing.
Creators, Jazmyn Jones and Leigha Porter, said they were worried that Covid-19 would put the brakes on all of their hard work.
It did not.
The pandemic just forced them to think outside of the box.
"We knew we wanted to do it because we wanted this to be an annual tradition," Jones explained. "Not even a pandemic could stop us. It really pushed us to use our creative juices and figure out how we were going to do this and still give the community the Creole Nutcracker."
This year the women will be producing a docufilm of the performance. They will take it from the stage to physical places.
Dancers will travel to the bayous and sugar cane fields as they showcase the stories that are hidden in these scenic backdrops.
Of course, Jones said, all dancers will be socially distanced while they perform.
Porter, one of the Creole Nutcracker creators, said it is important to give every child a chance to be on stage, no matter their skill set.
"We're not looking for just skilled and trained dancers," Porter said. "We want kids with the technique and training, but we also want kids who are willing to try new things and want to be part of the arts in some type of fashion."
Auditions will take place on Saturday, September 26th at F.I.R.E Expressions Performing Arts Conservatory. This year's performance will not be on stage at Angelle Hall like in previous years, it will only be filmed.
Registration for auditions is required.
Go to the website below for more information:
