(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble (NJDTE) presents the 50th Anniversary of their acclaimed production of The Nutcracker with performances on December 14-15 at Montclair State University. This milestone will honor the brilliant history of the past as well as celebrate the present and future generations of NJDTE Dancers - some of the top artists from New Jersey who go on as professionals in the field.
NJDTE was founded by a group of NJ dance educators in 1969, who named legendary Juilliard ballet master, Alfredo Corvino as Artistic Director. NJDTE has grown into a world-class training school for dancers ages four to nineteen commissioning repertory by acclaimed choreographers and offering classes with an esteemed faculty in ballet, pointe, modern, contemporary, and hip hop for over 200 students in the Summit and Union County areas.
“It is a Golden Anniversary year for NJDTE,” exclaimed Turano, who also celebrates her 25th Anniversary as Artistic Director. The Belmar resident says, “I am thrilled to bring our 50th Anniversary Production of The Nutcracker to the thriving cultural community of Montclair, a hub for forward-thinking arts initiatives.” A former Faculty member of Montclair State, Turano declares, “It is a perfect match for NJDTE and our mission of cultivating contemporary progressive dance programming and training right here in New Jersey.”
In celebration of NJDTE’s 50 years, the production will feature Ensemble dancers in the lead roles of Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier. “We have our own home grown talent at NJDTE who are technically capable of these demanding roles,” says Turano. NJDTE dancers will perform next to an extraordinary group of international dance artists including Timothy Stickney of Complexions Contemporary Ballet as lead roles of Dr. Drosselmeyer and Russian. Also joining the Ensemble for three captivating performances is former New Jersey Ballet prima ballerina Rosemary Sabovick-Bleich as the Grandmother, who with trained alongside Turano as children with the organization. They are only two of the thousands of professional NJDTE Alumni continuing the mission of making a difference in the New Jersey Dance landscape as artists and educators.
All performances take place at Memorial Auditorium at Montclair State University, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ on Saturday, December 14 at 1:00pm and 5:00pm, and Sunday, December 15 at 2:00pm. Tickets are $25-$40, and are available online at www.njdte.tix.com.
As Artistic Director of NJDTE since 1994, Nancy Turano has been acknowledged for creating innovative training programs for dancers in the NJ/NYC metro area including Movement Invention Project® (MIP®) at Baryshnikov Arts Center, and MIP2® at NYLA in NYC. A NJSCA Governors Award recipient for both Distinguished Teaching Artist and a NJSCA Choreographic Fellow, Ms. Turano has choreographed 26 new works for NJDTE and her acclaimed full-length The Nutcracker. Her choreography has been presented throughout the US, Mexico, Panama, Israel, Sweden and Germany and in repertory of National Ballet of Sweden School, Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, Bat Dor in Israel and Luna Negra Dance Theatre Chicago.