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Show A&E Forum . 8 Tradition: Ballet Wests "Nutcracker" A Christmas Leslee Gregg Forum Staff Writer There she is entertained by dancers kinds and from all countries. of all Theresa Solorio, Ballet Wests pub- Put a little culture in your Christmas! If youre one of those people who think they hate ballet because theyve never seen one, you owe it to your education to try it at least once. Ballet Wests rendition of this delightful holiday classic is opening at the Capitol Theatre Dec. 14. "The Nutcracker" is a traditional stray ballet in two acts, based on a fairy tale by E.TA Hoffman. The setting is Christmas Eve, Germany, in the home of the children, Clara and Fritz Stahlbaum. Mother, Father and the nursemaid are busy trimming the Christmas tree, but, as is the custom in their country, the children are not permitted to see it until it is finished. Soon the guests invited to the Christmas festivities begin to arrive. Among them is Claras godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, a toy maker by trade, who mechanical doll and has created a life-sito bear perform at the party. For dancing Clara, he has made a nutcracker in the image of a small soldier. Unfortunately, in the course of the childrens play, the nutcracker gets broken and must be temporarily mended with a handkerchief and made to rest under the Christmas tree. The grown-up- s organize one last dance and say good-nigfor the evening. When the house is quiet, Clara returns to thehvingroomtocheckonhcrnutcrackerand falls asleq) with him in her arms. In her dream, he is transformed into a handsome prince 19th.-centu- lic relations representative, stated that nationally, almost every ballet company presents their version of The Nutcracker to local audiences, but Utahs Ballet West is the only company still performing the American profirst, original duction of this beloved ballet ... Not only that, the first production of "The Nutcracker" in America was choreographed by the founder of Ballet West William F. Christensen in 1944, Solorio said. Eleven years later, with encouragement from Utah Symphony Music Director Maurice Abravanel, he recreated this ballet with tire dancers who would come to form what is now full-leng- th full-leng- th ry Ballet West Celebrating his 90th birthday last year, Christensen still teaches ballet classes at the Conservatory and continues to act as Artistic Advisor for each production of The Nutcracker, Solorio added. ze This year. Ballet West is dedicating the 1993 performances of The Nutcracker to the memory of Maurice Abravanel. Christensen acknowledged that it was at Abravanels urging that he came to Utah from San Francisco. Now we have the opera, theballet and a great orchestra, and that wouldn t have happened had Maurice not been here, Christensen stated. Nutcracker season runs Dec. Evening performances begin at 7 p.m., matinees at 2 p.m. A special holiday matinee will be offered at noon on Christmas Eve. Under the direction of Terence Kern, the Utah Chamber Orchestra will accom- - ht 14-3- 1. who defeats the mouse brigade and carries her off to the Kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Snowboarding Is Gaining Acceptance Among Skiers snowboarders do power carves, leaving big ruts on the slopes. These ruts cause problems for skiers and snowboarders alike when their edges catch on them, Very few snowboarders do this, so in essence, a lot of snowboarders are being denied access to many resorts because of a few selfish people. When more Jason Russell Forum Staff Writer What sport combines surfing, skate- boarding, doing and a touch of ballet? You probably guessed it, snowboarding! It is one of the fastest growing recre- ational sports in Utah. Snowboarding has d gone from a sport known only to snowboarders who made their own boards and hiked up the mountains, to a commer- sport that has become an altema- tive to skiing, using the same resorts and slopes to ski on. Snowboarding became popular about years ago when Burton, Sims, Morrow and other companies that specialize in mak- ing snowboards offered an alternative to the usual winter sports. On its way to popu- larity, snowboarding started showing in Warren Miller and James Bond movies. For the most part, snowboarding in Utah has had a bad reputation. For ex- ample, many ski resorts will not allow mowboarding because they believe their insurance costs will go up, and that snowboards will dig-u- p the slopes. Insur- ance is not a good excuse. If small resorts like ParkWest, who charge less than $20 per day, can afford the insurance, resorts like Deer Valley and Park City ski resorts, who charge over $40 a day, should be able to foot the bill. Other evidence that insur- ance is a cop-ois found in Colorado, where resorts bigger than any found in encourage snowboarding and charge the same as Park City and DcerValley ski resorts. As for snowboards digging up the slopes, this does happen when selfish die-har- snowboardersdogetintoihepowercarves, resorts will probably designate certain runs. But until then, it is very inconsider-cialize- d ate to leave ruts all over the slopes, Many skiers complain about the reek- lessnessof most snowboarders. Many blame the young kids, claiming that they are considerate of other skiers. This may be true, but would they be any more considerate on skis? It is just that the younger generation is more likely to try new things, and snowboarding is one of them. Older people and big ski companies arestartingtogetintothesportltusedtobe that the only place to get a snowboard was at a skateboard or windsurfing store. These shops were run by people who spoke in a skateboard-typ- e lingo, which turned many peopleoffwhodidntknowanything about snowboarding. Today Gart Brothers and Pedersons carries snowboards, and people are less intimidated to buy them or talk to the salespeople, Utah is behind the times when it comes to accepting snowboarding. With more snowboarding classes being held at resorts, more and more people are experi-Uta- h encing snowboarding. You dont have two sticks to worry about crossing, and the risk of injury is comparable to skiing, So why haven't you tried it yet? 1 S J f i t s t t J i I I i i t t i I i t i r I y t i i I J I t i i t s f t j i d. ft I 1 I r , I f I p t v , f pany all "Nutcracker" performances. Single ticket prices range from $ 10 to $35, andarenow available atall Albertson ArtTix outlets or at the Capitol Theatre box office, 50 W. 200 South, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For additional information or to charge tickets by phone, call ArtTix at from the cast, arc hosted onstage by the Salt Lake Ballet Guild. Refreshments are included. Tickets are $7 per person and are available at the Capitol Theatre box office, or by calling ArtTix at Tickets for Night, Dec. 17, are $50 per person, and include dinner at the Red Lion Hotel and an onstage reception after the performance. To make reservations for this event, call Ballet West Subscriber Services at 363-9- 3 1 8. 355-278- 7. Daddy-Daught- 355-278- 7. After selected matinees, SugarPlum parties, where children can meet the S ugar Plum Fairy and other favorite characters er Inspecting Carol: A New Angle On An Old Christmas Classic Jason C. Russell Forum Staff Writer Every holiday season, thousands of people go and see their favorite Christmas plays thinking they will see the same old traditional version as last year. This year. Pioneer Theatre Company presents a new twist on Dickens classic A Christmas Carol in their performance of Inspecting Carol, a sort of Saturday Night Live version to keep you laughing. The Pioneer Theatre Company performance had audience members rolling on the floor during Inspecting Carol, which has a play within a play premise. Inspecting Carol is about actors in a financially strapped theater who perform an adaptation of A Christmas Carol every Christmas season.The theater group is about to be visited by an inspector who has the power to cut their funding. Mass hysteria ensues as the troupe prepares for the inspectors visit. In one of several humorous scenes, a computer data processor (Howard Samuelsohn) arrives at the theatre to act in the play but the acting troupe thinks he is the inspector. By the time the real inspector arrives, the troupe's adaptation of the play has been contami , nated with the computer processors ridiculous ideas. One of the more colorful characters in the play is Larry Vauxhall playing Scrooge (John Rensenhouse). He is an eccentric revolutionary wanting to take theater in a new and courageous direction. He is constantly trying to change the classic style of the play into a contemporary style. At one point in the play, he wants to have Tiny Tim (Sam Littlefield) explore his psychological self. During one years performance, he played his entire role speaking in Spanish because he was bored. He is just one of the many bizarre and hilarious characters in the play. The play was so entertaining that when intermission came, many people in the audience, including myself, checked our watches in disbelief. If the audience thought the first part of the play went fast, the second part, in which the actors go through the official production of their play, flies by. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong in the Soap Box Playhouse production. At times the audience was laughing so loud that the actors lines could not be heard. Inspecting Carol will be performed at Pioneer Memorial Theatre through Dec. 18. t in-fi- ve ut t December 14, 1993 t let V I i t f f t Now is the time to cash in on that little deal you read about last week (you know, the one about getting what you already paid for). S6 go out and get what's yours go to the campus bookstore and pick up copy of Ellipsis: Literature and Art absolutely free of your pre-pai- d further charge if you are a student at Westminster College (remember, you have paid your share of the magazine already). So even if you missed the debut you can still reap the benefits of student activity fees. Go pick up a copy today at the campus bookstore. Ellipsis Literature and Art published by the Associated Students of Westminster College with generous support from the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Ellipsis is j i ( |