A Holiday Tradition

What better way to ring in the holidays than with a performance of a time-honored classic? Sure, you've been listening to music by Bing, Andy and Karen for a few weeks now, but you can really get yourself into the right spirit by attending one of Settlement's four performances of The Nutcracker.

With beautiful costumes, a heartwarming story, and talented young performers from across the Philadelphia region, it's a great opportunity to see how much fun dance at Settlement can be. Our dance faculty--Olga Blumenkrantz at the Kardon-Northeast Branch and Kaye Fernandez at the Mary Louise Curtis, West Philadelphia and Camden Branches--have done a terrific job of adapting The Nutcracker for our smaller stages and dancers.

Settlement's dance students have put a lot of hard work into this year's performances. One of the best parts about attending The Nutcracker year after year? Watching the dancers move from role to role. Last year's polichinelle could be this year's Marie. A marzipan from a few years ago might now be the Sugar Plum Fairy. These holiday performances really showcase the progression and increasing skill of these young performers.

Dates and times for the performances are as follows:

Saturday, December 17, 11 AM, Kardon-Northeast Branch
Sunday, December 18, 3 PM, Mary Louise Curtis Branch
Monday, December 19, 6 PM, Camden Branch
Wednesday, December 21, 6 PM, West Philadelphia Branch

Many thanks to West Philadelphia Branch board member Sean Kardon for taking these pictures at the Mary Louise Curtis Nutcracker rehearsal last week. You can see more pictures on our Facebook page!